They arrive at Cellardyke’s refurbished tidal pool with intricate model boats, directors’ chairs and all manner of special equipment.
The members of the Scottish Fisheries Museum Model Boat Club meet most Sundays to sail their hand-built boats, share their expertise and put the world to rights.
The Courier caught up with them on the Cellardyke waterfront to find out what keeps them coming along even when the water and the weather are freezing.
Just along the coastal path from the picturesque harbour scores of model boats take to the water each Sunday morning.
Cellardyke was once a thriving East Neuk fishing port. The flotilla of boats on the pool harks back to the days when the harbour would have been a hive of activity.
Their owners are a group of local men who have lovingly created the boats by hand.
They build the beautiful models of fishing vessels, military ships and steamers complete with working engines, moveable accessories and beautifully painted details.
Some of the models take many months to complete, explains club secretary Iane Duncan.
Most of the club members have retired from their day jobs, although: “We do have a junior section – for the under 65s,” laughs Iane.
The men who make the models may be of a certain age but when we head along to see the boats in action there are a few younger faces at the tidal pool.
Little Ronnie Reid is four years old and has come to Cellardyke to sail his toy fishing boat.
Accompanied by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, model boat building is certainly in the blood for Ronnie and his family.
Iane explains that most of the members of the club are retired for a purely practical reason – it just takes so long to build the intricate models.
The club secretary himself is a former policeman. He got involved with the Model Boat Club through a volunteering role at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther.
“The model boat club has a long history in Cellardyke,” he explains, “When the open air pool was built in 1932 it was initially intended for sailing, not swimming.”
In its heyday, The East Fife Model Sailing Club had 116 members who competed for three sailing trophies every year. The ships were based on the local Fifie fishing boat design.
East Neuk model builders reflect maritime heritage
Chairman Bill Horsburgh can often be found tinkering with models in the workshop at the museum, while other members prefer to work on their boats at home.
A visit to the workshop reveals members hard at work on models of boats including the Lerwick Ferry.
There are many more examples of finished models or ships in the process of restoration. The club members have stories and anecdotes to tell about the boats, their models and their owners.
Some build model boats with a personal or family connection. Neil Thomson’s beautiful red and black-hulled Coriedalis KY21 is the steam drifter that his grandfather sailed on.
Steam drifters were built specifically to land large catches of herring. They were able to carry bigger nets and land more fish than their predecessors.
Mike Griffin is the vice-chairman of the Model Boat Club, he came to Cellardyke to sail his model of seiner/trawler Jeniska KY253.
He worked at JN Miller and Sons of St Monans and was serving his apprenticeship with the company when the Jeniska was built in 1971.
Club chairman and former builder Bill Horsburgh is a familiar face both at the tidal pool and the museum workshop.
He has built and restored many model boats, including The Lerwick Ferry and Reliance. One model came to the East Neuk all the way from Columbia following an email enquiry.
Bill usually sails his model of Reliance BF80, a seiner/trawler built at Banff in 1988, at Cellardyke.
The restoration work at Cellardyke Tidal Pool has been welcomed by the members of the Model Boat Club. For a few years, getting down to the water was so difficult that some members couldn’t sail there.
“Access was down a very rickety ladder,” Iane recalls, “and the area around the pool was very slippery.”
Ship shape at Cellardyke Tidal Pool
The Model Boat Club is working closely with Cellardyke Tidal Pool. They were able to share the original plans for the pool from the 1930s.
Iane hopes that plans to restore the original wooden walkways built for model boat enthusiasts will go ahead soon.
Sunday morning meet-up is as much a social occasion as an opportunity to sail model boats. Iane talks enthusiastically about the sense of camaraderie among the members:
“Everybody pools their skills and resources and everybody chips in.” he says.
Once the models have had a few turns around the tidal pool and attracted a lot of interested admirers, it is time to pack up.
The morning’s meeting doesn’t end there, though, the all important debrief over a cup of tea and a biscuit is an integral part of the event for Iane, Bill and their fellow members.
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