K3 is a Compass boat: a traditional net fishing boat of the type used extensively on the Cleddau from the late 19th century until the mid 20th century to catch salmon and sewin.
She was donated by Ken Morgan of Llangwm - we patched its holes with
builder’s foam to make her buoyant, so as to get her across Johnson
Pill to our slipway.
Boats were usually around fourteen feet long and built of larch or elm on oak frames. Pitch pine was sometimes used for the stem and transom; with many of the fishermen having close association with Pembroke Dockyard, this proved a valuable source of timber! Their carvel-planked hulls were usually caulked with oakum and sealed with molten pitch.
No two boats were identical, there being no template – just the expert eye of the boatwright.