Historical information
A Couta boat is a type of sailing boat originally designed and built in Victoria, Australia, around Sorrento, Queenscliff and along Victoria's west coast as far west as Portland. It was originally used as a traditional fishing boat from around 1870 until the 1930s, although it survived as a commercial fishing vessel until the 1950s. From the 1970s onwards a community of enthusiasts started restoring old couta boats to use recreationally.
Significance
The Couta Boat has been associated with the fishermen of Queenscliff from the first quarter of the 20th Century, and still is of significance due to the popularity of this boat as a leisure sailing vessel.
Physical description
2 Reproduced photographs of couta boat fishing fleet under full sail in Queenscliff
Subjects
References
- Couta The couta boat was developed for the coastal fishing industry over the later part of the 19th century. Fishermen chased fish often incorrectly identified as 'Barracouta'; a confusion with the larger ocean barracuda species. Couta boats caught the species "Thyrsites atun" but fishing cooperatives established quotas to control prices, and it was this that led to the added requirement of speed in a good fishing boat. The boats headed out to the fishing grounds before dawn, most often through the entrance to Port Phillip, the infamous and often treacherous Rip, where the couta boats’ qualities of seaworthiness were proven. Once their quota of Barracouta was met, the fishermen turned their efforts to sailing back to port as fast as they could — the first boat back got the best prices.
