The Logboat
Discovered in Caernarfon in the early 20th century, this logboat spent time outside garages in Caernarfon and Nefyn, before being acquired by the museum in the 1970s . Recent research has revealed that the logboat was constructed from a tropical hardwood likely to be from West Africa. Ethnographic comparison reveals that it is most similar to those found in the Niger Delta, West Africa with its pointed bow and stern seat. One possibility is that it came back on one of the ships which sailed from Liverpool to West Africa for palm oil. Whilst out there the local Krooboys would paddle over in their logboats and work on the vessels. Sometimes they would stay on the ship back to the UK, and rather than paying the unloading costs in port, the logboats would be thrown overboard. The support frame designed to stabilize the logboat's condition, was funded through a GoFundMe online crowdsourcing campaign. Many thanks to our backers. The full research report by museum volunteer Jamie Davies is available to download here.
GoFundme - click here
To see more photos - click here
