VIKING (c1908)

Viking is a double-ended coble, with what could be described as a bow at each end. The standard coble design has a flat stern or transom and a deep forefoot at the bow. Alternatively, these double-ended cobles are a rarer style mainly found in Scotland and North Yorkshire, rather than Northumberland. They are also known as ‘mules’ because of their function as extremely light and maneuverable workhorses, but also very much an antique today and having served as a gaff-rigged-pulling pilot boat, Viking may be one of the few remaining vessels of her type in the country.
Built in 1908 by George Cambridge at Hartlepool, she was originally owned by the Towell family. She was built on similar lines to a fishing coble but lighter and faster. She was employed as a pilot boat until the 1920s, when piloting ceased to be competitive.
The name for this boat is particularly fitting as the

Origins of the famed coble — a stalwart of fishermen along the east coast of Britain, and to an extent on the north coast of Ireland, is assumed to have its origin in the Viking longships that arrived on these shores in the 800s.