Finlay Oman – Photos

Solea, Donnie McRae, Oban. Courtesy of Finlay Oman.

We are grateful to Finlay Oman for sharing his collection of photos of Campbeltown-built boats which he has taken during his travels with work around Scotland. 

I was born in Glasgow, but my father was the son of a Carradale fishermen, with uncles on both sides of the family being boat owners and skippers. I now work for a net making company in Ayrshire called W&J Knox Ltd, who supply nets to the salmon farming industry. The company have been operating here since 1778 with various owners, but were involved in the manufacture and supply of nets to the Clyde fleet and also worldwide at that time.

I myself worked for a spell on various boats out of Carradale, before getting into salmon farming. For a spell I worked with the Oban Times on their fishing and aquaculture papers and as a result attended many of the launches at Trench Point. Unfortunately the negatives remained with the Oban Times and I believe that they were deemed surplus to requirement at one point and destroyed. I then had a spell working as a Fishery Officer out of Oban, before joining Knox in 1997.

My employment with Knox has taken my around the world, but often to Shetland, where I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many of the remaining Trench Point builds.

In the dim and distant past I was aboard John Galbraith’s Sapphire when our gear was snagged by a sub just off Carradale. Luckily there was only superficial damage to the hull and loss of gear, but the next day we were unceremoniously hauled up the slip in Campbeltown to have the hull examined by loss adjusters, naval surveyors etc!

Finlay Oman

The Campbeltown-built Wanderer III (right), originally BA 66  (Yard No. 66) -1984. She is pictured here as the renumbered Wanderer INS 161 in Mallaig. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Star of David BA 258, Originally the Crimson Arrow CN 30 -(Yard No 1) – built in Campbeltown in 1970. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Mizpah LK 173, originally built in Campbeltown as the Alison Kay LK 57 (Yard No. 82) in 1988. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Mizpah LK 173, originally built in Campbeltown as the Alison Kay LK 57 (Yard 82), in 1988. She is pictured here, tied up in Lerwick, Shetland. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Mizpah LK 173 originally built in Campbeltown as the Alison Kay LK 57  (Yard 82) in 1988. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Fraioch Gael LH 382, originally built in Campbeltown in 1981 as the Heatherbelle III LH 272 (Yard No. 56). Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Mizpah LK 173, originally built in Campbeltown as the Alison Kay LK 57 (Yard 82) in 1988. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Mizpah LK 173, originally built in Campbeltown as the Alison Kay LK 57 (Yard 82) in 1988. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Left and centre: Defiant LK 371 Yard No. 79 – 1987 and Mizpah (Alison Kay LK 57 – Yard 82 – 1988). Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Arkh Angell K 616 (Yard No. 88) – 1990. She is pictured here in Kirkwall. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Right: Defiant LK 371 (Yard No. 79) – 1987. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Defiant LK 371 (Yard No. 79) – 1987. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Crew of the Mizpah LK 173 repairing gear. She was originally built in Campbeltown as the Alison Kay LK 57 (Yard 82) in 1988. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

The Campbeltown-Built Solea (Yard No. 85), a well boat designed and built as a well boat to carry live smouts. She is pictured here in Lochboisdale, South Uist. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

The Cambeltown-built ferry, Thorsvoe, (Yard No. 89) built in 1991. She is pictured here in Shetland waters. More here about Thorsvoe. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

The Campbeltown Ajax INS 168 (Yard No. 26) landing in Oban. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

The Campbeltown-built Ajax INS 168 (Yard No. 26) built in 1975. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

The Antares and the Mizpah LK 173 originally built in Campbeltown as the Alison Kay LK 57 (Yard No. 82) in 1988. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman..

Defiant LK 371 (Yard No. 79) – 1987. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

Donnie McRae loading salmon smolts onto the Campbeltown Built well boat, Solea. Oban, 1995. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

The Campbeltown-built Donvale II LK 137 (Yard No. 71) built in 1985. She is pictured here in Scalloway. Photo courtesy of Finlay Oman.

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