Coot (trawler)

Career
Name:	Coot
Owner:	Purchased in Aberdeen
Port of registry:	United Kingdom
Builder:	William H. Hamilton & Co., Glasgow
Completed:	1892
Identification:	GK 310
Career
Owner:	Fiskveiðihlutafélag Faxaflóa
Port of registry:	Iceland
In service:	Operated from Hafnarfjörður between 1905 and 1908
General characteristics
Class and type:	Trawler
Propulsion:	Steam engine

The Coot (GK 310) was the first Icelandic trawler.

She was built in 1892 by the Glasgow firm William H. Hamilton & Co. and purchased in Aberdeen.

Prior to the arrival of the Coot there had attempts by various foreign owned companies to run trawling fleets off Iceland but these had not proved commercially successful. A Devon fisherman Mr. Pike Ward registered a trawler in Iceland, the Utopia, but it was not a commercial success due to what might be termed alcohol related human capital problems.^[1]

The Coot operated from Hafnarfjörður between 1905 and 1908. It was owned by Icelandic entrepreneurs who founded fishing business Fiskveiðihlutafélag Faxaflóa. It was driven by a steam engine and fished using a trawl.^{[2] [3]}

The ship's kettle can be found by the roundabout on the junction of Reykjavíkurvegur, Strandgata and Vesturgata.

A painting of the Coot was used as a design for a stamp issued in 1985 March 2004. The stamp bears the title Fyrsti Togarinn Á Íslandi, Coot 1904 and its value, 50.00.^[2]

References

1. ^ "SEAGULL M4 - first Icelandic trawler"]. Ship's Nostalgia, online community. 17th November 2007. http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=14767. Retrieved August 27, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Iceland: The Trawler Coot". Stamp News International. March 13, 2004. http://www.stampnews.com/stamps/stamps_2004/stamp_1166705913_395344.html. Retrieved August 27, 2011. 
3. ^ "Iceland Timeline: 1904". The Road to Home Rule. http://www.melt.is/_opid/saga/old/19/island/timalinur/_valmynd/index_english.htm. Retrieved August 27, 2011.