Reaper does not use modern water ballast tanks to balance her mast for several reasons. First of all, as she is a traditional boat we try to use traditional methods where possible. Additionally there are practical reasons for not using water ballast tanks. Having a water ballast means we would have to have big tanks bolted to the frames with no easy access to the bilge to check the condition of the timbers on a yearly basis. This is very important in a wooden boat. During the winter the ballast is moved to increase the air circulation in the bilge and keep the level of humidity as low as possible, which is not possible with a water ballast. Finally the museum tries its best to avoid dangerous sea conditions and heavy winds with its boats. These are the only circumstances when the boat could turn and the ballast moved. It is always possible to have bad weather but we always keep an eye on the sea conditions before using either of our two seagoing vessels. We follow healthy and safety procedures for all aspects of the work on our fleet, regardless of who is doing the work.

The museum was never operated by the National Trust for Scotland. The St Ayles site was acquired from the National Trust for Scotland in 1967 by the Scottish Fisheries Museum Trust. The museum then opened in 1969.

The order that the responses appear is something that Trip Advisor control. We have no say over the order of anything posted onto our trip advisor page. The interpretation for the Great Line Skulls are displayed alongside the dioramas.

Nickd171 describes a scull well. Great and small lines were neatly coiled in a scull and layered with grass to prevent them snagging as they were shot out. We have several that are on display within our dioramas along with interpretation.