about so that the sail draws away from the mast on each tack. The Nickies were copies of Cornish herring drifters that visited Man. The Manx Nickie was so called as Nicholas was a common Christian name amongst the Cornish crews whose boats they copied. The change to standing lug was driven by a shortage of experienced crew. This type of craft was then commissioned by The Congested Districts Board to provide a decked fishing craft to be used in Connemara, Ireland in the 1890s. The vocabulary of the Anglo-Manx dialect quotes the first Manx nobby in 1884 receiving its name because it was “a rale nobby little thing”. Other nobbies may have received their name in the same way, as smart sail fishing boats. Notes References Holdsworth E W H (1874), Deep Sea Fishing and Fishing Boats. London, Edward Stanford. March, E J (1969) Sailing Drifters. David & Charles Publications. March E J (1970) Inshore Craft, Volume II Newton Abbot, David & Charles. Miller, N (2009) The Lancashire Nobby. Stroud, Amberley Publishing Plc. Scott,Richard J (1983) The Galway Hooker. Ward River Press. External links Lancashire Nobby Owners Association White Heather Manx Nobby Sailing Fishing Boat Restoration of 'PHYLLIS' Royal Mersey Restricted Class Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom Types of fishing vessels Boat types