Tradition Lives On - Register of the historic Couta Boats

Much has been written in sailing magazines and journals about Couta Boats over the years, so readers are most likely aware that these boats are unique to Australia, with a history that is distinctively related to southern Australian waters. They once dominated southern coastal waters as fishing craft, unique with an open cockpit and a shallow draft, evolving from around the mid 1800s at Queenscliff in Victoria to suit the various methods of hauling fish, namely, barracouta, after which the craft is named. The evolution of the Couta Boat is well documented in the book and traces the development of the design and function of the craft over one hundred years, from the mid 1800s through to the revival period of the 1980s when the craft was transformed into a recreational craft.

The book records the history of some 200 Couta Boats, the traditional fishing boats that evolved along the southern coast of Victoria generally but arguably, principally around Queenscliff, just inside the entrance to Port Phillip, Victoria to fish for barracouta (colloquially “couta”) the fish that gave them their appellation: Couta Boat.

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