Saucy Jack – Barking Well-Smack – 1836
Well smacks were smacks built with an integral circulating sea-water tank in which the fish could be kept alive for some days. By 1830 there were 30-40 well smacks, or “fish pools” as they were called, working out of Barking. Most well smacks were around 50-60 feet long and carried a crew of 7 or 8. The smack ‘Saucy Jack’ was a typical example of this type of vessel. She was built at Gravesend in 1836, and was 60ft overall and weighed 51 tons. The Saucy Jack served many years and was the last well smack to leave Barking, in 1880, although well smacks continued to be used for a very long time after that in other ports. Some vessels built later on in the nineteenth century were still fishing at Faroe in the 1950’s.
Although using the well to keep the fish was a better method than salting and wind drying, it had several drawbacks. Well smacks were not very fast due to the effect of carrying several tons of sea-water within the hull. The extra scantlings required and the manufacture of the well itself resulted in a significant increase in the cost of the vessels themselves.
