MFV Honestas , "A part of Scottish fishing history"

A trip with Highland Sea Charters promises to be a unique experience as you will be angling onboard an ex working boat that has been painstakingly renovated to retain its original character and lines.

Built in 1960 in Buckie by 'Herd and Mackenzie,' the Honestas at 70 feet long and powered by a gardener 8L3XB developing 230hp was one off the top boats in the north east. As times moved on, she was decomissioned in the 80s, luckily missing out on being scrapped as most boats were. 

She lay in Buckie with her fishing equipment removed for some time before being bought to be converted into a house boat.  She was then moved to the Crinnin Canal where some work was done but the up-keep on this size of vessel proved too much and she finally ended up in Girven harbour in a sorry state, leeking, with very little paint on the hull or decks and looking close to ending her days there.

In 2006 I bought the Honestas and my father and I started on what was to be a full two years project getting her up to MCA standard for our first season.  Over this last Winter we have carried out more renovations to get her up to the high standard we want.  Believe me we've cut no corners in doing this, all the work has been done using traditional boat building methords.  Even the tools we used have travelled thousands of sea miles on sailing ships doing the same job and now faithfully keeping the Honestas on the ocean wave.

The Honestas has been transformed from an old boat at the end of her time to a boat full of life and ready once again for the fishing grounds. Below is a slide show, showing just some of the work that has been done over the past two years.