Goblin and Imp

Information about the fictional vessels Goblin and Imp

Introduction

Goblin is a yacht that stars in We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea and also appears in Secret Water. The Imp is Goblin's tender.

Description

Goblin is described as "a little white cutter with red sails" (We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, Chapter 1). She has a square stern. She has a foredeck, complete with a winch and forehatch, a cabin roof amidships, and a deep cockpit aft. The cockpit is described as having numerous lockers, together with a brass porthole, through which the helmsman could see a compass, which hung in gimbals and could be lit by a candle. The helmsman steered using a tiller, and was able to rig tiller ropes to help take the strain involved. Other features in the cockpit were a throttle lever for the engine and a hand-operated lever for the bilge pump.

From the cockpit it was possible to look "down into the cabin... at blue mattresses on bunks on either side, at a little table... (and) a white sink opposite the tiny galley" (Ibid, Chapter 1). Closer inspection revealed two cabins, each with two bunks. There were storage lockers behind and beneath the bunks. The galley and sink actually fitted either side of the steps down from the cockpit, and it was possible to see through these to "Billy" the engine, which was fitted underneath the cockpit.

Goblin's cutter rig meant that she had a single mast, a bowsprit, a mainsail and two headsails. Her mainsail was "Bermudan", ie triangular with a boom at the bottom but no gaff- unusually for Ransome's fictional boats. The mainsail was attached to the mast by wooden hoops.

Goblin's official number is given as 16856. Jim Brading quotes her as being Seven tons, Thames measurement and 4.86 registered tonnage. (Thames Register tonnage is calculated using a formula based on a vessel's length and beam measurements; it is often used to measure small vessels such as yachts. Registered tonnage is uses a different formula to calculate the internal volume of a vessel in order to calculate cargo capacity and such matters as harbour dues).

Imp is described as "a tiny black pram dinghy" (Ibid, Chapter 1), ie one with a square bow and stern. Although tiny, she is big enough to carry Jim Brading and all four Swallows, although Ransome describes it as being "a close fit for five" (Ibid, Chapter 5).

Ownership

Goblin originally belonged to Jim Brading's uncle. However, he had recently given Goblin to Jim as a reward for Jim winning a scholarship to Oxford (and on condition that Jim use his uncle as crew "when his rheumatism let him" (Ibid, Chapter 2).

Goblin & Imp appear in

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (both), Secret Water (Goblin).

Factual Inspiration

Goblin is essentially Arthur Ransome's own yacht Nancy Blackett. He had the idea for We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea soon after moving to Broke Farm, at Levington on the shores of the River Orwell in 1935. On 8 September Ransome purchased Nancy Blackett; on 16 January, 1936 he wrote to G Wren Howard at his publishers, Jonathan Cape, to tell him about the way that he had been "grabbed, clutched and pinioned" by the core plot of We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea. There is little doubt that he owed the novel itself, as well as one of its main characters directly to his new yacht.

Other than a change to her official number, there are virtually no changes between Nancy Blackett and Goblin.

What Happened to the Real Goblin?

Nancy Blackett still exists and now belongs to the Nancy Blackett Trust.

For More Information

Use this link to find out more about Arthur Ransome's yacht Nancy Blackett.

You can also go to the Nancy Blackett Trust website for details about the Trust and news about Nancy today.