An currach

The traditional Irish rowing boat. Still in use around Belmullet although mostly as a tender to go from the pier to the larger fishing boats. 
It is made of a light wooden frame covered in cloth, with an added generous layer of tar. 
In the olden days they used animal hides rather than cloth. Cow hides were the best. 
Eamonn McAndrew from Annagh experimented in the 1930s with a currach made of red squirrel skins. The design did not prove particularly popular. Eamonn did not sell any of his prototypes. He was lost at sea on 4th June 1936. On a currach made of red squirrel skin.