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Document 824

Dan Buoy

Author(s): Dave Howson

Copyright holder(s): Dave Howson, SCOTS Project

Audio transcription

M846 This is aboot a true story that happened to me when I was och aboot eh, well not happened to me but I saw when I was aboot, maybe, eight or nine years old. [inhale] Now if ye go to Week now, there's no much till be seen o' eh ould dry dock. Eh place far ah used till spend many an efternoon lyin' ower eh pier waal fishin' for peltags is far changed. In ma earliest days ah kin chist mind 'er wi' 'er gates closed an' a boat in 'er, bit for most o' ma childhood days she wiz open, an' wan or two creel boaties were aye tied up in 'er. Ah mind in eh winter, their rops aye hed an auld car tyre hingin' on them till soffan eh jerk caused by eh swell runnin' in fae eh bay. Noo though, eh dry dock's aal bin filled in. Wi' eh buildin' o' eh new slip over at eh herber, she wiz made redundant, an' a while back, eh seventies hid wid a bin, she wiz filled in, tae be used by wan o' eh oiyle companies for buildin' 'structures' on - weird geometric things o' pipe an' girders 'at look lek some o' eh things ah used till make oot o' ma 'Mecanno' set fan ah wiz a boyag, only far beegir. Eh time ah'm goin' till tak ye back till, she wiz still a gurglin' black hole far eh wee boats tied up. Some chiels, in eh summer, if they wiz really darin', wid dive off eh side intil eh murky depths, bit they hed till waatch 'cos eh sides o' eh dock were stepped, an' ye hed till keep weel oot fan ye took yir plunge. [inhale] At 'at time, wan o' eh boaties 'at used till tie up in eh dry dock belonged till a man caalled Dan Miller, fa fowk caalled 'Dan Buoy' Miller, 'cos it wiz reckoned 'at he wiz so fill o' air 'at he'd aalways float, chist lek eh Dan Buoys 'at were used by eh seine netters. Dan Buoy owned an auld boatie, well, weel ower a hunnerd years auld, fit he seyd wiz a pure-bred Zulu. Noo, Dan, he wiz fair prood o' his boatie. No' chist for her lines, for till tell ye eh truth she sat in eh waater weel, bit 'cos she hed a proper marine diesel enchine. Hid wiz Dan's pride an' choy. He used till aye stand aloof fae eh ither chiels 'at hed boats, 'cos maist o' em didna hev proper enchines - chist wee Austin car enchines, fitted wi' aal menner o' adap- adaptions till get thum runnin' - reduction boxes, wee propellors an' eh lek. Yes, Dan wiz fair chuffed wi' his marine diesel. "Ye see," he wid say, "a poo- a proper marinized enchine disna get hermed by saalt waater. 'At's fit maks hid special." He'd say this tippin' back his cep, fit he seyd wiz a sailor's cep, bit fit looked lek hid came aff wan o' eh Northern Scottish Omnibus drivers. Then wan day disaster struck. Dan Buoy wiz fishin' for cuddin's off eh rocks at Proudfoot efter liftin' his creels. He wisna doin' too weel, so he made up his mind till shift a bittie. He wound up his line, and then gave a swing on eh flywheel o' his enchine. Nothin' happened. He tried hid again, bit there wiz chist a couple o' pops fae eh exhaust pipe an' no power. Eh tide wiz on eh mend, an' Dan realized he'd soon be in trouble - if he didna get eh oars oot queek, he'd be in danger o' driftin' on till eh rocks far many a boat hed gone afore. He got eh oars oot, an' soon eh sweat wiz lashin' off his broo. Bit no metter how hard he thrashed at hid, eh boatie wiz aye gettin' nearer till eh rocks. Lucky for him though, Peter Flett, who hed bin further roond eh head, came on eh scene. He threw him ower a rop, an' soon Excaliber (for 'at wiz Dan's boatie's name) wiz bein' hauled at a fast rate o' knots in till eh bay an' in till eh dry dock. 'Id dented Dan's pride, for Peter Flett's boat hed a car enchiney fitted - a fact he made sure everybody at eh pier-head kent full weel. tut [inhale] Bit hid wiz eh measure o' eh man, 'at herdly hid a day or two passed, bit Dan Buoy wiz buoyant ageyn: he hid ordered a new marine diesel fae Glesgo, as his auld wan wiz knackered. Every nicht for eh next fortnicht, he could be seen hunched doon in eh bilges o' Excaliber, howkin' an' hammerin' an' gettin' aathin' ready for his new enchine. Five hunderd pounds she'd cost him, an' she wiz comin' up fae eh Sooth on wan o' Henderson's lorries. Eh day came fan eh enchine arrived an' a fair crowd o' fowk gethered at eh mooth o' eh dry dock efter tea time, till see Dan Buoy's enchine on eh last stage o' her chourney. Dan wiz goin' till use eh dock crane (a great beeg iron monstrosity, full o' cogs an' wheels an' gears an' powered by a beeg long handle 'at wiz turned wi' two men) till lower eh enchine doon intill Excaliber. [inhale] He hed eh enchine mountin's aal ready an' eh bolts fitted till size fae eh plan 'at they'd sent 'im: that wiz, aal that wiz needed wiz a chentle lower an' a wee bit o' chiggery-pockery. Ye couldna say 'at Dan Buoy wiz poor wi' his hands. Eh twa chiels at eh handal heaved eh enchinney up, swung 'er roond, an' let her doon caatiously till Dan Buoy doon ablow. He grebbed hould o' eh corner, gave hid a wee shove, an' she settled chist fine on eh enchine bed. She fitted perfect. "Right boys, let 'er go," Dan yelled up at eh lads on eh crane. As soon as eh slack came on till eh cable, he popped eh split pin oot o' eh shackle 'at held eh sling roond eh enchine. Fit happened next wiz chist brilliant. There wiz a kinda crackin' soond, an' eh enchine disappeared. Straight through eh bottom o' Excaliber hid went. A great gush o' oiyley black waater filled eh boat, an' she disappeared too, leavin' chist two things floatin' on eh waater - Dan an' his cep! For a few seconds there wiz silence. Ye could hear nothin' bit eh scorries over at eh end o' eh pier. Then hid broke. Nobody could had hid in. Ye could hae heard eh laughter ower at eh coastgerd station. Chiels were weepin' an' haudin' each ither up. Hid wiz a good few meenids afore somebody minded Dan Buoy, an' gied him a hand till get up eh ledder 'at ran doon eh side o' eh dock. "Man, Dan, 'at's eh thing aboot a proper marinized enchine - saalt waater disnae herm her. Kin ye stert her up now, Dan, so's we kin hear fit she soonds lek?" Thiss wiz delivered by Peter Flett who wiz hingin' on till eh side o' eh crane. Dan Buoy stormed off, eh waater scooshin' oot o' eh tops o' his wellies wi' every step 'at he took. [sniff] Aye, Id wiz a while afore Dan Buoy wiz quite so buoyant ageyn.

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APA Style:

Dan Buoy. 2026. In The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. Retrieved 12 August 2026, from http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=824.

MLA Style:

"Dan Buoy." The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2026. Web. 12 August 2026. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=824.

Chicago Style

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech, s.v., "Dan Buoy," accessed 12 August 2026, http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=824.

If your style guide prefers a single bibliography entry for this resource, we recommend:

The Scottish Corpus of Texts & Speech. 2026. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk.

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Information about Document 824

Dan Buoy

Audio

Audio audience

Adults (18+)
General public
For gender Mixed
Audience size 1

Audio awareness & spontaneity

Speaker awareness Aware
Degree of spontaneity Partially scripted
Special circumstances surrounding speech Some spontaneous talking, some reading from printed copy of short story

Audio footage information

Year of recording 2005
Recording person id 606
Size (min) 6
Size (mb) 23

Audio setting

Education
Recording venue School staff room
Geographic location of speech Laurencekirk

Audio relationship between recorder/interviewer and speakers

Not previously acquainted
Speakers knew each other N/A

Audio transcription information

Transcriber id 718
Year of transcription 2005
Year material recorded 2005
Word count 1252

Audio type

Prose reading
General description Reading of short story from typed text

Author

Author details

Author id 846
Forenames Dave
Surname Howson
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1950
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Catholicism
Occupation Schoolteacher
Place of birth Wick
Region of birth Caithness
Birthplace CSD dialect area Cai
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Montrose
Region of residence E Angus
Residence CSD dialect area Ags
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Policeman
Father's place of birth Greenock
Father's region of birth Renfrew
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Renfr
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Nurse
Mother's place of birth Canisbay
Mother's region of birth Caithness
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Cai
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Daily life
Scots No Yes No Yes Work

Participant

Participant details

Participant id 846
Gender Male
Decade of birth 1950
Educational attainment University
Age left school 17
Upbringing/religious beliefs Catholicism
Occupation Schoolteacher
Place of birth Wick
Region of birth Caithness
Birthplace CSD dialect area Cai
Country of birth Scotland
Place of residence Montrose
Region of residence E Angus
Residence CSD dialect area Ags
Country of residence Scotland
Father's occupation Policeman
Father's place of birth Greenock
Father's region of birth Renfrew
Father's birthplace CSD dialect area Renfr
Father's country of birth Scotland
Mother's occupation Nurse
Mother's place of birth Canisbay
Mother's region of birth Caithness
Mother's birthplace CSD dialect area Cai
Mother's country of birth Scotland

Languages

Language Speak Read Write Understand Circumstances
English Yes Yes Yes Yes Daily life
Scots No Yes No Yes Work

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