”Måsen”, the boat that today is located by the harbour, was acquired in 1935 by the Wikström family. The boat is 26ft long and was equipped with a Wickström – a 6-8 horsepower petroleum engine.
The boat is carvel-built, and was constructed in Jakobstad by boatbuilder Sundquist.
”Måsen” twice travelled all the way to Sweden. The first journey took place in 1935 to Umeå, via Byviken on Holmön. The second journey, in 1938, was for the summer party of the youth association of the Luleå parish, which took place in Holmsund.
The last launch of ”Måsen” took place in 1950.
Net fishing was practiced at Soklothällan, formerly known as the Torsö point, as early as the 16th century. Herring fishing was an important source of livelihood for the fishermen of Soklot up until the 1950s. In fact, herring fishing is practiced on the Soklothällan to this day. In 1951 the brothers Evert, Erik, and John Wikström built an open fishing boat 27 ft long. In the phtograph from 1951 said boat has been loaded with approximately 3000kg of herring, which has been caught using a fyke net.
To catch herring, nets are placed in a curved manner in the water. The nets are then lifted and fish shaken out. Since the nets were made of cotton until the 1950s, they were then put up to dry on special racks. Previously, the fishermen from Soklot rowed or sailed to Soklothällan, to then stay the night in either the ”Hovrätten” cabin or the oldest cabin. After 1910 motorboats became more common, and thus the cabins were no longer necessary. In the photograph is the Wikström family, residents of the isle, together with a guest. To the left is the boat belonging to pilot Herman Sämskar. The photograph is taken mid-1930.
In an oven by the harbour, buckling would be smoked. After being smoked, the buckling was packaged in wooden boxes with graseproof paper inbetween layers, and salt added. The buckling was sold on the markets of Jakobstad and Nykarleby until the mid 1940s. Amanda Wikström, wife of pilot Johannes Wikström, was in charge of the smoker oven. The boat on the right-hand side is the first motorboat Johannes Wikström owned. All that is left of it today is the fairlead and a cleat, both of which are in use on another boat today. The photograph is from 1935.
A vast portion of the kitchen duties were taken care of outdoors. In the image is Amanda, John, Johannes Wikström, and some guests. Soklothällan was a popular excursion destination. Notable people that have visited Soklothällan are i.a. poet Mikael Lybeck and his wife Louise, and composer Erik Bergman with his wife Sylvelin Långholm. The photograph is presumably captured in the summer of 1927.
Amanda Wikström set up a garden of flowers and useful plants in front of the family cottage. The stone wall around the garden is still intact. The gradens were caged to prevent sheep from eating the harvest. The photographs are from the mid-1920s.
