Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
RAKIE STEP, n.comb. Also -stap. The angle of approx. 45o at which the mast of a fishing vessel is inclined while the vessel is riding at the nets. Jocularly applied to a tall silk top hat worn at this angle, a feature of the dress of Eyemouth fishermen in the middle of the 19th c.Bwk. 1906 D. McIver Eyemouth 189, 237:
The last [top] hat of this style seen in Eyemouth was worn by one James Crombie about fifty years ago and because it rested on his head at an angle (just like the mast of a boat when lowered as she rides at her nets) it was called “rakie stap”. . . . The vessel now “rides” by her nets; and, to make her lighter for'art, the mast is lowered to an angle approaching forty-five degrees, a position known locally as “rakie stap.”
