28 buij:.etin 127, united states national museum. 



The most remarkable and important change made in designing 

 clipper schooners for the deep-sea fisheries occurred between 1880 

 and 1890. In 1884 D. J. Lawlor, well known as a prominent de- 

 signer of fishing schooners, pilot boats, and yachts, built the schooner 

 Roulette, which was made about 2 feet deeper than the ordinary 

 fishing vessel of her length. Her advent in the fishing fleet had 

 a marked influence, for it was soon seen that she was not only vastly 

 superior in heavy weather, but much swifter than other clipper 

 schooners under ordinary conditions. 



In 1885 Capt. J. W. Collins designed the schooner Gram'pus for 

 the United States Fish Commission and subsequently superintended 

 her construction. She was a radical departure from the ordinary 

 schooner in use at that time, having somewhat less beam and fully 

 2 feet more depth than the average fishing schooner of her length. 

 While her increased depth added to her safety, she proved so much 

 swifter than contemporaneous fishing vessels that enterprising 

 builders soon began to copy her. At the same time the skill 

 of Edward Burgess and of others second only to him in ability 

 was called into requisition, with the result that a complete revolu- 

 tion was made in the form and rig of the New England fishing 

 schooner. Suffice it to say that, after passing through many 

 changes, the clipper fishing schooner of New England is to-day 

 second to none in beauty, speed, equipment, safety, and ability to 

 make passages in all weathers. A study of the collections of build- 

 ers' models, rigged models, lines, and sail plans, showing the evo- 

 lution of the American fishing schooner, will enable one to gain a 

 better idea of this subject than can be conveyed in the limited 

 space available for its discussion. 



The schooners and sloops employed in the oyster fishery, the 

 sponge fishery, etc., deserve more than a passing mention, though 

 it is impossible to allude to them at length. The oyster " pungy " 

 of the Chesapeake was one of the first, if not the earliest, clipper 

 schooners emploj^ed in the fisheries of the United States, and it is a 

 remarkable fact that it has practically undergone no change in 

 form or rig for the past half century. While it varies in depth, 

 a variation often due to the locality in which it operates, it is always 

 wide, with a sharp floor, moderately easy lines fore and aft, strongly 

 raking stem and sternpost, and long, tapering, raking masts. It 

 turns quickly and is a good sailer, even in these days of swift ves- 

 sels. While it is susceptible to improvement, it is unquestionably 

 well adapted to its work and no doubt will remain substantially 

 what it is for many years to come. 



The " bugeye " is a noteworthy, distinctive type of vessel employed 

 in the oyster fishery of the Chesapeake, and at the present time there 

 is nothing like it in the fishing fleets of the United States. It is 



