136 BULLETIN 127, UXITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



At the date when the Proctor was built the pursuit of cod on the 

 coast of Labrador was quite an important branch of the Xew Eng- 

 land jfisheries. and it was not uncommon for vessels to be built with 

 jjarticular reference to engaging in that industry. Subsequently the 

 fishery was abandoned b}^ Americans. 



The Proctor is an excellent typical representative of the full- 

 bowed, square-sterned vessels built for the New England fisheries in 

 the decade ending in 1850. They were generally rigged with one 

 topmast and no jib boom, and carried four sails — mainsail, foresail, 

 jib, and main staysail. Those engaging in the winter coclfishery on 

 Georges Bank carried no topmast. ]Many of those following the 

 summer mackerel fishery had jib booms and occasionally one has a 

 fore-topmast, with corresponding sails. 

 Deposited by the Bureau of Fisheries. Cat. Xo. 76,248 U.S.N.M. 



Model of market-fishing schooner. 



The market fishing schooner Sylph was designed by D. J. Lawlor 

 and built at Chelsea, Mass., in 1865. At that date she represented 

 the highest attainment in the construction of swift schooners of 

 moderate dimensions for prosecuting the deep-sea market fishery. 



The schooner had a sharp bow; raking stem; \ rojecting cut- 

 water or long head; sharp floor; high, quick bilge; long, easy, hollow 

 run; elliptical, slightly overhanging stern; good sheer; cabin trunk 

 aft; forecastle companionway aft of foremast. Heavy drag, the 

 difference betw^een draft forward and aft being very marked. Masts 

 rake strongly. Carries single topmast and five sails — mainsail, fore- 

 sail, jib, main staysail, and main gaff-topsail. 



Dimensions of vessel. — Length over all, 61 feet; on water line, 

 :)5 feet 6 inches; beam, 17 feet; depth of hold. 5 feet 3 inches:" 

 mainmast, above deck, 54 feet; foremast, above deck, 52 feet; bow- 

 sprit. 27 feet; foreboom, 19 feet; foregaff, 18 feet: main boom, 47 

 feet; main gaff, 23 feet; topmast, 27 feet. Scale of model, one-half 

 inch equals 1 foot. 



Vessels of this type sat low in tlie water; they were heavily bal- 

 lasted with stone and iron, and, though having an extraordinary spread 

 of canvas, carried their sails well in strong winds. The deep skag 

 or heel was considered necessary to make them " hold on '' in wind- 

 ward sailing. 

 Deposited by the Bureau of Fisheries. Cat. Xo. 7G.241 U.S.X.M. 



Model of fishing schooner. 



The schooner EUsha Holmes was built at Essex, Mass., in 1840 

 to engage in the cod and mackerel fisheries. She is typically rep- 

 resentative of a class of vessels extensively used between 1845 and 

 I860, and was one of the so-called " sharpshooters " of that period. 

 During the transition from full bowed to sharper schooners, many 



