230 SEA FISHERIES 



small beam means that the shrouds have little purchase ; 

 hence tall masts are impossible. To make up for the 

 shortness of the mast the fisherman is forced to hoist a 

 long pointed gaff, in order to catch the wind. The boat 

 then becomes a tartane. It is true that the Portuguese 

 have retained the antenne, or lateen gaff, although they 

 face the Atlantic; but this is probably a survival of 

 Mediterranean methods ; for navigation was first organised 

 in the Mediterranean, so that it is natural to find its 

 methods transported. 



II 



The consideration of steamboats will not delay us 

 long, as those used in fishing are of three types only : 

 trawlers, drifters, and line-fishers. 



Trawlers are strongly built iron vessels of 200 to 400 

 tons gross : they are propelled by engines of 400 to 

 600 h.p. The largest are 130 to 160 feet in length ; their 

 value varies from 5,600 to 10,000. The crew is 20 to 

 30 strong. The chief characteristics of the trawler are : 

 a low freeboard, to facilitate the boarding of the trawl ; 

 a flush deck, to allow for handling the trawl and dis- 

 charging the fish wholesale into the "parks" from the 

 pocket of the trawl (these "parks" are aft of the fore- 

 mast) ; a powerful winch forward of the pilot-house, and 

 sheaves for the trawl-rope on the deck ; a well-protected 

 screw propeller ; a spacious hold for the fish, fitted with 

 shelves ; and a hold for ice, or a refrigerating apparatus. 

 The Nordcaper of Arcachon, of 400 tons, and the Marie- 

 Marcelle of La Rochelle, launched at Chantenay from the 

 shipbuilding yard of A. Blasse, are 131 feet in length and 

 24 feet in beam. The Jupiter, of Havre, of 270 tons, 

 was built by Scott, at Bowling, near Glasgow. Boulogne 

 has acquired four splendid specimens of trawlers during 



