THE OTTER TRAWL 305 



all clear astern, the two boards are thrown overboard 

 together, and a short length of the bridle is allowed to 

 run out. The bridles are then checked for a moment 

 to give the boards time to open the trawl. When 

 this has happened, and the trawl is squared, the rest 

 of the bridles are run out, being checked at intervals, 

 until the towing warp is reached. The latter should 

 be held for a moment, either by the break of the winch, 

 if one is being used, or round a bollard. The warp 

 is then slowly paid out until the trawl reaches the 

 bottom. The amount of warp required is the same 

 as in the case of the beam trawl. The warp is made 

 fast by a stopper of thin rope, which will part if the 

 trawl comes fast. 



When hauling the vessel should be stopped, and the 

 two boards hauled up to the stern together. One of 

 them may then be carried round to the quarter and 

 the net hauled in by hand, the ground rope being 

 brought in first. If there is a heavy catch in the bag, 

 a rope may be passed round it, and the bag hauled 

 in with a tackle from mast or derrick. 



