8 COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW Vol. 28, No. 8 



be made at one time. Lloyds Register of Shipping has prepared provisional rules that must 

 be met by fishing vessels of FRP between 20 and 100 feet. The requirements will be con- 

 sidered specially in each case for FRP fishing craft over 100 feet long. 



Numerous aluminum fishing vessels are used by salmon gill-net fishermen, as seine 

 skiffs on salmon purse seiners, and as purse boats in menhaden fishing. A 57 -foot salmon 

 purse seiner and a 64 -foot Australian spiny lobster boat have been built. In addition, possible 

 use of aluminum for fishing boat applications, other than the hull, such as deck houses on 

 steel vessels and fish hold linings and pen boards, were discussed. When compared with steel 

 and wood, aluminum is reported to have advantages of less maintenance, lighter weight, and it 

 requires no paint. The initial cost, however, of a 51 -foot trawler, was estimated to be about 

 15 to 20 percent higher than a wood hull. Throughout the discussions, participants were re- 

 minded constantly that wood still plays an important role in the construction of fishing ves- 

 sels of various sizes, and will continue to do so for many years to come. 



A revolutionary method of fitting ship hulls with developable or wraparound skins of con- 

 tinuous metal sheets caused considerable comment. The new method of hull construction 

 would save as much as 25 percent in labor costs for the average steel-hulled boat. Instead of 

 fitting curves to surfaces as currently practiced, the method proposes to fit surfaces to 

 curves. The group was informed, however, that this new system for developing hull surfaces, 

 so radically different from any used so far, would not be mastered immediately by naval ar- 

 chitects only familiar with traditional systems. 



DESIGN OF BOATS UNDER 20 GROSS TONS 



The group found it particularly revealing that high-speed fishing vessels of 30 to 40 feet 

 have become well established in the salmon gill-net fisheries of Oregon, Washington, British 

 Columbia, and Alaska. It is estimated that 1,000 gill-netters with the same general type of 

 hull form and speed (10-20 knots) are now in service. The form is characterized by fine for- 

 ward sections to minimize pounding and flat after sections for most efficient planing with a 

 comparatively heavy planing hull and limited (280) horsepower. With rising cost of labor and 

 improvement in boats, it seems likely that before miany years extra high-speed craft will be- 

 come increasingly important, and this tj^e of hull may find application in other parts of the 

 world. Comprehensive papers were also presented on fishing boats for developing countries 

 and improvement of dugout canoes and other indigenous small craft. 



DESIGN OF BOATS FROM 20 TO 100 GROSS TONS 



Interest in combination vessels of the U. S. Pacific Coast type is increasing throughout 

 the world. This type of vessel, ordinarily under 100 gross tons, is designed to purse seine 

 for salmon, trawl for groundfish and shrimp, long-line for halibut, troll for tuna and salmon, 

 and fish crab pots. Interest in this type of vessel on a worldwide basis has been heightened 

 by the recent interest in small stern trawlers throughout the world, as well as the realization 

 that capability to engage in several types of fisheries provides increased opportunities for 

 efficient year-round operation. When rigged for trawling, it has always been common practice 

 for these vessels to locate the gallows at each stern quarter of the vessel, exactly as modern 

 stern trawlers. The Pacific coast vessels, however, lift the cod end over the side for emp- 

 tying. In recent years, these vessels have been fitted with drums, and the entire net, with the 

 exception of the cod end, is wound on the drum. This system greatly simplifies the trawling 

 operation and drums have been installed on nearly all Pacific coast trawlers. Considerable 

 interest was also shown in the use of a standard Florida-type shrimp trawler for tuna purse- 

 seining and fish-trawling operations in New England. Fishing tactics play an important role 

 in the success of the operation. For example, through experience it was ascertained that 

 oftentimes while the vessel was scouting for tuna, it would encounter only schools of herring 

 or mackerel that could not be taken with the large -mesh tuna seine. To assure having the 

 correct net on board, an airplane is used for fish-scouting operations while the vessel re- 

 mains at dockside. The airplane scouts waters adjacent to Provincetown, Mass., during the 

 morning. If tuna are spotted the pilot radios the vessel and the tuna seine is loaded; if mack- 

 erel or herring are spotted the other seine is loaded. The pilot circles the schools until the 

 vessel arrives and sets the seine. 



