of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xix 



It is interesting to note that there is a movement in the Clyde 

 districts towards higher powered engines, several 7 horse-power engines 

 having been replaced by 13 or 26 horse-power engines, and also that a 

 number of the Clyde boats and of the smaller boats in other districts 

 are being fitted with reversing gear, which should add considerably to 

 their mameuvring powers. 



Of the whole motor fleet only 80 have engines exceeding 50 horse- 

 power. 



Enquiries have been made regarding the cost of the various engines, 

 but it has been found that the prices vary considerably, and any tabu- 

 lation of the figures would prove unsatisfactory and might be mis- 

 leading. It may be said, however, that an engine developing about 

 7 horse-power can be obtained for between £65 and £90, while the 

 cost of a good 13-15 horse-power engine ranges from £105 to £150, 

 reversing gear being an extra in each case. 



Capstans. 



One of the great drawbacks to the adoption of motor power in the 

 larger boats has hitherto been the capstan difficulty. In the " Pioneer " 

 experiment {vide the Board's Report for 1909) a motor capstan was 

 originally installed, but it proved unsatisfactory, and a steam capstan 

 required to be substituted. The same power was adopted by the motor 

 drifters generally, and although there are now several makes of motor 

 capstans on the market the steam capstan has not yet been displaced. 



For 1913, however, an advance falls to be recorded, a boat of about 

 40 feet keel in the Findhorn district having been fitted with a Torbinia 

 motor capstan driven from the main engine — a Nat — and if the experi- 

 ment proves successful, the example will doubtless be widely followed. 

 From Eyemouth district also it is reported that some of the motor 

 yawls have been fitted with hauling gear, somewhat similar to the 

 *' Iron Man," which can be worked either by the motor or by hand. 



Advantages and Earnings of Motor Boats. 



Some of the advantages which motor boats possess over sail boats 

 are obvious. Greater mobility, ease of working, independence of 

 winds and tides, and less dependence on weather are important con- 

 siderations, and might of themselves, in certain circumstances, be 

 sufficient to justify the adoption of motor power. The principal 

 factor in the question is, however, the financial one, and unless the 

 adoption of motor power is followed by an increase in earning power 

 commensurate with the capital expenditure and the necessary outlay 

 for working and allowance for depreciation the expenditure would not, 

 in general, be justified. That such increased earning power does follow 

 seems, however, to be plain, not only from the reports received by the 

 Board but — what is perhaps more significant — from the increases in 

 districts where actual experience of other boats is available. 



In previous reports information has been given as to the earnings 

 of the large motor drifters, and of the Clyde fleet, and it is not proposed 

 to give details for such boats for the past year. It will be sufficient to 

 say that the motor drifters occupied a similar position relative to steam 

 and sailing drifters as in previous years, and that the Clyde motor 



