MR. A. H. PATTERSON ON A DECAYED TRAWL-FISHERY’. 29 
length of hull and more proportionate cut of canvas made 
her less “ jumpy ” in broken seas ; when trawling she towed 
better, and laid “ snugger ” to her gear. The sailing trawler 
of later years ran from 60 to 66 feet in length, and carried 
nominally 80 tons. In the early 8o’s there set in a craze for 
lengthening vessels ; the shipwrights had bus}' days in hauling 
up the smacks, in cutting them in halves, separating the two 
halves, and adding some twelve or more feet to their length ; 
some w r ere made into 80 feet craft. I am told that this 
additional room was not only useful for the greater accom- 
modation of ice and fish, but added to the vessel’s sea-going 
properties. 
In 1875 the trawl fishery had become so important that quite 
400 sail of vessels were engaged in trawling out of the port of 
Yarmouth and Gorleston ; many of these fine craft were 
worth £1000 each. The local fishery may be said to have 
reached its zenith in the 8o’s, vdren there were quite 400 
Yarmouth and Gorleston smacks, marked Y.H., with 
additional vessels from Ramsgate, London (marked L.O.), 
Lynn (marked L.N.), and Lowestoft (marked L.T.). 
“ Hewett’s,” which was in 1864 turned into a company, 
sailing under the now historic “ short-blue ” flag, with a muster 
of 60 vessels, speedily grew into a huge fleet of some 250 craft, 
with from 16 to 20 carriers (fast cutters) in attendance. 
Privately owned fleets mustered in some cases, as in Leleu’s, 
“ Coffee ” Smith’s, and others, from" 16 to 20 vessels. And 
w T hereas an old “ long-boomer ” was valued at from £700 to 
£800, the more modern product cost from £1400 to £1800 
per vessel when fully equipped ; so that it will be seen what 
an immense amount of capital w r as involved in the success or 
failure of this huge North Sea enterprise. 
When this great industry was in full swing our poorer 
inhabitants had a far better chance than now of earning 
a livelihood ; skilled artisans held up their heads, and unskilled 
labourers, when all else failed them, had more than a bare 
chance of tumbling into berths that at least kept them in- 
dependent of charity. Yarmouth and Gorleston hummed 
with machinery, and clamoured with industry ; the shipyards 
