Commercial fishing trimaran?

Not a tri, but a cat form you might build of ply

 

Brian,

Joke appreciated!

and the posting of that catamaran design. I go fishing on a friend's Orkney Strikeliner, with a 50 HP outboard on the back, and we get through an awful lot of fuel. The price we have to pay for that certainly limits where we can go to fish ( although we are about to start doing a few longer trips, to check out the fishing grounds I propose to target with my sailing fishing boat ).

That catamaran design looks so much more efficient. Their website hasn't been updated for a couple of years though - maybe the company died.

However, I am personally keen on sail. I just really enjoy getting places by windpower, and I enjoy the quiet.

 

umm, maybe if we mixed romance and profit making together?

i suspect you need a whopping big engine in the mix, to get to market when the fish hold is chokkers, especially with a foul wind.. since every fishing community in the world has been eager to switch to motors, there may be a message there.

but you're right about rising fuel costs shaking up the equation. i expect a lot of commercial boats will be running on a mix of sail and solar cells quite soon.

 

Sorry to disagree but I kind of doubt this. Instead I think they will simply charge more to cover their higher fuel costs, and their customers will end up paying more for the fish they bring in. Just my opinion of course ...

 

I am still working on this idea - though I have another project to finish first which will occupy me for 2-3 months. Then I go looking for the boat.

A whopping big engine greatly increases the cost of a commercial fishing licence so I would like to avoid that. The licence fee is dependent on displacement of the boat and engine size, so a multihull with a small engine does best on this front. I guess this is a UK administrative issue that might not affect the US.

From my research so far, it seems restaurant owners are very keen to have line-caught fish on their menus. That it might come from a sailing boat seems to be a minor positive aspect. I had one restaurant owner so excited about the prospect, he assured me he could take all the fish I could catch, and offered to put up some money for my venture if this would help speed the project up. He may be a bit excitable ( though his restaurant is currently doing very well ), but generally, I get the idea that line-caught fish that have been handled well ( put on ice immediately ) and are fresh really do fetch a premium.

 

I have attached a page from John Marple's 1985 catalog showing a picture of the SIB workboat.

 

Thanjks for that - but too late for me. I bought a Woods Sagitta, and I am now half way through fixing it and converting it to a fishing boat. I hope to start fishing in April, with no engine except an outboard for the dinghy.

 

looking for commercial sail fishing boat

Hello
I'm a commercial fisherman, halibut longliner, in Alaska looking for a sialing commercial fishing boat in the 50-60 ft range with a 20-30 thousand lb packing capacity.

Have looked at a few of the 53 Skookums but they have been poorly designed for longlining and would require expensive modifications.

Does anyone know of any boats that might fit my needs? I may end up with a skookum despite my misgivings if I can find one at the right price.