Commercial fishing trimaran?

How about a smaller version of this trimaran??

New Age Trawler/Motorsailer; Kite-assisted PowerYacht
http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20319

 

I don't have a breakdown for last year but the ratios are going to be about the same. While the oil companies take the hit for being profiteers, it's actually the government that causes the price to be as high as it is and actually "earns" more per gallon than the company who refines and distributes it. What's really ludicrous is now our representatives are talking about investigating the oil companies and instituting a windfall profit tax!

What ever happened to the old practice of tar and feathering these jerks?

 

Hi,

I have been away looking at boats, but I haven't found anything I consider suitable.

I like the notion of 'boutique' fishing. Charmc, that sums it up. That's what I am after. But the way that the fish stocks are heading, it seems a more appropriate method rather than the industrial fishing which results in so much damage to the bottom, damage to other wildlife, and such huge losses due to bycatch.

Anyway, I do know of a cat with a couple of 125 hp engines on it that take people out line fishing. The volunteers get to keep one just fish each, but they enjoy going out to the wrecks they wouldn't get to otherwise. They were doing OK, until the fuel prices started to hurt them.

Anyway, having looked at some boats now and tried imagining how fishing trips might work out on them, I have shifted my priorities further towards the 'boutique' notion. Maybe I shouldn't worry too much about load-carrying capacity - I really need light weather speed. I need to be able to cover the mile. If I get stuck with the problem of not being able to carry enough fish, it might be time then to consider something bigger.

 

Oh, I meant to ask if anyone has more info on the SIB's Richard mentioned. I've googled on that, and I haven't found much.

Thanks,

John

 

One brief experience I had commercial fishing in Shark Bay, Western Australia, A friend would tow his 28 ft "Powercat" with twin 100 hp diesel sterndrives, This wiley old fisherman knew where to go, Anchored us over a mob (lots) of red emperor which we bottom fished with 5 to 10 baited hooks, landed them on foam, tickeled their brain (stop them threshing in the ice/brine) caught half a ton in an hour, then 30 minutes back to port to catch the evening flight to the Japanese fish markets - sold at auction at 4am or sooner in Japan.... Hard work, but when you are hooking them up - no time to talk just wind them in and re bait then let the bait down on a heavy sinker..... Get your market sorted and go for high value and keep quality very high.... - another option would be to learn all the "GOOD" spots and take paying customers out to catch fish.... - better money & pay before you go....

 

NO FREE MEAL AT COMMERCIAL FISHING,,,ya gotta have a boat that can stay when its rough,,,that can stay when you cant find the fish the first or 3rd day,,it has to have range ,,to travel,,but most of all the crew has to have heart,,to put up with all conditions ,,please dont fool yourself ,,its not a romantic way of making a living,,its tough and tougher times ahead,and a dangerous field to be in,,no bones about it ,,no picking and choosing what and how much you will catch today ,,I will say this to you ,,if you have not expierianced commercial fishing,,,,dont be allured by romance,,,,(not gonna happen)I believe your question is (can I use a sailing tram),,the answer is yes ,,,,,,the bottom line ,,how much do I need to catch?? to pay crew ,,boat ,,gear ,,and insurance ,,incase a deckhand is injured,and dont forget,,fuel,,bait ice groceries,,and some other commodities,,toilet paper ,,drinking water ,,ect ,,ect,,,you will save on fuel,,,,,,but its the same game,, longliner,,,buy the way ,,what is your target spiecies??

 

longliner45: I said I wanted to do commercial fishing. You have described industrial fishing. I don't want to do industrial fishing. As you say, it is hard and dangerous.

The more I think on this project, the more keen I am to keep things simple, small and cheap. Then I don't need to catch many fish to make a living. And maybe I should stick to fishing one day at a time, so I only need shelter, not accommodation. And I won't need much ice, and hardly any fuel, cos I'll go when the wind is right. So no great expense either staying in port - mooring is less than £300 a year, and there'll be no crew to pay. No insurance either, cos I am all the crew.

My target species will be whatever is around at the time - bass, cod, ling, pollack, mackerel, herring.

It won't be industrial, but I think I will make enough money to keep my family going. So it is commercial. Well, that's my hope. I'll let you know if it works.

John

 

you are like an ostrich,,putting your head in the sand ,,industrial fishing,,,,,,,is commercial fishing ,,you choose to not hear the warning,,,,,,,good luck to you ,longliner

 

LOL,
I've spent a ton of time commercial fishing. Longliner is saying something you aren't hearing.

FWIW, industrial fishing, which is a term invented mostly by environmentalists with an agenda, refers mostly to modern big boat trawling. Commercial fishing is a more inclusive term that embraces all fishing for profit. Sportfishing means playfishing and charter fishing, where the day to day results don't really matter, while commercial in nature, is a tourism industry. Artisan fishing is a pc term invented to bring up romantic notions of a past that never existed. The term was borrowed from the new generation of craft beer brewers. That is closest to what you are describing with the term boutique fishing.

Longliner is giving you a modest glimpse of what the real world really entails. Fuel costs are a major expense but by no means the only one. The cost of everything, EVERYTHING, has to come out of the surplus funds derived from the sale of fish actually caught. Otherwise it's only playfishing or a tourist trade. Nobody is trying to put your ideas or yourself down but a horse can only be led to water. Sincerely, good luck with that.

 

I appreciate fuel is only one of the costs - I have laid out dozens of spreadsheets looking into the range possibilities.

Nut this is pretty clear, at least where I live. The trawlermen and all the big boats are really struggling with fuel costs - the French are blockading ports right now ( French farmers burnt sheep when they were protesting, but the fishermen were unable to get their produce to ignite ). The line fishermen are doing OK - their costs are lower - but they are still complaining about fuel costs. I reckon there's room for a sail boat here - that's what the real world looks like in Devon anyway.

 

the SIB was an eccentric design choice, in my opinion. It had unstayed masts, and I believe was a Constant Camber design. The reason I call it eccentric is that trimarans are even worse at carrying loads than catamarans, and thirdworld fisherfolk wouldn't have been able to carry as much weight in fish, given similar amounts spent on plywood and other costs to build.

As far as I know, it did not catch on with its target demographic, at all.

Ray

 

Those accusations of having my head in the sand, and only wanting to do a little play fishing have gotten to me. I hadn't wanted to get into the politics ( and ethics ) of the project here - I was looking for advice on suitable designs. However, I think it is appropriate to outline why I think this is a serious issue, not just some romantic pastime.

There's the environmental argument, on two fronts.

Fishing needs to be sustainable, or else there'll be no fish left. We'll be eating jellyfish, like the Chinese. I note jellyfish are taking over the Mediterranean due to so many of the predators of jellyfish (fish) having been caught there. Current fishing methods are not sustainable. That's why fish stocks are in decline. Being not sustainable means it can't go on like this. Something has to change. Some fishermen don't want to change their habits. Some customers are demanding that they do - http://www.pisces-rfr.org/UK/Home.html The government is also applying pressure to change - that's why the quota for cod for holders of commercial fishing licenses around here is down to 50kg/month. That's an insignificant quantity to a trawler - they still catch cod, but have to throw back ( dead ) all but 50 kg a month. That's a tragic waste. If I catch 50 kg of cod, and sell it direct to the public, I can get £500. That'll more than cover my month's costs. And I won't be throwing any rare dead fish back in the water.

Fishing needs to become less dependent on fossil fuel - fuel is either running out, or the speculators are holding back supplies or whatever. I think you Americans should appreciate the price of fuel here, and in the rest of Europe. Diesel is £1.30/$2.54 a litre. That's $11.54 a gallon. Put that in your spreadsheet ( fishermen can claim back 17.5%, but you don't hear them crowing over that ). If that nice Mr Bush drops a bomb on Iran ( or Al Qaeda succeeds in blowing up a key gulf oil supply route ), you may start to consider that the wind may be a more reliable power supply than the fuel pumps - that's just speculation, but I want to demonstrate that my head is looking around, not buried in sand.

At the risk of sounding smug, I also have to tell you also why I am in a position to be able to afford to become a fair-weather fisherman. I have already reduced my dependence on fossil fuel, and I have reduced my fixed living costs as far as I could without becoming a self-sufficient recluse. I have insulated my house, so that my heating bills were more than halved, and then fitted an efficient condensing boiler. Coming soon is a wood stove - and I can collect wood from the river bank for free, because when the wind is too strong to allow fishing, I can cut the trees that have fallen down the steep hillsides into the river, chop them into logs and sail up the river with a ton or more at a time. The water bill used to be £1000 a year ( the highest in the country round here ) - I fitted a rainwater harvesting system that has reduced that bill to £250. I could go on in this vein, but it would sound vain.

The world is changing. If you want to keep ploughing on, staying out in all weathers, burning more and more fuel in search of fewer and fewer fish, then I have to tell you that it's you with your head in the sand. It's you play fishing - playing on as if the fuel and the fish will last forever.

 

mr pir,,I speak from expirance,,,some of the spicies I targeted were of no value untill we marketed them ,,yellowfin grouper,,,,,,cusk ,,and so on,yes we overfish ,,yes I PAID THE PRICE,,now guys are catching sharks to make ends meet,maybe ,if commercial boats were only allowed to us sail ,,,and no bottom machines ,,(kromascopes)and such,,limits on fish result in kills of fish ,,that are wasted ,like you say ,,once a fish is brought to the surface ,,it has the bens and will die,some of your pionts are ok ,,but I still think you are just a little nieave about the trade ,,no offence meant ,,longliner

 

Great idea John!

I'd like to offer you our services to design a sailing/fishing vessel based on, to begin with, your requirements detailed in this thread .

We are naval architects based in the Philippines and familiar with the quantity of catch you are pertaining to. Many fisher folks here do the same scale of fishing for self-sustenance and to sell to neighbors in their Barangay.

I'd like to explore your design concept in the hopes of maybe we can also be able to use it here in our 7000+ island nation. Fuel price increase here almost every weekend. This idea seems to be feasible more and more each week.

Good luck to you, Sir.
Ed Umali
euna at lqxinc dot com

 

Boating, Fishing, Siesta

Dear pir8ped,
Hopefully you will accept this little joke in the spirit of fun. It is not meant to throw ANY ice on your thoughts, as I do believe I know where you are coming from...simifying life and still making a little money doing something you enjoy. I wish you the best in that endeavor.

Meanwhile have a chuckle:

Boating, Fishing, Siesta

The American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village
when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were
several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the
quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish.

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each
evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and
busy life, señor."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spendmore time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles, and eventually New York where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But señor, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "Fifteen to 20 years."

"But what then, señor?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right
you would announce an IPO and sell your companies stock to the public and
become very rich. You would make millions."

"Millions, señor? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing
village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take
siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could
sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.