Lobsterboats

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Marin

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Vacation (from the PNW) shots of lobsterboats.
 

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Great post. Thanks. Beautiful. Love lobster boats.:smitten:
 
Love lobster boats. For the most part, they are prime examples of pleasing form derived from/following function. And they can make great yachts as well.

On the other hand:

Hate lobster pot buoys every few feet in my course line around here (I do not exaggerate).

Hate Lobster boats moored right next to me (bait smell and seagull's galore).

Appreciate and recognize that lobstermen (er, lobsterpersons?) have the right to earn a living and that I am a "yachtie" dilettante traversing seasonally through and around their year round place of work (see bait and seagulls comment above).

Wish that they would at least keep their pots out of the major navigational channels/course lines.

Finally: Marin is that you posting those pictures? Looks like the ones he has posted in the past of PEI.

Perhaps we should start a "Marin Sighting" sticky thread for suspected incognito postings by Marin.
 
We were in the Gaspe penninsula in Quebec last fall and seen these. There are a lot of great boats on the east coast.
 

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Man...not only the lobster boats, but take a look at the setting (backgrounnd) for them. I hang any one of those up in my boat room next to Marin's GB36 Sport Fisher.
 
Wow three of those pictures were from my home ports murray harbour and beach point PEI Canada.i know all the boats in 3 of your pictures
 
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Man...not only the lobster boats, but take a look at the setting (backgrounnd) for them. I hang any one of those up in my boat room next to Marin's GB36 Sport Fisher.

Absolutely! Great composition.

This print of Rockport Harbor hangs in my guest stateroom.

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JF one of the great 2nd posts!! Thanks for starting this thread. Now when I get to Maine I get to post unlimited pics of Lobster boats and lobster yachts:dance:

I've always considered Maine lobster to be the way a boat should look, hands down!
 
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An English Lobster Cat. No PhotoShop either.
 

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I've often said there is no such thing as an ugly boat. You have just proven me wrong.:eek::nonono:

Maybe so, but when the pots aren't producing, the crew plays ping-pong and horse shoes on the bow. Still, there is a romantic, fulfilling grace with even the most unkempt of Lobster Boats that the cat just doesn't have.
 
I'm partial to lobster boats myself.
 

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An English Lobster Cat. No PhotoShop either.
I`m sure it sits nicely on the mud when the tide goes out. But you`d see more of it then...I think I agree with Walt.
 
Because they have pointy bows don't be fooled into thinking they are easily driven. Quite a number of modern lobster boats have 3 - 400hp and leave very big wakes.

I love the look of a LB and my dad had one custom build in Maine using Airex foam sandwich construction. It was built heavy as Dad liked heavy and the word "skookum". She is 36' and powered by a DD 6-71 and made 9 knots. The last owner who just recently sold her put a LOT of work into her. Removed the FB and did a lot of other cabin work. New stove, stabilizers ect ect. That winch is a Kinematics and I'll bet that Forfjord anchor is 100lbs ... or more. Here she is as of last summer.
 

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Because they have pointy bows don't be fooled into thinking they are easily driven. Quite a number of modern lobster boats have 3 - 400hp and leave very big wakes.

I love the look of a LB and my dad had one custom build in Maine using Airex foam sandwich construction. It was built heavy as Dad liked heavy and the word "skookum". She is 36' and powered by a DD 6-71 and made 9 knots. The last owner who just recently sold her put a LOT of work into her. Removed the FB and did a lot of other cabin work. New stove, stabilizers ect ect. That winch is a Kinematics and I'll bet that Forfjord anchor is 100lbs ... or more. Here she is as of last summer.

Eric, did your Dad add the spray rails. I'm sure they were needed. A true lobster hull is a wet riding boat.
 
That really is a gorgeous vessel, Eric.

Regarding the Lobster Cat above, I've heard it from considerable authority that with a home-port of Fleetwood (west coast England), it is not rigged for Lobster, and is likely set up for langoustine fishing. Still, it's one of the few commercial fishing cats I've seen a photo of outside of Oz. Of course, there could be some unscrupulous Photo-Shop trickster out there.

In penance, I offer you this stylish Channel Island, CA based cat preparing for Lobster season opening day with no less than 200 pots aboard. I still don't see the proper rigging, but at least today, it's a Lobster boat. :thumb:
 

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Grew up on and around lobster boats and really love them. And the lobsterboat races in Maine are a real treat. I think someone exceeded 70 mph recently to set the current record. Of course, these are highly modified boats, some used just for the races, but others pull the work engine then drop in a HO just for the races. Did anyone notice the wooden traps? I didn't think they were being used anymore.
 
more lobster boats

Prince Edward Island , Canada lobster boats
 

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out of the blue

this mainship rumrunner was designed after the down east lobster boats in maine
 

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Here's a link that should put you in a lobster boat during a race. Notice the dog on the engine box.
Great video, Don! I really enjoyed it. (3X)
 
It is great fun to watch the lobsterboat races. The spectator fleet (mostly lobsterboats) usually starts out the day with more alcohol than diesel fuel. By the end of the day the alcohol is mostly gone.

It is not so comfortable, however, to watch the races from an old, narrow, rolly, round bilged, wooden sedan power cruiser. Some of those racing boats throw a huge wake at speed.
 
Eric, did your Dad add the spray rails. I'm sure they were needed. A true lobster hull is a wet riding boat.

No I don't think so. I'nm guessing the builder suggested them and Dad said sure.
I don't think the lobster boat is inherently wet. They probably RUN wet as they are a faster type hull and hardly anybody runs them at hull speed. My Willard is very dry w no spray controls at all but we run one knot BELOW hull speed.
 
Possum was very wet until I put on the spray rails. She would throw water straight up and if the wind was the least bit on the beam, in came the water. The spray rails helped some.

Besides racing, commercial fishermen have docking contests. Go to YouTube and search for "docking contests". It's very exciting.
 
Every Downeast style boat I have run (maybe over a 100 now) are very wet...even with "spray deflectors".

It's just they way they run at their cruise speed...the deflected water leaves the hull at such an angle from just aft of the bow that any cross wind over 10 knots tends to blow it back aboard. At 15 knots crosswind...you would think you were a sub trying to surface.

Look at HopCar's avatar. That curling wave is what blows right back aboard.

Maybe not all of them are....but it's a rare one that isn't very wet (thus all the chine spray deflectors... a big aftermarket item for boats like Shamrocks and a lot of the Downeast kit boats).
 
My Willard is very dry w no spray controls at all but we run one knot BELOW hull speed.
I agree as just about any boat that runs below hull speed is a dry boat. Even with spray rails, my boat is wet. Boats like Flyright's and others, however, with considerably more flare to the bow are much drier. There have been some great "wet" boats throughout history, however. "Moppie" comes to mind. (Wet as can be.)
 

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Walt I think most of the spray is generated at or just below the chine. Look at the older boats like CCs of the 50s and Huckins. They had concave bottoms between the chines and the keel. Rising water was "thrown" more horizontal than w a convex bottom. These hull shapes produced a finer spray than convex or more vertical hulls like my Willy. At the other extreme you have a very slow hull w vertical sides and the "spray" from waves rises up much less disturbed and comes aboard as heavy slop .... the opposite of spray.

But there's little to stop or even slow down rising water near the bow of a lobsterboat. A very large spray rail may be best for them.

Even extreme flare like the Carolina types known for that won't make a dry boat. Straight flare like what you'd find on a plywood boat would be more likely to control spray.
Weight has a lot to do w spray too. Very light boats generate little and heavy boats throw water everywhere.
 
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The OP pictures are all Prince Edward Island style of lobster boats. The Cape Island style is significantly different (my favorite). Cape Islands have the raised shear/break are usually wider beam and are designed to fish in WINTER wx on the east coast of canada. Many of these are sent to New England. Certainly not as fast as the Maine built boats, but tough , no non- sense fish boats.
 
People can try to explain the "engineering of it all" even if it's not true...all you have to do is look at HopCar's avatar to see what happens in the typical downeast hull and spray. Doesn't matter if it's light as a feather or heavy as a dreadnaught. If it's that shape and speed and crosswnd...wet boat.

If you run a downeast hull either really slow or really fast..the spray's usually not an issue...but at it's typical cruis'n speed....add a little cross wind component and yep...you have a wet boat.
 

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