It is a pretty sight to watch a fishing fleet enter the harbour with its catch, taken far away on the waters beyond the horizon while landsmen slept. The sails, some white, some brown, some wondrously patched and bearing the visible marks of many a hard fight with the wind, belly out in graceful lines as the boats slip past the harbour entrance. No wonder that the painter has so often found subjects for his canvas and brushes among the toilers of the deep.
But underlying the romance and picturesqueness of the craft there is stern business. Those boats may be returning with full cargoes, such as will yield good profits to owner and crew; or, on the other hand, the hold may be empty, and many honest hearts be heavy at the thought of wasted days. A few years ago the Yarmouth herring fleet is said to have returned on one occasion with but a single fish to the credit of the whole fleet! This might have been a mere figure of speech; it stands, at any rate, for many thousands of pounds lost by the hardy fishermen.
When the boats have been made fast, the fish, if already disentangled from the nets, is usually sold at once by auction, the price depending largely on the individual size and freshness of the "catch." Now, with the increase in the number of boats and from other causes, the waters near home have been so well fished over that much longer journeys must be made to the "grounds" than were formerly necessary. Trawling, that is, dragging a large bag-net—its mouth kept open by a beam and weights—along the bottom of the sea for flatfish, has long been performed by powerful steam vessels, which may any day be seen leaving or entering Hull or Grimsby in large numbers. Surface fishing, wherein a long drift-net, weighted at its lower edge and buoyed at the upper edge to enable it to keep a perpendicular position, is used for herring and mackerel, and in this industry wind power alone is generally used by British fishermen.
The herring-boat sets sail for the grounds in the morning, and at sundown should be at the scene of action. Her nets, aggregating, perhaps, a mile in length, are then "shot," and the boat drifts along towing the line behind her. If fish appear, the nets are hauled in soon after daybreak by the aid of a capstan. The labour of bringing a mile of nets aboard is very severe—so severe, in fact, that the larger boats in many cases employ the help of a small steam-engine. During the return voyage the fish is freed from the meshes, and thrown into the hold ready for sale as soon as land is reached.
Fish, whether for salting or immediate consumption, should be fresh. No class of human food seems to deteriorate so quickly when life is extinct as the "denizens of the deep," so that it is of primary importance to fishermen that their homeward journey should be performed in the shortest possible time. If winds are contrary or absent there may be such delay as to need the liberal use of salt, and even that useful commodity will not stave off a fall in value.
It therefore often happens that a really fine catch arrives at its market in a condition which spells heavy loss to the catchers. A slow return also means missing a day's fishing, which may represent £200 to £300. For this reason the Dogger Bank fishing fleet is served by steam tenders, which carry off the catches as they are made, and thus obviate the necessity for a boat's return to port when its hold is full. Such a system will not, however, be profitable to boats owned by individuals, and working within a comparatively short distance of land.
Each boat must depend on its particular powers, the first to return getting rather better prices than those which come "with the crowd." So steam power is in some cases installed as an auxiliary to the sails, though it may entail the outlay of £2,000 as first cost, and a big bill for upkeep and management. "Small" men cannot afford this expense, and they would be doomed to watch their richer brethren slip into the market before them had not the explosion motor come to their aid. This just meets their case; it is not nearly so expensive to install as steam, occupies much less room, is easier to handle, and therefore saves the expense of trained attendants.
Fishermen are notoriously conservative. To them a change from methods sanctioned by many years of practice is abhorrent. What sufficed for their fathers, they say, should suffice for them. Their trade is so uncertain that a bad season would see no return for the cost of the motor, since, where no fish are caught, it makes little difference whether the journey to port be quick or slow.
However, the motor is bound to come. It has been applied to fishing boats with marked success. While the nets are out, the motor is stopped, and costs not a penny more till the time comes for hauling in. Then it is geared up with a capstan, and saves the crew much of their hardest work. When all is aboard, the capstan hands over the power to the screw, which, together with the sails, propels the vessel homewards at a smart pace. The skipper is certain of making land in good time for the market; and he will be ready for the out voyage next morning. Another point in favour of the motor is that, when storms blow up, the fleet will be able to run for shelter even if the wind be adverse; and we should hear less of the sacrifice of life which makes sad reading after every severe gale.
As to the machinery to be employed, Mr. F. Miller, of Oulton Broad, who first applied the gas-motor to a fishing smack—the Pioneer—considers that a 12 h.p. engine would suffice as an auxiliary for small craft of the class found in the northern parts of Great Britain. The Norfolk boats would require a 30 h.p.; and a full-powered boat—i.e. one that could depend on the motor entirely—should carry a three-cylinder engine of 80 h.p. In any case, the machinery must be enclosed and well protected; while the lubrication arrangements should be such as to be understood easily by unskilled persons, and absolutely reliable. Owing to the moisture in the atmosphere the ordinary high-tension coil ignition, such as is used on most motor-cars, would not prove efficient, and it is therefore replaced by a low-tension type which makes and breaks the primary circuit by means of a rocking arm working through the walls of the cylinder. Lastly, all parts which require occasional examination or adjustment must be easily accessible, so that they may receive proper attention at sea, and not send the vessel home a "lame duck" under sail.