Introduction

efore and after the introduction of fibreglass boats into the inshore fishery, there were many varieties of motor fishing boats in the trade.

The introduction of engines into sailing craft was quickly followed by boats designed for the purpose, and this, in turn, developed as previously described. To these changes must be added the varieties of boats found in different locations, variations which reflected regional materials, fishing methods or prevailing environment. Some regions used spruce planking for their boats because of availability of the wood, lack of pine or conditions of wear. Some other variations on the Cape Islander design with significant followings were developed over the years.

Northumberland Strait Boat

he Northumberland Strait boat was variously described as a "wedge boat", "narrow plank boat", or "edge nailed boat". These craft were built around, and fished, the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Canso Strait to northern New Brunswick, and off the coasts of Prince Edward Island. They differed from the Atlantic and Fundy coast power boats in both hull design and construction.

This region is characterized by shallow waters and short, choppy but violent seas that freeze in the winter. Wooden vessels hereabouts only fished a summer season, and until about twenty-five years ago, few were fitted with any form of deckhouse or shelter. Atlantic and Fundy coast boats started to fit various forms of weather protection during the 1930s. The Northumberland Strait boats widely diverged from their cousins in their hull shape. They had a much sharper bow, with continuous long keels, and lacked the characteristic Cape Islander forward kick-up towards the bow. These seasonal boats were only hauled once a year and fished lines of lobster traps, so they were not required to turn as quickly as the single-buoy trap boats found elsewhere. The most noticeable difference, however, lay in the very radical and pronounced flare of the bow sections. This flare served to toss aside the choppy seas before they could drench people in the open cockpit. The flare also made a useful wide oval fore deck.

But it was in the method of construction that these craft differed radically from the Cape Island type boat. They were built of many very slender planks that were little more than double their thickness. The narrow planks were attached to each other with box nails driven through pre-drilled holes within the thickness of the planks. There was no caulking between each pair of planks, and the finished hull presented a fair, smooth, almost yacht-like appearance. A number of reasons have been postulated for this type of hull construction, but no single reason has been accepted as definitive. Whatever the reasons for the narrow planking, the method prevailed during the period of the wooden, powered fishing boat round the Northumberland shore.

Double-ended Northumberland Strait Boat

he Pinky was a motor-power boat that was a sub-group of the Northumberland Strait boat. It should not be confused with the earlier double-ended sailing schooner used for fishing or trading and common in an earlier period. The name was retained possibly because the new, powered fishing boat was also double ended. As noted, many early motor boats were double-ended, but in pockets along the strait, the style continued until the 1970s. Sharp sterns found favour because fishermen claimed they presented a finer hull than the transom-sterned boats in the choppy local waters. The last fishing village to use this type of boat was Northport, Nova Scotia, and they persisted there for a decade or more after they had been abandoned elsewhere. A compromise boat was occasionally found with a V-shaped transom that had benefits of both styles. Most of these limited types fell into disfavour as they were more expensive to build. In a marginal industry, capital costs are an important consideration.

The Traditional Cape Island Boat

n Lunenburg County and along Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore, a smaller fishing boat was found adequate. Hull size did not continue to increase here, as it did elsewhere. The many sheltered inlets and bays with their protected waters in these districts made larger boats unnecessary. The power fishing boats built and used here retained the traditional Cape Island boat shape longer, with classical open-motor-boat types prevailing. Even when shelters became popular, they were small, about mid-point in the cockpit, and they only partially protected the helmsmen. Forward of the shelter, the cockpit was left uncovered, as it was found best to tend mackerel and herring gill nets from a forward position. One peculiarity of these boats, which fished the coasts lying roughly from the Queen's-Lunenburg County line to Guysborough County, was that they were most frequently painted dark green, with the transom characteristically painted white with green border trim. The make-and-break engine remained popular into the 1960s and early 1970s along this coast.

Other Diverse Designs

wo final examples will serve to prove that Cape Island boat designs did not completely dominate the inshore motor boat fishery. In Lunenburg County, an individual style, the Ram boat, was built specifically for use on Ironbound Island but was popular and found customers elsewhere. The keel of this boat was made from a plank 10-15 cm thick that was about 45-50 cm wide at mid-length. This heavy structural member served to make a very strong boat and kept it upright without side supports. The keel was most useful when the boats were "rammed" up the skidways of the island at the end of their fishing day. The island did not have wharves until recently, and boats were hauled ashore each day for protection, as there were few safe anchorages. In other respects the boats resembled the typical Lunenburg County boats.

Along the eastern shore in Chezzetcook Inlet, builders continued to build clinker-planked hulls, the only known clinker-built power boats in the province. It is thought that the clinker tradition of the predominately French-speaking people here was harder to relinquish than elsewhere. This type of boat was last seen in Three Fathom Harbour in the early 1970s.

The Upper Works

abins, canopies and cuddies also differed from builder to builder and became almost trademarks for their designers. Some fishermen bought their boats unfinished above the cockpit and gunnel, and built their own deckhouse and cud, thereby saving money and giving their boat individuality. During the wooden-boat era, it was possible to recognise a vessel from the distinctive design of its upper works, even when the underwater characteristics were not always apparent.

Hull Designs

ooden hull shapes remained prevalent after the industry embraced fibreglass construction, because builders used good, well recognized hull designs to make the plug for the new synthetic creations. Often an actual wooden boat was used as a plug to build a new mould. Many years after the introduction of fibreglass, new boats so closely resembled their ancestors as to be virtually indistinguishable. Plank seams, puttied nails, knots, and small irregularities were faithfully replicated and duplicated many times - the benefits and curse of a mould.