F/V Edith L. Boudreau

 

 

 

 

"Edith L. Boudreau"

Nikon D800
Nikkor 50.0mm 1.4 lens

 

Since the Toddler-Plague cough is settling down a bit, I've been donning an N95 mask and going outside recently to get some fresh air and also not to go out of my fucking mind..  The last time I was up at the State Fish Pier in Gloucester, Mike (not his real name) drove up, stepped out of his white Toyota Tacoma pickup and handed me a large B&W framed photo of a Gloucester fishing boat..  Turns out, it was the first boat Mike crewed on as a young man, F/V Edith L. Boudreau - a 95-foot, two masted, diesel-powered, wooden hulled fishing schooner. Edith was owned an operated by Mike's father-in-law. When Mike was aboard her in the 50's, they fished mainly for red-fish off Nova Scotia and New York.  Edith was made in Essex MA and was launched on September 22, 1930. Although she had masts, she was only ever powered by a big six-cylinder Cooper-Bessemer diesel engine in the stern of the boat. Never a speed boat, Edith could make about 5 or 6 knots when steaming to the fishing grounds.  Her wooden hull was kept water tight with a caulking material called oakum that came in long ropes and which was pounded into seams and joints with a hammer and a chisel-like tool. Edith had a configurable bowsprit. She could have a stubby one as shown in the picture, or she could carry a longer one with a harpooneer platform at the end of it. Back in the day, harpooning was the primary way of landing swordfish. Edith's masts served as swordfish locating perches when she was out on a swordfish run.. The only bit of sail she carried was something that Mike called a "riding sail." The riding sail kept Edith pointed into the wind at night when they were laying-to and drifting with the engine off. Edith's fish holds could carry around 130,000 pounds of fish.. In the picture above Edith was still sporting her gray paint job from WWII. During the war, she was temporarily appropriated by the Navy, painted grey and given a US Navy number. She became a member of what was affectionately known as "The Splinter Fleet" of USN sub-chasers. She mostly patrolled in the waters off NYC.   When the original owners finally sold Edith, she didn't last long, sadly. Soon after her sale, she was run aground on the rocks off Cape Cod..  ~