The fisherman’s choice

Shipping

How do you build the perfect fishing boat? Masterfisherman Paul Mead went to Vava’u to have one made.

By Bob Gillet

PAUL Mead knows small boats.

Working as a masterfisherman for the South Pacific Commission (SPC) since 1974, he has carried out 19

lengthy fishing assignments in 10 Pacific

Island countries. During this period Paul made extensive use of about 40 small fishing boats and intermittently fished from another 40. In short, Paul is a fisherman’s fisherman who has fished from almost anything that floats in the Pacific Islands.

Recently Paul decided to build a fishing boat for his personal use. After

much planning

and eleven and- h a 1 f months of con struction, the Dora Malia was launched in

July 1989.

Paul’s boat is

basically what

is known as the

FAO TON-7, extended to 35ft (10.7 m). It was enlarged from the origin al design by adding 4ft (1.2 m) of length to the mid-section and increasing the freeboard by two planks. These mod ifications have effectively doubled the size of the craft; from a cubic number of 33 to 64.

As modified, the Dora Malia can carry up to 2 tonnes of fish in its two holds.

The two fuel tanks hold 540 litres of diesel which gives 600 nautical miles of range at a cruising speed of 5.4 knots.

Top speed with the 32 hp Yamaha ME -188 is 7.4 knots.

The boat was built at the Fisheries Di vision boatyard in Vava’u, Tonga. The cost was U 5533,300, not including the electronics.

Why did Paul settle on this design? In discussions he emphasised the import

ance of the right design for the prevail ing sea conditions, intended fishery, and distance offshore to be worked. What he selected for Tonga may not be the best boat in other areas. For example, if he were operating in the relatively near shore fishery of Western Samoa, his choice would certainly be the 28ft (8.5 m) Alia aluminium catamaran. Paul wanted a boat for bottom fishing and trolling capable of venturing 120 nautical miles

offshore in the frequently rough Tonga

conditions.

After Paul decided to get a boat of his own, he could have purchased a used boat from the region, obtained a

The right boat for the right fishery for the right distance offshore

stock design

from overseas, or built locally.

As he has not

been impress

ed with the available used commercial craft in the Pacific Islands (“most fall into

the floating junk category”, a new vessel was considered more appropriate. He decided against bringing in a new vessel from the United States, New Zealand, or Australia because he has long wanted a boat which incorporates his own ideas and innovations. Another consideration is that he has an extremely high regard for Tongan boatbuilder Aisea Tupou.

He then had to consider a building material. Because Paul was not ac quainted with steel and this type of con struction would not be possible in Vava’u, the material was eliminated from consideration. Although fibreglass was a possibility, Paul wished to use materials available locally, or at least regionally; he did not want to commute occasionally to the United States or New Zealand for materials. He therefore decided on wood. More specifically, he chose Fijian

dakua (Agathis vitiensis) for planking and rosarosa (Heritiera ornithocephala) for the frames.

The TON-7 was favoured over other available designs for a number of reasons. Paul liked the idea of a planked vessel relative to one of plywood for its strength. Furthermore, as the TON-7 is decked over, it is more seaworthy in ex tremely rough (survival) conditions than open (non-self bailing) craft. Finally, the characteristics of a boat are important for people who plan on spending a signi ficant portion of their lives thrashing around at sea; the TON model is well known for being a good sea boat and having a nice motion.

If the TON-7 had never been de signed, what would Paul have selected?

It is likely that the first runner up in the P. Mead Vessel Selection Contest would be a stretched version of the FIJ-5, the 28ft (8.5 m) craft built by the Fiji Fisher ies Division.

There were a number of changes made to the Dora Malia to make it easier to fish from and more convenient to operate. Probably the most significant modification concerns the fish holds.

“For quality fish, it is important to be able to work inside the fish holds.”

Accordingly, the hatches are large enough to pass bags of ice and the.holds deep enough to permit a generous-size human to work inside. This latter fea ture makes the hold high enough to be a very convenient height for sitting. As the opening of the one of the fish holds is inside the cabin, a nifty sliding door has been added to the cabin allowing easy passage of ice and fish.

Attention was given to reducing glare

for the helmsman. The forward cabin and its windows has been raked forward.

In addition, much of the forward in terior has been painted in dark black board paint, resulting in less strain on the eyes.

In the transom area where much of

the fishing action takes place, changes

have been made which make it a more

convenient work platform. A “poling rack” extends aft of the transom which, in addition to being a nice place to pull fish from and providing an easy way to board the boat, effectively increases the size of the work deck. Another nice fea ture in the stern area is that the bul warks at the transom are removable. The seats provided by the raised fish-holds are both more comfortable and safer than sitting on the rail. Irritating “toe stubbers” have been eliminated or smoothed.

Paul has attempted to ba lance the safety, fuel economy, and improved sea-motion aspects of having a sail with the realities of a fishing boat.

With an “it’s a fish boat first” philosophy, all shrouds and

other rigging “garbage” will be well removed from the fishing areas. In addi tion, the mast will be collapsible.

All the decks have been covered in fibreglass and non-skid paint has been applied. Unlike many small commercial fishing craft found in the Pacific Islands, the Dora Malia passes the “jumps on the deck” test; a well-nourished Tongan droping one metre produces a solid “thunk” with little flexing or other signs of weakness of the deck.

Fishing has become increasingly soph isticated since Paul’s early 1970 s Western Samoa Peace Corps days. Nowadays, it is generally recognised that electronic fishing aids are essential for many types of commercial fishing in the Pacific Is lands. Paul’s electronic quiver will in clude communication, navigation, fish finding, and safety equipment.

The Dora Malia has a Ray Jefferson 500 M VHF radio. It was purchased in the United States for $l4O and was selected because it is “basic and easy to

Dara Malia passes the jump-on-the-deck test

use”. There is a Si-Tex A-310 sat nav which was purchased for US$l3OO. It was chosen because of its cost, con tinuous clock, and ease of use. Paul chose a Genetron Monochrome M 7 video sounder at US$7OO because of favourable consumer reports, handy accessories, ease of use, and the built-in trouble shooting features. Future electro nic purchases planned include a radar (probably a Goldstar on the basis of re ports from visiting albacore fishermen),

an SSB radio, and the older type (VHF) Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).

The availability of spare parts and ser vicing were not major considerations in the selection of the electronic gear. Any brand purchased would have to be ship ped overseas for repair due to the elec tronic technician situation in Vava’u.

Much of Paul’s information on marine electronics came from buyer’s guides published by Skipper Marine Electronics, 3170 Commercial Ave., Northbrook, IL,

USA 60062;tel (312)-272-4700; or toll free in USA (800)-621- 2378.

The boat will be equipped with four Alvey Reef King Reels for trolling, ika-shibi, palu-ahi fishing. Trolling will

be done with two 14ft (4.3 m) trolling beams. Six poles rigged with pearl shell lures will also be carried.

Paul plans on using four of the mod ified F AO/Samoan handreels for bot tom fishing. Although some fishermen have expressed the opinion that “fisher man require electric or hydraulic reels to be effective in commercial bottom fishing”, Paul has a different view. He states that the Pacific Islands bottomfish resources “have been whacked hard

[ enough with only handreels” and there f fore believes power reels should not be encouraged. As far as effectiveness and catch rates are concerned, at least one Oklahoma fisherman would like to see a comparison between his techniques on his handreels and somebody else on power reels . . . but that is a different story. □