Loading the Boat

The last step before setting day is loading the boat with all the gear. The traps weigh over 200 lbs each, so a tractor is used to carry them to the boat. They are transported and stored on the boat in stacks. The tractor will take 3 or 4 at a time, but they'll be stack 9 high in the boat. We fish 18 traps so we will have two piles.

Below is all the gear aboard. When the boat is loaded each trap is tied to a rope, and that rope to a buoy. This way we can set the traps as rapidly as possibly setting day. Just unpile a trap, close the bottom, bait and set.

On the top of the red pile of traps above a rope with a hook can be seen. This goes to a pulley and then to a cargo winch mounted 15 feet above the deck. This allows the traps to be lifted and moved around the deck by hydraulics power rather than muscle power.

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