PULLING WITH POWER: Where winches are concerned, trawlermen have been riding the waves of technology for nearly a century

摘要

In 1919 or 1920, the date varies depending on your source, New Bedford's Capt. Daniel F. Mullins, had the 81-foot Mary built for him in Maine. Mullins and the Mary then started a series of "firsts." The Mary was the first New Bedford-area boat built specifically for towing an otter trawl. It was also the first boat powered with a crude-oil engine for the flounder fishery. Mullins hauled in the manila lines of his trawl on a winch that ran off shafting from the 60-hp main engine. But with just two winch heads, a far cry from later clutch-driven drum winches, the crew still had to coil the line down on deck.