Pound Trap Skiff

Name/Title

Pound Trap Skiff

Entry/Object ID

2022.0056.001

Tags

Verify Paperwork, Update Storage Location, Review, Locate

Description

Boats of this type are used in the pound net industry. It is towed to the trap and one or several men use it to go inside the net that forms the pocket of the trap. Standing in this boat they pull the net up so that the fish are tightly contained. A dip net is then used to bail the fish from the net into the larger boat. A trap skiff is also used at the other times to maneuver around the trap and to make repairs. This particular boat was built in the 1950s for Captain Walter Biddlecomb of Fairport by George P. Butler of Reedville. It's somewhat wider and deeper than most 16 foot skiffs built during that period so that it could, if necessary, serve as a lifeboat for the fishing crew.