Building the Boothbay Lobster Boat

       Probably the one most important tool in the lobster fisherman's tackle box is the lobster pots. Of course
the pots are of no use if one can't get them to where the lobsters are. So, the Lobster Boat and all the other
gear are important too. Modern day pots (or traps) are mostly made of plastic coated metal screening,but
many lobster fishermen still use the traditional wood pots. This model is made from thin strips of basswood.

The net—looks lke a spider web here—is tied like a fishing net. I used one-half of a very small key ring and tied eight double strands to make enough netting to cover the opening in the pot. The loose ends will be tied to the wood framework.

Here is the partially built framework of the Lobster Pot. The first opening is the "Kitchen", into which the lobster goes first. The second net stretches across the inner half, toward the right, and leads to the "Parlor", where the bait is located. The leather hinges the opening to retrieve the lobster.

The buoy is tied to the lobster pot with a length of line long enough to allow the pot to rest on the bottom while the buoy floats on the surface above. To set the pots they are loaded on the stern of the boat and then pushed off. Multiple pots are sometimes tied together so the one in the water pulls the next off the boat until all have been set.

Here the lobster pot is hoisted out of the water. The buoy line is picked up with a boat hook and taken over the snatch block then around the hydraulic powered capstan (or winch). This way the pot is brought from the sea bottom the the boat gunwale. Also, the engine exhaust pipe is shown.

The crane and its support are made with small brass tubing and the hooks are 1/16" brass wire. The crane strut is soldered in place and the parts are sanded and painted chrome-silver. The snatch block and capstan are metal alloy so I painted these too.