Eastern-rig dragger Roann

Eastern-rig dragger Roann. Mystic Seaport.

Built: 1947, Newbert and Wallace, Thomaston, ME , Length: 60' , Beam: 16' 9" , Draft: 9'

, Roann fished New England waters for 50 years, one of the last surviving examples of the efficient, diesel-powered offshore fishing boats that replaced sailing schooners. Using the engine to reach the fishing grounds and drag a huge conical net called an "otter trawl" along the sea bed, the Roann's crew of three to five men could catch more flounder and cod than a dozen of the dorymen on the older ships with their hooks and line., Roannis a hard-working, seaworthy vessel that survived 50 years of work without major alterations. Her first owner, Roy Campbell of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, fished Roann from Martha's Vineyard, dragging local waters for flounder, cod, and haddock. Her second owner, the late Chet Westcott, fished Roann from Point Judith, Rhode Island, as did her last owner, Tom Williams, and his son., At only 60 feet long, Roann is small for fishing boats of her kind, the "eastern-rig dragger" more commonly in the open waters of eastern New England, with the wheelhouse at the stern and the working deck at the center. Traditional "western-rig draggers" fished in more protected western waters of Connecticut and Rhode Island, with their wheelhouses at the front. Most modern, steel-hulled trawlers fishing today are larger western-rigs, with stern ramps and net reels to haul-in the catch more safely and productively., In 1997, Roann became part of the watercraft collection at Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea. Following a three-year restoration conducted at the Henry B. DuPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport, the dragger was re-launched in May 2008. Shipyard staff and volunteers completed additional interior, mechanical, and deck work once the vessel was back in the water., [Caption:] , Roann at sea again off Cape Cod in the summer of 2014, when she served as an escort and support vessel for the Charles W. Morgan's 38th Voyage.