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February 24, 2004

New Boat Marks Outport’s 200th Anniversary

According to local history, Nipper’s Harbour in Newfoundland, named for the habit of local mosquitos, was settle first in 1804 by an English fisherman named John Noble who was followed by another Englishman named Thomas Starkes 15 years later. Today the descendants of those two men are still fishing out of this little community. Their survival in the industry over a 200 year span will be celebrated in March 2004 when Mr. Melvin Starkes brings home the Black Eagle, a fine new fishing vessel.

The robust 65X22-foot boat is typical of the new boats building in Newfoundland today with its 12-inch thick FRP hull and rigging for both trawl and pot fisheries. With an eight-foot molded depth the vessel boasts a huge fish hold about 23x22x7-foot. It will hold about 690 boxes. These boxes each hold about 80 pounds of shrimp or 50 pounds of live crab in ice. Crab trips are three to four days with the crabs and ice being watered down with the deck hose every six to eight hours. Shrimp trips are up to five days with the first and last days used for travelling the 140 to 150 miles off shore. The trawl, with a 117-foot head rope and 148-foot bottom gear is fished at depths from 160 to 220 fathoms. The boat will also gillnet turbot and may fish scallops as well. Newfoundland is a rugged place and her waters call for equally rugged boats with reliability being paramount. Melvin Starkes had a Cummins in his previous boat and came to trust the reliability. To continue that, the Black Eagle is powered by a Cummins KTA19 640 HP @ 1800 RPM main engine turning a 68x55-inch propeller through a Twin Disc MG516 marine gear with a 6:1 ratio.

As has been the practice on a number of similar boats in recent years, the Black Eagle is equipped with a built in stabilizer tank which negates the need for outrigger-type stabilizers that can interfere with setting and retrieving fishing gear. The boat will trawl shrimp and fish pots for crab. With accommodations for up to 8 crew, her range will be extensive with 5000 gallons of fuel and 1000 gallons of water.

The boat was built at the CanMar Group’s All 4 One Fibre Products plant in LaScie Newfoundland ( www.canmar.ca ). Melvin Starkes and his wife Helen who has her Fishing Masters license as well, are scheduled to take delivery of their new boat on March 5, 2004.

For more information and photos:

Gerald Boone
All 4 One Fibre Products Ltd.
PO Box 299
LaScie, Newfoundland
Canada, V0K 3M0
Phone: 709 675 2076
Fax: 709 675 2130

Melvin Starks
P.O. Box 101
Nipper’s Harbour
Green Bay, Newfoundland, A0K 3T0
Phone: 709 255 4371

Harris Mosdell
Cummins Eastern Canada Inc.
122 Clyde AvenueMount Pearl, NFLD A1N 4S3
Canada
Work: 709 747 0176 x 5
Fax: 409 747 2283
E-Mail: harris.mosdell@cummins.com

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