Mincarlo (trawler)
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2016}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009 (17).JPG |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name=Mincarlo |Ship country=United Kingdom|Ship flag=70px |Ship owner=*W H Podd Ltd.
|Ship operator= |Ship registry=Lowestoft |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Brooke Marine, Lowestoft |Ship original cost=£76,600 |Ship yard number= Yard 281 |Ship way number= |Ship laid down=1960 |Ship launched= 25 September 1961 |Ship completed= |Ship christened= |Ship acquired= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service=28 years |Ship out of service= |Ship identification=*{{IMO Number|5235686}}
|Ship fate= |Ship status=Museum ship: floating |Ship notes=Sold to the Lydia Eva Trust for £1 and then preserved. }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=Sidewinder trawler |Ship tonnage=166 grt, 56 net |Ship displacement= |Ship length= {{convert|108.75|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|22.7|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship draft= |Ship depth= Moulded: {{convert|11.25|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship sail plan= |Ship power= Engine No: 117 by AK Diesels Ltd: 5-cylinder, vertical, 4 stroke cycle, naturally aspirated, developing 500 shp continuously at 320 revs. Driving through an AK Diesel 2:1 ratio reverse reduction gearbox to give a propeller speed of approximately 160rpm. |Ship propulsion= |Ship speed={{convert|10|kn|km/h}} |Ship capacity= |Ship crew=11 |Ship notes=*Fresh water capacity: 7 tons
}} |
Mincarlo is the last surviving sidewinder fishing trawler of the Lowestoft fishing fleet.[https://web.archive.org/web/20051208012658/http://www.lydiaeva.org.uk/mincarlo.htm Mincarlo Website]. Retrieved 16 June 2009. She is also the last surviving fishing vessel built in Lowestoft, with an engine made in the town.
Construction
The Mincarlo was built in the Brooke Marine yards in the Suffolk town of Lowestoft.Ordnance Survey (2005). OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads. {{ISBN|0-319-23769-9}}. in 1961. She was one of three sister ships built for W.H. Podd Ltd. The other two ships were called Bryher and Rosevear, and along with Mincarlo were named by the Podd family after small islands which make up part of the Isles of Scilly of the Cornish coast. Each of the vessels cost £75,600.
Sidewinder trawling method
The Mincarlo was the type of trawler known as a sidewinder or side trawler. On sidewinders, the trawl nets are deployed over the side with the trawl warps passed through blocks suspended from two gallows. These gallows were forward and aft, on the starboard side of the Mincarlo. The fishing gear consisted of two otter trawls each of which was fitted with otter boards. Otter boards are positioned in such a way that the hydrodynamic forces acting on them when the net is towed along the seabed push the boards outwards to keep the mouth of the net open. The nets were attached to heavy duty ground ropes, {{convert|40|ft|m}} long, which held the nets on the seabed and ticked up any fish lying on or below the sand. Until the late sixties, sidewinders were the most common deep sea boat used in North Atlantic fisheries. They were used for a longer period than other types of trawler.FAO: Fishing Vessel type: [http://www.fao.org/fishery/vesseltype/20/en Side trawlers]
Working life
Mincarlo was part of the 50 to 60 strong fishing fleet based at the Suffolk seaport of Lowestoft. During her 13 years her catches put her in the top half dozen trawlers of the fleet. Her catches consisted of cod, haddock, plaice, skate and sole. She had been in the ownership W. H. Podd Ltd until she was purchased from them by Putford Enterprises in 1975. At this time Putford Enterprises[http://www.maritimelowestoft.co.uk/boston_putford.html The Boston Putford Story]. Retrieved 20 June 2009. owned and operated a large fishing fleet, with many vessels at Lowestoft and Grimsby. From the very early days of oil and gas exploration in the southern North Sea, Putford Enterprises along with its fishing craft, also operated many safety standby ships for the offshore oil and gas industry. In 1977 Mincarlo was converted and began a new career as a stand-by vessel in the flourishing southern North Sea gas fields. She was also renamed and was now called Putford Merlin. In 1989 after a career which had spanned 28 years, she was finally replaced by a built for purpose stand-by ship. She was laid-up, back where she began life, at the yard of Brooke's.
Restoration
After her working life had finished she was sold by Putford Enterprise to the Lydia Eva Trust Ltd who paid a nominal £1 to Putford. After a period of restoration and refurbishment the Mincarlo was opened to the public in 1998. The Mincarlo is on display at Lowestoft Heritage Quay and is sometimes moved to South Quay at Great Yarmouth. Admission is free.
Mincarlo is now owned by the Lydia Eva and Mincarlo Charitable Trust Ltd, a registered charity,{{EW charity|803654|Lydia Eva and Mincarlo Charitable Trust Ltd}} which also owns the preserved herring drifter Lydia Eva.
As of January 2015 the Mincarlo is currently undergoing repairs and restoration. The work is being undertaken free of charge by Lowestoft-based AKD Engineering as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations.
Gallery
File:The Bridge, Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009 (1).JPG|The Bridge aboard the Mincarlo
File:The Bridge, Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009.JPG|The Bridge aboard the Mincarlo
File:The Bridge, Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009 (15).JPG|The working deck with the bridge above
File:Ships GalleyTrawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009.JPG|The ship's Galley
File:Mess Deck, Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009 (1).JPG|Mess Deck
File:Crews Quarters, Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009 (2).jpg|The Crews Quarters
File:The Engine Room, Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009.JPG|The Engine Room
File:Trawler Mincarlo, Lowestoft, 13th June 2009 (16).JPG|The Bow
File:Mincarlo Trawler - AK Diesel Engine - geograph.org.uk - 2591471.jpg| Engine
See also
- Excelsior - last surviving Lowestoft fishing smack
References
{{commons category|LT 412 Mincarlo (ship, 1961)}}
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.lydiaeva.org.uk/ Lydia Eva and Mincarlo Charitable Trust]
{{National Historic Ships}}
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Category:Museum ships in the United Kingdom
Category:Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom
Category:Ships and vessels on the National Register of Historic Vessels