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Ship
Construction in Newfoundland:
A
report to Dr. W. S. W. Nowak
Introduction
In 1965 Canada
caught some 1.2 million tons of fish. This quantity of fish was landed
by about 40, 000 boats ranging in length from 25 to 160ft and
representing a total value of around $100 million. Most of these
vessels were small. The most important size range, as regards
investments in fishing vessels, is still from 20 to 60ft. Although
there has been a tremendous development during the last ten years toward
bigger and more sophisticated fishing vessels, those below 60ft are
still the most important producers of fish.¹
Newfoundland boat
builders in 1970 constructed 340 fishing vessels. The measurements were
between 45 and 64ft approximately. It seems therefore, Newfoundland
boat builders are following Canadian statistics closely. The main focus
of attention in this paper will be Newfoundland Vessel Construction,
Past, Present, and Future.
1Anonymous,
Conference on Fishing Vessel Construction Materials, (Montreal:
Canadian Fisheries Reports No. 12, October 3, 1968), p.7.
Early
Ship Building in Newfoundland
Trinity-Historian Prowse says, “In the parliamentary report of 1718 it
is stated that nearly all the Poole vessels engaged in the Newfoundland
trade were built in the Colony.”
The late W. A. Munn in
the Newfoundland Quarterly some years ago says: “In 1715 Carbonear and
Trinity took the lead in Shipbuilding.”
From this early date
down to the year 1896, a period of approximately 250 years; it is not
unreasonable to reckon that over 1000 vessels, in tonnage per vessel
from 10 to 200 tons, were built in the various dockyards at Trinity.
The last schooner to be built on the old dockyard at Slades was the
“Alberta” of 64 tons in 1889, and the last in the old historic dockyard
of Lester and Garland, then owned by the late R. S. Brenner, was the
“Betty” of 62 tons in 1896.
Prowse mentions 1804 as
a year of “great activity in shipbuilding, 30 vessels of 2300 tons have
been built this year on the island.” It is interesting to note that
approximately one fifth of that tonnage was built at Trinity in that
year. There were four brigs built here. The others were schooners of
much smaller tonnage, except one small brig the “Cabot” at New Harbour.
The four brigs (two masters and square rigged) built here in 1804 were;
the Benjamin”, 173 tons; the “John”, 154 tons; the “Stork”, 167 ½ tons;
the “Hope”, 132 ½ tons.
In 1852 the “Thomas
Ridley” was built in Rocke’s shipyard in Carbonear. After the “Thomas
Ridley” a brigantine of 115 tons was constructed in the yard.
There was a dockyard on
the premises now occupied by James Moore and son. The “Britannia” was
built by William Pittman and launched in 1867. There was another
shipyard when Saunders Howell and Company’s wharves now stand.
These shipyards are now
gone, and it is doubtful if any man in Carbonear could now point out the
exact location of any of those shipyards.
Elsewhere on the island
records of ships are scarce, but we do know that as early as 1804, 30
ships, averaging 73 tons, were built in Newfoundland. Between 1826 and
1839 ships averaged 26 per annum and the tonnage averaged 62 tons; and
in 1846 the ships were 31 and the tonnage 55 tons.
(a) Ships
The island in its early
history took an active part in the gradual evolution of boats, which
developed into the schooner.
The vessels prior to
1780 were not the models that came into being later and with which we in
our day have been familiar.
There was first what
was called the “Shallop”, a large boat of 30 to 40 foot keel with a 10
foot or more beams, and carried the “big” sail. It was decked at both
ends and open in the centre with moveable deck boards and ponds and
cuddies both fore and aft where fishermen could sleep. It resembled in
type, the Wexford herring cot of that day.
Prowse says, “it was from this
handy little craft that our fishermen got the idea of the boat now in
such general use all over the colony (schooner); it displaced the
big-sails towards the end of last century”.
History records that
the first fully decked vessels of later local build were about the size
of ordinary western boats, with 40 to 50 foot keel and 14 to 15 foot
beam. They used at first for the seal fishery. This was the beginning
of the schooner type and the schooner rig. They came into vogue around
1798.
The schooners all had
deep, heavy keels. Both the bottom planking and keel were made of birch
and witch-hazel. For the boat’s frame juniper was generally used. The
plank about 1 ½ inches thick was generally of pine.
(b) Shipbuilders
There
were expert shipbuilders in those days too. One outstanding builder of
later times was the late William Taite of Trinity East. He built the
last schooner to be built on Brenner’s dock, the old dock of the
Lester’s and Garlands, the “Betty” of 62 tons in 1896.
Among the
earlier shipbuilders, the most outstanding was Charles Newhook. Charles
Newhook was born at Trinity in 1817, the son of William and Mary Newhook.
William’s
father was master shipwright at Slades. When Charles was old enough he
worked with his father there for a time and at the age of 32 became
locally, and perhaps generally, known as the “Prince of Shipbuilders”.
He built many vessels here and on the mainland where he was called a
wonder worker in that art. The model of the brig “Trinity”, a sealing
ship of that day, and which was once in the museum at St. John’s came
from his hand. During a lull in the shipbuilding industry here he went
to Prince Edward Island to seek a job in the dockyards there. He,
however, after a period, came back to Trinity. He lived in St. John’s
and died there.
Those
shipbuilders, and there were many of them in the old days, built their
ships as the Devonshire builders, their ancestors, built ships, as
Prowse says, “Not for yachting over summer seas for encounters with the
ice and hard knocks of the Atlantic.”
(c) Contrast
In those days when
Trinity was in the forefront of the shipbuilding industry, what a busy
place it must have been. Visualize the scene of activity. When four
brigs aggregating over 600 tons were on the docks at the same time, what
a host of men were employed for all the requirements of their
construction, sawers in the saw pits with the old pit saw, (there were
no saw mills in the country until 1842), carpenters, choppers, caulkers
and blacksmiths, while hundreds of laborers went to and from the woods
for spruce, witch-hazel, birch, juniper, and pine for various parts.
What change time has
brought in these occupations! What a contrast to our present way of
life.2
2Anonymous, Early
Shipbuilding in Newfoundland, (St. John’s: Daily News, October 11,
1955), p.8.
Braque
A barque has three
masts-foremast, mainmast and mizzen mast, with square sails on the fore
and main, and two fore-and-aft sails on the mizzen mast.
Brig
A brig has two
masts-foremast and mainmast. The rig is the same as a ship (or barque),
viz, square rig on the fore and main; the fore-and-aft sail. The
mainmast is called a trysail or spanker.
Brigantine
A brigantine has two
masts with square rig on the foremast, the same as a brig. The large
sail on the mainmast is called the mainsail.
Barquentine
A barquentine has three
masts-square rig on the foremast, and fore-and-aft on the main and
mizzen masts.
Schooner
A topsail has
two masts-fore and mainmasts. She has no square fore sail, but when
running free she sets a square sail from the deck.
Fore-and Aft Schooner
A fore-and-aft schooner
is a vessel on the same lines, except that the square sails are not
carried, the foremast carrying a gaff topsail same as on the main.
Provincial Ship Bounties and Federal Subsidies
(a) Brief Look
The first such bounties
were paid in 1880. They consisted of $3 a ton with an additional $2 a
ton if they were going Bank fishing. In 1955 they increased to $90 a
ton for ships of 20 to 100 tons, and $70 for ships of 12 to 20 tons.
There was also an additional engine bounty of $100 per nominal
horsepower. Trading vessels received $20 a ton for small vessels, $30 a
ton for larger craft, plus an engine bounty of $10 per ton of hull and
$75 per nominal horsepower.
(b) Fishing Ships
(Bounties) Act, 1955
The provincial
Government gave a bounty to fishermen on newly constructed fishing boats
from 24 feet to 35 feet inclusive. The bounty is $8.00 per foot on
boats from 24 feet to 30 feet and $10.00 per foot on boats from 31 feet
to 35 feet. The provincial Government also paid a bounty of $160.00 per
registered gross ton on boats 10 tons under deck up to 150 gross tons
which are built under permit.
The Federal Government
paid a subsidy of 50% on boats of 35 feet to 58 feet overall length
built to approved plans and specifications. On boats over 58 feet up to
99.9 gross tons the Federal subsidy is 30%. On boats of wooden
construction over 100 gross tons, built to approved plans and
specifications, the subsidy is 40%.
For further information
I refer you to a copy of this act, which is provided on the following
page.
(c) Fishing Ships
(Bounties) Act, 1970
The bounty or grant
will be given to fishermen on newly constructed fishing boats from 20
feet to 35 feet inclusive. The bounty is $10.00 per foot on boats from
20 feet to 30 feet and $12.50 per foot on boats from 31 feet to 35
feet. The Provincial Government also pays bounty of $200.00 per
registered gross ton on boats ten tons under deck up to 150 gross tons
which are built permit.
The federal Government
pays a subsidy of 50% on boats of 45 feet to 58 feet overall length
built to approved plans and specifications. On boats over 58 feet up to
75 feet the Federal subsidy is 35%. On boats of wooden construction
over 100 gross tons, built to approved plans and specifications, the
subsidy is 40%.
To expand on the
information provided a copy of The Fishing Ships (Bounties) Act, 1970,
and a copy of The Fishing Ships (Bounties) Regulations, 1970 is attached
to the research paper.
Written by: Douglas Pike
Centre For Newfoundland Studies, October 1, 1984 |
