Scallop Boat Virtual Tour
Winch
The trawl winch is perhaps the second most important piece of gear found aboard a fishing vessel after the main engine, as without it, the fisherman's job is over. There are a number of other hydraulic winches aboard, but none compare in size or strength with the trawl winch. Scallops are "dredged" from the ocean's bottom. A pair of dredges, or steel frames with chain-mail bags attached to them, are dragged across the ocean floor, scooping up the scallops as they go. The winch is used to set out and haul back these massive dredges, and so they are subjected to enormous strains.