Packers

The larger seine boats are often used as carriers or transport vessels and are then called packers. This happens especially when another vessel makes a set containing more fish than can be handled in her own hold as, for example, a set of 800 tons of herring, made in a recent season. Large seiners are, therefore, designed with the largest possible hold space and sufficient reserve buoyancy to ensure freeboard when the hold is filled to capacity.

In addition to seiners, the packer fleet consists of miscellaneous craft, mostly conversions. The most to concentrate on fewer but faster vessels, capable of recent have been conversions of war surplus craft such as 110 ft. (33.5 m.) sub-chasers, 138 ft. (42.1 m.) Y.M.S., 106 ft. (32.3 m.) A.P.C., 96 ft. (29.3 m.) A.Mc. and 107 ft. (32.6 in.) Canadian minesweepers. The policy has been to concentrate on fewer but faster vessels, capable of more trips per season.