Late 1800s
In the early days, fishermen worked from shore or from an oar-powered seiner. They sometimes traveled far in search of their catch. Some hired tugboats to tow a group of their boats to the fishing grounds around the San Juan Islands or other choice locations.
1905
About 1905, fishermen began to power their seiners with gasoline engines. It was a change that came about out of a desire to stay abreast of, or ahead of, the competition. At first the engines were small only 5 to 71/2 h.p. The most popular engine was the Frisco Standard gas engine. These first engines were primitive and temperamental, and there was the dilemma that no one knew very much about them. With the engines on board, pilot houses were added and boats gradually became larger. Then the engines improved and enlarged to better power the bigger boats.
1910
Most boats featured engines in the 20 h.p. range.
1915
50 h.p. was the standard
Late 1920s
Several significant changes to the practice of purse seining were introduced:
> power roller on the turntable. This made it easier for the fishermen to pull a net filled with fish onto the deck.
> outside steering wheel moved from the bow deck to the bridge, on top of the pilot house. This gave the skipper the advantage of greater visibility.
> diesel engine replaced the gasoline engine as the standard power.
1950s
A major improvement in the 1950s was the power block -- a powered pulley used to haul the net out of the water. The power block is still in use today.
