Over the years I’ve received many great letters about boat stuff. Just (June 2012) that many should be public, so am starting to post them now starting with these two:

George, the brother of Charlie Clifton, the guy who put together the wonderful Lots of Troller Photos & NW stories: site,, sent me the following. ” Thought I would take a moment to introduce myself. My name is also George (Griffing), I live in Kodiak and I am Charlie Clifton’s brother (author of troller pictorial site , sarasota). OK half brother, but we never knew the difference and never felt the need to clarify for anyone which can be fun or lead to confusion. I crewed for him on the trollers ,Victory and Idle Hour from 1975-1982 . Our much younger mugs can be found on his site. My exposure to the trolling occurred during last viable commercial existence of that fishery. We had great years in the 70’s but the hand writing on the wall was loud and clear. By 1980 it was over and we had diversified by that time into crab and black cod fishing and the only trolling we did was albacore tuna. I was in my late teens early twenties . To this day I consider myself extremely fortunate to have caught a glimpse of the people and especially the boats that surrounded the troll fishery. What these boats were designed to do and did was amazing. On more than one bar crossing I had the experience of watching the back deck vanish as we backed through a breaker on the bar . At that point you were totally dependent on the Vessel to do its,” shudder and shed water thing” and if you had the good fortune and skills to keep the boat square to the wave (and the wheel house remained on its footings), you made it home.”

And here’s a story about the boat that George sent me. Once when returning to Winchester Bay from a beautiful calm day of crabbing the Idle Hour was ran down by a 65′ shrimper traveling on a similar but overtaking course. As the shrimp boat captain later testified, before and at the moment of the collision he was, “…out on the back deck talking to the boys.” Catches the Idle Hour on her stern corner , from the wheel house, the only blind spot on the boat. Spins the boat 180 as it pile drives it over on its side. On impact the crew beats feet onto the deck to see what the hell is happening as the boat is steadily being driven onto its side. (I don’t remember window blowing out) Skipper Charlie gives up the wheel and scrambles out the side door onto to the side of the house. He and all but one crew member either fell off or figured she was going over and jumped. The remaining crew member climbed like a monkey to the high side and clings to the bulwarks as the boat is scraping its keel down the side of the dragger. The crew on deck of the shrimper reported the keel, wheel and rudder were completely exposed, dry.

Make a long story short…… boat rights itself and starts going in a circle because the iron mike got wet and went hard over. The only guy left on the boat had no clue how to operate the boat because he was a beginner deck hand. After shouting instructions to him they get the boat stopped . With the help of the shrimper they gather the crew up, who were freezing, clinging to spongex bouys in the water. They get Charlie and a crewman back on the Idle hour. With two crushed planks above the water line off they go to Coos Bay to haul out. Plank repair, all new electronics and a wheel house remodel…… two or three months later she’s back at work. As I am sure you know, there aren’t many designs that deliver performance like that… no matter how many millions you may lay out.
It was a good day to be a crab……most of them poured out of the tank and went home for the evening.

That boat was sold and went to Yakutat Alaska, we have been trying to track it down. We think it has been resold and renamed. Possibly the , “General (Israel) Putnam”? Our sources are weak so if you ever happen to come across it we would greatly appreciate an e-mail. You can find a picture on Charlie’s site.

Diesel Ducks I decided to make a section specifically devoted to my DIESEL DUCK designs. So, this section has all the poop about that rapidly growing family. The DUCKS have worked out great and several have cruised all over the planet. If you like my power designs I think you’ll find this interesting! Of course, I’m not impartial….

Lots of Troller Photos & NW stories: Evan Frazier sent me this site. It saves me a lot of posting! I enjoy it because I know many of these boats. OTTER in particular has lived in Florence, Oregon, since I first saw her in the early 1960s. I was in Florence in March, 2012 and she is still there, still looking just as good as she does in the photos on this site!

Historic Fishboat Photos: This is a tremendous collection of photos showing historic and some contemporary pictures of people, boats, and some general NW stuff. It was compiled by Jon Norgaard, who, to quote from the site has worked tirelessly to put together this site to help preserve the legacy of fishermen young and old along with their boats and history. he’s done a tremendous job of it! The page opens with sort of a “collage” of types and subjects ranging from Alaska gillnetters to Trollers. There’s even a collection titled “Net Full of Extras” showing people, NW scenes, and even a shot of Bobby Kennedy standing on the hood of a cool Lincoln convertible. Click on the category you want to see and up pop thumbnails you can enlarge. I wonder if even Jon knows how many hundreds, maybe thousands, of photos there are here. Makes me wonder how many other incredible little known sites are out there…..

Washington Trollers Association: Is sort of an organization of trollers and people interested in the life and business. There’s classified ads, recipes, and general news. If you like these boats you’ll enjoy seeing there WTA site.

Don Kotts Watercolor Artist: Don is a fine painter of old time NW scenes. His web site is hard to read because everything is to damned SMALL, but you’ll be able to get an idea of what he does and contact him if you’re interested in prints or a commission. Below are a couple of Don’s paintings.

John’s Nautical Links List, The MOTHER of All Maritime Links! As the name suggests, this site lists about every boat related site in the universe. You can get dizzy going through it!

Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society: The name pretty much describes what this very interesting site is about.

Ducktalk is sort of a chat site open to anybody interested in these kind of boats. Anybody can join and participate! All you need is to just like DUCKS!

A Troller catches fish by trolling lines, and the above drawing, taken from a public information display at an Oregon dock, shows a traditional troller with all lines out. Boats like this were frequently run by one person. I personally don’t have a clue how you work the damned things but I AM going to learn. Below are a pictures (2011) of a very serious little troller, in Westport, Washington. Look at the poles and wires! It would be a real kick to go out once and film how the guy does it all!

I’ve watched this boat for years. She always looks taken care of. Hopefully one day I’ll see the owner and offer my services as The “Master Baiter”, what they called me when I worked a charter boat many years ago. It would be a real “kick” to see how to work her.

This photo shows the three typical stern types. They all share the characteristic of leaving the water gently rather then ending at a hard submerged transom. A boat with a submerged transom sucks the ocean behind it so required more power to move. You can easily see this in a small row boat. Sit near the stern and row. Move just past the middle which will lift the transom out of the water and row. The position where you move with less labor and go faster at the same time will be obvious! Ron Sloan , of the F/V ALEUTIAN, based in Winchester Bay, sent me info on CHINA DOLL (on the left). Her owner “China Doll Bill,” had her built of solid Teak in the orient. I’d guess Taiwan? I wonder how he got around the Jones Act, which requires US commercial boats to be built in the US

FRANCIS has always been one of my favorites. She was sold in the early 2000s to a young guy who is keeping her up well and keeping her working.

House aft trollers aren’t common. SHARON (above) is an exceptionally well kept up ship. I don’t know how old she is but I know one of this type, still fishing, that is over 100 years old. It was originally built as a sailing schooner with a gasoline engine, then eventually done over into something similar to this boat.

The “Monterey Clippers” used to be almost as common a s Chevys in 1960s California. Originally sail, they were developed by Italian and “Portuguese” immigrants (they can fight about who exactly) to the San Francisco area. I remember fleets of them, and today you can usually see at least one in most west coast harbors. Here’s three of them. The one on the top left has a beautiful bow. Sadly, she’s being neglected.

Marlene & Benno approaching Cape Horn (photo from The Troller Yacht Book)

Moby Duck Blog: (4/2016) Jeff Appel’s highly informative blog about his experiences building and now using his “green” 462 Diesel Duck. This his his 9th large boat and it is rigged in all sorts of interesting ways. Jeff and the boat at this writing are in the Philippines, destination to be decided one of these days.

MV Moken Blog 7/6/16 reposted. For some reason this “link” disappeared. Odd. But who knows how this stuff works…. Anyway, this is an informative and entertaining blog by a Canadian couple aboard a 462 DUCK currently based in the Philippines.

Cruising with Benno & Marlene aboard their 41′ DIESEL DUCK: (8/10) These folks built an aluminum 41 DUCK in Canada and headed south. So far they’ve explored the Caribbean and circumnavigated South America. Aside from being entertaining, their writings are full of good tips.

Dave & Dorothy Nagle cruised their 462 DUCK from China across the North pacific to Alaska, then down to Seattle. At this writing they are running back and forth between California and Alaska.

Voyage of the 462 DUCK Doramac: Ruth Johnson’s blog about cruising from China in a Seahorse 462 DUCK. At this writing they are 4 years into the trip and are somewhere in southern Europe.

Voyage of the Vicki Lynn: Track the trip of the wood 48 DUCK (see building series at http:dieselduck.com) as Vicki & Harry finally are able to head south.

MV Alpenglow: is Marcia and Kurt’s journey’s while transitioning to full-time living aboard their 50′ sedan version of a 462 Diesel Duck. This boat pushes the limits a bit of being a “troller” but the hull is so they’re welcome into our little club!

Voyage of the Peking (Duck): Jerie & John are cruising a 462 Seahorse DUCK. Some strange photos of them apparently enjoying a mud bath, in Catagena, Columbia. Apparently that town has changed since Tristan Jones wrote about it….

John & Eva Bird’s cruise aboard their 44 “Traditional” Duck. They bought the boat in Europe from a guy who had cruised it there via the Red Sea, and at this writing are in the “Med.”

Kathleen & John Douglas took delivery of a Seahorse 462 Sedan. This is the blog of their trip from the shipyard in Zuhai, to their home in Hawaii.

Gary & Vicki Luccio purchased the 41-Plus PEPI and had her shipped to Ensenada, Mexico. This is a blog about their cruising her home to the Seattle area.

Presented by George Buehler Yacht Design

This section of the website is loosely based on the 2011 edition of The Troller Yacht Book, and if you click this link, The Troller Yacht Book, 2nd Edition, you can read sample chapters and even order a hard cover or PDF copy! Also, the book is available on Kindle and most of the other electronic media stuff out there, so if you like to order through Amazon, I-tunes, B&N, and the like now you can.

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