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[daverolph]

We are about to start building Mount Fleets Boston Typhoon and we have noticed on some old photo's there is something lashed to the mast which looks a lot like a large float.

My dad was a fisherman who did some trawling but also drift netting, these floats look like something that was called a "Dan" which was fastened to each end of the drift net (with a long bamboo / similar shaft through the float and a flag on the end).

Does anyone know if that is what this is ?- It does look very much like a Dan but I can't work out what something like that would be used for on a trawler ?

Thanks for any help (Picture links would help but I can't find any decent ones)

[DickyD]

Would this be any help. ???

Richard

[daverolph]

Sorry not really.

I can't see one on there.

[meridian]

It's a bit difficult to comment without a picture but if it's cylindrical it could well be a radar reflector.

[MikeK]

Which bit of the mast was it lashed to ? bottom or topmast.

MikeK

[slewis]

This any use to you ?

[Tug]

Did not fishing boats whilst fishing haul a basket aloft?

or could you be thinking of a radar reflector?

Hmmm.

[DavieTait]

She would have carried a marker Dhan lashed to the mast stays , usually on the port side. They steamed to a piece of ground and dropped an anchor with the Dhan attached to fish around so they always knew roughly where they were. This was back before the Decca navigators were introduced when they still used towed distance/speed logs and navigated by sextant.



That is how it worked

Davie