Capt. Tim & The Crew of "Courtney Elizabeth"!

The "Courtney Elizabeth" was built in 1987 specifically for offshore lobstering. She was built in Bayou La Batre, Alabama (yes, the same city as seen in the movie Forest Gump). Captain Tim. ..The Lobster Guy, had the vessel constructed to his personal specifications based on his experience in the lobster industry. The "Courtney Elizabeth" sails the offshore waters of New England year round doing what she does best...lobstering. The "Courtney," As she is affectionately known, carries a crew of 4 to 5 lobstermen during the summer and fall seasons. Her trips usually last 3 to 4 days long (5 to 7 days if you include travel time). When she is not fishing, the crew is constantly busy preparing her for the next trip. Preparing for a trip includes oil changes and loading bait, supplies, and fuel and lots of care! We also ensure she gets a thorough cleaning after each and every trip! Captain Tim is a stickler for the smallest details, so he ensures the vessel is kept in tip top condition! Even today, her condition is similar to when she first left the shipyard before her first trip "home!" She presently hauls up to 2000 lobster traps which are set in 50 trap trawls (a trawl is a string of lobster traps connected by a continuous rope which is approximately 1 mile long). Our Lobster Gear is fished as deep as 200 fathoms in the winter and as short as 20 fathoms in the summer. (1 fathom is equal to 6 feet! ). The traps are tied onto the string by 2 fathom pieces of rope called "snoods." The main string of rope is referred to as the "ground line". The traps (commonly referred to as pots) we use are constructed from vinyl covered wire and average $150 per trap! (you can also still find traps made from wood). The average cost of a complete new trawl for the "Courtney" is around $6000! See her and Captain Tim working on the North Atlantic on the new Discovery Series, Lobstermen airing Oct 16, 2009! http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/lobstermen-meet-capt-tim-handrigan.html

Main engine: 3412 Caterpillar Diesel Generators: 2 (50 kilowatt power plants) 30 ton complete RSW {refrigerated seawater system} Length = 90 feet Width = 23 feet Draft = 11 1/2 feet Gross Weight = 230 tons Cruising Speed = 9 knots The "Courtney Elizabeth" also carries the following equipment: 2 Furuno Radars 2 VHF radios 1 SSB radio 3 Loran-C Navigators 2 GPS 1 Weather Fax 1 Sat phone 1 Cellular Phone 2 Depth Finder/Chromiscope 2 EPIRB distress beacons 1 Eight man offshore survival raft