model, mixed media
28” x 25” x 4”
2006

Referring to either the boat or the fisher, the troller is an icon of solitary independent entrepreneurship, a traditional mainstay of the west coast fishing industry. Project for a Troller is an actual working salmon troller, split in half lengthwise along a vertical axis. The cutaway allows immediate visual access to the boat’s interior, revealing a well-organized and highly functional self-contained live/work environment for one or two people. Every boat had a wheelhouse, for navigation, social interaction, protection from the weather and all-round visibility, with its diesel stove for cooking and warmth; a cockpit at the stern, for storing and running the gear, sorting and cleaning fish, with a secondary steering and control station; a fish-hold, loaded with ice at the start of each trip, for icing down the catch; an engine room, for mechanicals, hydraulics, tool-room and fuel tanks; a foc’sle with bunks for sleeping and personal gear; a foredeck with windlass and anchor. A trip would last a week to ten days, depending on the duration of ice in the hold. Troll-caught fish, individually hooked on spoons or plugs and immediately cleaned and iced, commanded premium prices for their size and exceptional appearance; trolling allows for a selectively managed and sustainable fishery.

The model was built for the project by Doug Allen, a retired fisherman/logger from Mill Bay on Vancouver Island.