Equipment we used:
Buoys:
David Thurlow used this buoy off the coast of Scarborough between 1953 and 1972. The rope is made of sisal, an organic material. Following World War II, nylon products were available and rope and twine for lobster trap nets were made from a synthetic product. Nylon was much stronger and did not rot, while the sisal decayed over time. The buoy was made from a cedar log turned on a lathe. In the same period of time styrofoam buoys and bobbers began to replace other products.
Cedar logs were used to make buoys. A lathe was used to shape a round buoy; a log cut in half with lathes nailed on each end made a “chopping-tray” buoy. No matter what shape, all buoys were branded and had a special pattern of paint color used to identify the owner of the trap. Most cellars or workshops in the older houses at Pine Point still have nails driven into sills on which freshly painted buoys were hung to dry.
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