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Codseeker

History
Name: CodSeeker
Owner: James Doane Coffin, William Henry Coffin, Nehimiah Banks, Rueben B. Stoddart, Jeremiah Stoddart, Jesse Smith, Philip Brown
Port of registry: Barrington, Nova Scotia
Builder: Thomas Coffin & Co., Port Clyde
Cost: $2,000
Launched: April 21, 1877
Completed: April 19, 1877
Maiden voyage: May 8, 1877
In service: April 1877-May1877, 1888-1953
Out of service: May 1877-1888, 1953: No longer exists
Fate: Capsized May 9, 1877. Towed in. Sold foreign: 1886
General characteristics
Type: Schooner
Length: 58 ft 6 in (17.83 m)
Draft: 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Decks: 1
Crew: 13

Codseeker was a fishing schooner launched in April, 1877 that capsized east of Cape Sable Island, at the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia.

The schooner Codseeker was constructed at Port Clyde, Nova Scotia in 1877 by Thomas Coffin & Company. At the time, the Coffin's were known for their beautifully crafted ships, mostly schooners and square-rigged ships which sailed all over the world. She was a graceful, wooden vessel, constructed for the profitable, yet dangerous fishing along the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The schooner was 58 feet 6 inches (17.83 m) long, with a beam that reached 18 feet 5 inches (5.61 m).Codseeker had a net gross ton of 42 and registered ton of 29.5. The elegant vessel sailed with the standard rigging and gaf topsail. A schooner with her dimensions would have required a certain amount of ballast to combat lateral forces against the sail. However, Codseeker was not built with the customary amount of counterbalance, most likely due to the schooner's depth.

On 9 May 1877, while on her very first fishing outing, the brand new schooner capsized just east of Cape Sable Island. Eastern wind had been increasing the entire day and had turned into a storm, which caused strain on the slender vessel. Once the wind increased, the schooner started rolling heavily to its leeward side, often taking its time to recover. At this time, Captain Phillip Brown ordered the mainsail down, and headed for land. According to Brown, sailing towards the Shoal of the Rock would mean a shorter and steeper run of sea, and therefore no need to reef the foresail. However, the lightness of the vessel, being empty in the hold, caused severe and unnatural rocking and she gradually careened over until Codseeker was flat on the beam-ends. Half of the schooners deck became submerged in frigid Atlantic water.


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