The Boats of Wicked Tuna
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The FV-Tuna.com
Out of the five Wicked Tuna boats, the FV-Tuna.com is the most hated by the other crews. Built in 2003, the Tuna.com is a 38-foot high sheer Duffy that is conspicuously painted black. Sometimes referred by other boats as ‘the black boat,’ every fisherman hunting giant tuna out of Massachusetts knows the FV-Tuna.com. They know it for two reasons. One reason, it hauls in a lot of bluefin tuna. Everyone talks about the “monstahs” she brings in. And everyone is jealous. The second reason for the FV-Tuna.com’s notoriety throughout these chilly Atlantic waters is that the captain and owner has been known to lie about coordinates and sends other fishermen on wild goose chases. For many fishermen, this boat is a mojo-crushing thorn in their side. They even joke that Captain Dave Carraro's boat has some top-secret paint job on its underbelly that somehow attracts giant tuna.
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The Hard Merchandise
At 36 feet and eight inches, this workhorse of a boat built in 1984 has aged beyond its years due to the hours put in at sea. The Hard Merchandise is the full-time and only source of income for its two-man crew. What this boat lacks in glitz and glamour is made up for with its top-notch, one-of-a-kind captain Dave Marciano.
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The Bounty Hunter
This 35-foot Duffy has all the bells and whistles along with the comforts of home. You can always find good food, a nice bed and a clean deck. It’s one of the nicer boats, but in this game that doesn’t matter. It needs to start hooking some big tuna before the owner sticks it in a dry dock or worse, sells it.
The Bounty Hunter has had a rough season so for. They’re about to start the high season without a single bluefin. The name of the game is tight lines and Captain Bill Monte and the Bounty Hunter crew have not had a tight fishing line this year... yet.
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The Odysea
It may be the smallest of the boats at 31 feet but it has pulled in some of the biggest loads. This boat has hauled in Tuna as big as 1,200 pounds. When they’re that big, the bluefin tuna never make it into the Odysea. They just drag them from the sea to the buyer. Being the smallest boat has its disadvantages, when a major storm hits they aren’t quite big enough to battle their way in to the marina. They must drop anchor at sea and ride the storm till it is safe enough to head back in.
Built in 1988 this vessel will stay the longest out at sea and cover more area than any of the other boats. Led by Captain Ralph Wilkins, it’s the only boat based out of historical Provincetown with the logic that it puts the boat in a more central location to get at more of these giant tunas.
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The Christina
The Christina is a 35-foot Duffy custom downeast sportfish equipped with state of the art electronics, all safety gear, and powered by a Caterpillar 510 horsepower diesel motor. This vessel is rigged with a 20-foot tuna tower and a 26-foot harpoon pulpit. She cruises comfortably at 20 knots.
The Christina covers a lot of distance, as its captain Kevin Leonowert also partakes in harpooning in addition to rod-and-reel fishing. His season for harpooning starts in early June and goes to mid-July. During that time, the boat may be in the Gulf of Maine in the morning and Cape Cod in the evening. It's a lot of traveling and coping with different weather conditions, but the Christina is a worthy vessel.
I read what happen to your boat at the end of the season, but I dont understand it. Hopefully it will be better explained next year, might be something we can all learn from the tragedy.
Congrats on your season!! I feel that if you wouldve caught half of all those pulled hook fish youy would have bown the pin wheel and left him in your dust. Be safe!!
Pauly I have a 33"boat fully equipped I would like you to buy into and run or just run, base34ball@gmail.c
