Skip to main content

Pot Launcher

H

ere are screenshots of the next key mechanical model I've created for the F/V Scully, the pot launcher.

This is a major component of any crab fishing vessel. The hydraulic launcher is a powerful piece of equipment that raises and launches crab pots. There are various types of launchers that can both raise up to toss the pot overboard, as well as, tilt forward and shake crabs from a pot to a sorting table.

I struggled for some time working out what equipment crab fishing vessels had back in the 70's and whether a pot launcher made the Scully look slightly too modern-day in terms of technicality.

Sometime between the commercial crab fishing industries beginning in Alaska (back in the 50's) to its heyday (around 1980), pot launchers were introduced to fishing vessels to help speed up loading and offloading crab pots (empty pots alone can weigh roughly 800 pounds).

I did some research and eventually decided to make a basic single actuating launcher. The little hooks either side at the top and bottom are called dogs which hold the crab pot in place; also stopping a pot from swinging about when in rough seas.

Below, is a screenshot in Maya, where I have selected the back pivot brackets of the launcher. I found this part of the build to be the most challenging as it is not only where the pot launcher pivots but also connects to the bulwark (raised side walls).

Overall, I enjoyed creating this mechanical piece, stripping back the design to give it a simple structure more true to the time. Am quite looking forward to texturing it and adding weathering (as it is one of the most used pieces of gear on a crab fishing boat) at a later date!  


Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©

Jason Bartlett ©


Thanks for reading :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Timeless Terror: Jaws @ IMAX (50th Anniversary Re-Issue) Review/Analysis

T he 50 th Anniversary Re-Issue IMAX screening of Steven Spielberg's  Jaws  (1975) was not just a revisit to a classic, but a thoughtful re-education and celebration of cinematic history. From the moment the MCA Universal logo and the iconic JAWS title card graced the colossal IMAX screen, the experience justified every penny. The stunning clarity plunged the audience into Amity Island’s perilous summer like never before. The enhanced resolution revealed details previously lost to small screens and the compression/conversions to old VHS and DVDs. A prime example of this is immediately apparent in the opening sequence. The day-for-night shots where Tom is running after Chrissie on the beach, is remarkably clearer. This allows for a much richer appreciation throughout. As someone with deep admiration for analogue artifacts, particularly works shot on ARRIFLEX or Panavision cameras with anamorphic lenses, this IMAX presentation elevate...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arnold Render Tests

A fter months and months of modelling, UV unwrapping and exporting assets, it has been very refreshing to now open up Maya 2026 and experiment with all the new features. The first thing I just had to do was to try out the latest version of the  built-in ray tracing renderer, Arnold 7.4. Excitedly, I opened up the wheelhouse interior scene, dropped in a HDRI map on a skydome light, and experimented with all the settings. I increased the brightness of the lights in the attribute editor (as it is an interior space it will be inherently darker), and played around with the number of samples to improve the overall image quality (more iterations for rays to bounce and do their thing). I'm incredibly pleased with how these greyscale renders of the wheelhouse below turned out. They not only bring the space to life visually, but also motivate me to get back into the creative flow. Jason Bartlett © Jason Bartlett © Jason Bartlett © Jason Bartlett © Next time, I'll show some development of...
Post a Comment
Read more

Crab Pot

For the next step of the modelling process of the crab pot, I was challenged with another huge hurdle ( to say the least). This stage was where all the painstaking problems crawled in again.  The rope. I thought making some bendy cords would be simple enough, but believe me, it was anything but. There aren't many tutorials, covering the whole modelling process to the end 'game ready' product, for rope. So, like previous obstacles I faced in the modelling stage, I used multiple methods and trial and error to find the best path.  Actually, creating a tube following a manually placed path, was the easiest part for me. I had picked this step up while at University. However, I had to manually place and move each Bezier path to form the guide lines, for yards of rope, in a natural and realistic way. Hundreds of them. I spent more hours than I would have liked, setting up the paths to guide the rope along. I kept asking myself that there must be an easier way to tie...
Post a Comment
Read more