Describes the building of the model ship Marie Jeanne, from an Artesania Latina kit. This model of the Marie Jeanne was made by Ross Callaghan of Paraparaumu, New Zealand in 2016 and took about 4 months to build.


The Marie Jeanne was a “Dundee” yawl fishing boat sailing out of the French port of Concarneau between1900 and 1950. The Marie Jeanne carried a 12 man crew and fished for tuna between June and October each year, sailing throughout the Mediterranean and Atlantic as far as Mauritania in North West Africa. She could be at sea for two months at a time as tuna are often found far from the coast. 1883 was a terrible year for the French fishing fleet with frequent Atlantic storms, and much loss of ships and lives. A well-known owner, Pierre Baron, began transforming standard tuna ships into the shape of the Marie Jeanne. This was so successful that all fishermen began to transform their vessels to his design. Prices for the construction of the ship rose from 14,000 francs in 1914, to 300,000 francs in 1937. To this day, Pierre Baron is still referred to as the “father of the Atlantic tuna fisher”. Tuna fishing requires strong, fast seaworthy boats. ‘Dundee’ yawls were about 50 or 60 tons and were able to carry many sails, although this required a ballast of 20-25 tons. The trend towards engine propulsion meant that they disappeared after the 1950s. The white tuna (tunny) was caught with lines coming off ‘tangons’, 20m long poles that were placed on each side of the main mast, and were lowered down to the deck when the boat was fishing. Normally every ‘tangon’ had 7 lines connected to each other by ropes, which enabled the fishermen to drag the tuna aboard without changing the position of the ‘tangons’. Other lines could be fixed to the stern or the top of the main mast. The lines ended in an ‘avancon’ made of brass wire, where the fishing hook was attached. The bite was made of white hair with a bit of corn straw. It could be artificial as the white tuna is a very greedy fish.