A “dragger” is a fishing vessel that tows a trawl net.  A trawl can be dragged along the bottom of the seafloor, just above the bottom, or in midwater depending on the target species.   In the early 1920’s the Connecticut fishing industry began producing what is known today as the Western-rig dragger.  These boats were not the first pilothouse forward fishing boats built in New England, but due to their small size, the design was affordable and perfectly suited to independent fisherman