Until the mid-1950s, steam engines had replaced the sail as the principal source of propulsion for most fishing boats, trawlers, etc. along the coast of Maine and the Maritimes, these were mostly replaced by boats using internal combustion engines.
My question has three parts:
are there any fishing boats in New England or the Maritimes that still use sails as a source of propulsion?
are there any fishing boats that still use a steam engine as a source of propulsion?
how difficult would it be to transform a fishing trawler with an internal combustion engine into a sail-propelled boat, or a steam-propelled boat?
I’ve been in Maine with the USCG since 1999. My first 3 years here were spent plying the waters of the Penobscot Bay. I’ve never seen or heard of any steam or wind driven only fishing boats. Obviously, that’s not to say they don’t exist, and I have no idea about the other ports in the areas you mention.
Commercial fishing can obviously be a very cut-throat business (and very often is in Maine), and time is money. It wouldn’t make much sense to put yourself at a disadvantage when it comes to speed, safety, and in the case of steam, repair & maint costs.
I do know that many fishing boats up here (lobster boats and scallop draggers) do have a small aux sail on the boat.
Also, I do know of one large vessel in Rockland, ME, that is all sail, with no auxiliary power whatsoever (save for a small tender) - the Victory Chimes.
I don’t know what/where you mean by the “maritimes”, but here on the Eastern Shore of MD there are commercial clamming/crabbing boats still being used called “skipjacks” on Deals Island off Crisfield, that are mainly sail powered, though they are relatively few.