By  Published Aug 5, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Zach Moser is a Philadelphia native who writes about film and television news. Zach has been published in Points In Case, Business Insider, Slackjaw, ROCA Travel, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Summary

• Tyler McLaughlin has been a staple of Wicked Tuna since season 2, winning two seasons and placing second multiple times.
• McLaughlin's sister Marissa works on the Pinwheel and has taken on the role of first mate after the passing of Nicholas "Duffy" Fudge.
• The McLaughlin siblings were introduced to fishing by their father, and Marissa now runs the Pinwheel Instagram account.

Tyler McLaughlin has helmed the Pinwheel, a boat on the reality competition series Wicked Tuna, since season 2. and has been ongoing since on the National Geographic Channel. The series, similar to Deadliest Catch, follows different crews of fishermen off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts, as they vie to catch the lucrative Atlantic bluefin tuna that inhabit the North Atlantic waters. , but there's no denying these are real fishermen putting their bodies on the line to earn their living.

As many as ten different boats appear in a season and most tend to only stay for a few seasons at most. However, there's a core of boats and teams who have been on the show for multiple seasons. Tyler McLaughlin and his boat F/V Pinwheel have been a staple of the series since 2013 and season 2, when the 55-foot-long Dixon boat appeared. Hailing from Rye, New Hampshire, McLaughlin was one of the youngest captains to appear on the show when he started, via , and has grown to be one of the more successful in the series.

Yes, Tyler McLaughlin Still Owns The Pinwheel (& He Still Appears On Wicked Tuna)

Tyler Has Won Two Seasons Of The Show

Tyler McLaughlin still owns Pinwheel and continues to appear on Wicked Tuna, as he should, considering he won two seasons of the show in 2013 and 2018, as well as placed second three more times. McLaughlin began his professional fishing career in 2011, starting off with a 35-foot boat. He ended up buying a bigger one when National Geographic signed him to a four-year contract, via . The young captain immediately made an impression with his fiery language and confident, bordering on cocky, attitude.

Pinwheel first and runner-up places on Wicked Tuna

Season

Place

Total

Fish Caught

2

1

$100,861

16

4

2

$99,876

16

6

2

$98,561

15

7

1

$103,936

19

8

2

$119,741

18

However, McLaughlin had the talent to back up his words and knew if he wanted to make an impression on the show, he couldn't let the older captains push him around, as he told ,

"When you’re young and trying to break into an industry, put your stamp on it and try to make it your own, people are going to try to push you out. So I came in with a little bit of a mouth on me."

McLaughlin continues to pilot his Pinwheel, so named for the circling movement a tuna does once it gets too tired to fight. Pinwheel cost McLaughlin in the range of $280,000, via , putting it as one of the most expensive on the show. That high cost has also ensured that the boat has rarely run into mechanical problems during the show's run, and is essentially the same boat from season 2.

Dave Carraro, captain of F/V FV-Tuna.com has won the most seasons of the show with five first-place finishes.

Tyler McLaughlin's Sister Marissa Also Works On The Pinwheel & Has Been On Wicked Tuna

Marissa Replaced The Late Nicholas "Duffy" Fudge

Tuna fishing is a family business for Tyler McLaughlin. His sister Marissa works on Pinwheel and frequently appears on Wicked Tuna. Both Wicked Tuna siblings were introduced to fishing by their father, Marty, as Tyler told New Hampshire Magazine,

"My dad wanted to get tuna fish more than anything. No matter how many tantrums my sister and I threw, we were out there, trying to catch tuna."

Marissa first appeared on Wicked Tuna in season 8 as Tyler's first mate, a role she took on after the tragic passing of Tyler's previous first mate, Nicholas "Duffy" Fudge. Marissa immediately proved herself a more than capable mate, and she also has her captain's license. As his younger sister, Marissa isn't afraid to tease her older brother, but she's a consummate professional when she needs to be.

Marissa is also in charge of running the Pinwheel account and frequently posts updates about the boat's latest catches. The McLaughlin pairing has certainly been a successful one and their ability to work in tandem is a reason they've remained such a regular part of Wicked Tuna.

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Cast

• Rob Naughton

Wicked Tuna is a reality television series that premiered in 2012, following commercial fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts as they hunt for the lucrative Atlantic bluefin tuna. The show documents the intense competition among the crews of various fishing vessels, highlighting the challenges and dangers of their profession. The series provides an insightful look into the economic and environmental pressures faced by those in the commercial fishing industry.

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