Deadliest Catch's Edgar Hansen Says His Heart Belongs In The Trenches When It Comes To On-Deck Duties

It's no secret that when you get older, it's easy to get set in your ways. Whether it's what you eat, what type of music you like, or the sorts of people you hang out with, a rising level of familiarity can lock a person into having no desire to ever make a change. The same could be said about a job. Edgar Hansen of the boat Northwestern, brother to captain Sig, is a perfect example of how getting used to a certain role in a business can result in the blocking of any desired change. 

Despite being one of the original featured deckhands from the first episode of Discover's "Deadliest Catch," Edgar has remained right where he started. However, it's not like Edgar hasn't given the captain's chair a shot. He explains in an interview with Vieira Voice News, that he has sat in the wheelhouse when catching cod and salmon. But, when it comes to those elusive crustaceans, he admits, "For an entire crab season, I haven't gotten that far yet." 

The reason for Edgar not attempting a full crab season has nothing to do with stress or intimidation, but more along the lines of sticking to a formula that's been continuously successful. "Everything has worked, perfectly, the way it's been. You know the old saying, 'if it works, don't fix it,'" he said. Well, even though Edgar chooses to let his brother Sig continue to occupy the captain's chair, it's not only due to the proven successful formula, but also because he believes he's exactly where he belongs.

The gap between the responsibilities assigned to the crab catching deckhands of a boat, compared to those of the captain, is as wide as the Bearing Sea, itself. When it comes to brothers Sig and Edgar Hansen, this positional set-up has been working for them since 2005, when their vessel, Northwestern, began being featured on "Deadliest Catch." For Edgar, his responsibilities include hauling 700-pound pots, dodging freezing waves, and sorting crab into the tanks. For Sig, he gets to work the long hours in a heated cabin, sitting on a comfortable chair. But, Edgar explains how this set-up doesn't cause any sort of sibling rivalry.

Edgar knows he's put in enough time to take a go at the captain's chair, whenever he wants to. However, that transition would go against the instinctive feelings he has inside. "It's just that some guys are meant to run and some guys are meant to be the grunts. I think I work a lot better in the trenches, that's where my heart's at," he said. Not only is Edgar's heart connected to the painstaking hours on deck, but also to the coworkers who experience it with him. 

Edgar revealed, in an interview with Mike Fourtner, that a certain connection with fellow deckhands cannot be achieved from the room hoisted above. "You can be buddy-buddy with your crewmates, and then once you come up into the wheelhouse, now they take that for granted," he said. Edgar may very well choose to take the reins during a full crab season for the Northwestern one day, that is, if he doesn't retire first. "I'm either ready to step up or step off. I'm not sure which."