Bolt cutters - what to buy?

[BlueSkyNick]

All these stories about rough channel crossings, fear of dismasting etc, have reminded me that we have no cutters on board. Haven't felt the need in the past season as we haven't ventured away from the South Coast. Next year we hope to go further.

I was also interested to read in YM that the family who were visited by a whale on their Aussie charter had no cutters aboard. This might have been because the owners didn't want any of their customers cutting through shrouds at the drop of a hat.

So, what should I be buying then?

<hr width=100% size=1>I would give my right arm to be ambidexterous

 

[Boathook]

One of the mag's (PBO YM?) did an article quite a few months back about 'bolt cutters' for rigging. They had some expensive (£150?) ones that rated highly but also some cheaper ones. Best value ones to get are cable cutters so that they have hooked jaws to stop the cable sliding out. Machine Mart (www.machinemart.co.uk) do some for around £30 with the code CHT316 36" cable cutter. There are possibly other supplier / manufactures around.

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[vyv_cox]

I have carried a pair of 18 inch bolt cutters for years, and tested them on old 7 mm shrouds to make certain that they were effective, which they were. I have now supplemented them with a much larger pair, just in case. Biggets problem with them may be carrying them on deck, as they are heavy and unwieldy. A friend who was dismasted dropped his bolt cutters overboard, so violent was the rolling. We keep a wrist leash permanently attached to ours, just in case.

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[Twister_Ken]

Never used them in anger, but have read that the explosive cutters are the best bet.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[tcm]

Having being nailed to the floor of the sea one night, i have bought spare relay for the anchor, and a masive pair of 42" bolt crops for £255. I have experimented with other bolt crops on some chain, and i can tell you it is very very hard to operate bolt crops at the limit of their capacity in terms of diameter of bolt/chain. You'll cut through with something 10mm dia with crops capacity 12mm or even 10mm, but it would be an utter utter struggle.

So, if you plan to actually use them on an anchor, or on your rigging, or indeed (as i do, on a powerboat) lurk about in ever-eager readiness to helpfully chop away other people's rigging at a moment's notice, get some of these as in the link below.

They are all hard steel so will go rusty if you don't squirtem with motorbike chain lube. Put a lanyard onnem (like er i haven't but will do now i have thought of it).

Better still is a petrolpowered angle grinder but erm bit dodgy and probly won't work when you need it unless you lose the rigging every week.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.cwberry.com/epb2.01/05-tools/05-03-engineering/boltcutters.htm>http://www.cwberry.com/epb2.01/05-tools/05-03-engineering/boltcutters.htm</A>

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[ccscott49]

Either buy the admittedly very expensive hooked nose cutters designed for cutting cable, or the shootit type of thing, which uses a little blank cartridge to shoot a blade through the wire, small and very efficient, bolt cutters make a hash of it, when used in an emergency situation, the wire slips out of the jaws, needing extra hands to hold the cable in place. IMHO

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[Talbot]

Best value ones I have found so far are :
http://www.toolspot.co.uk/product.asp?product=4609

These are bolt cutters rather than cable cutters but at 36" should be more than capable of cutting the rigging. When I was young and silly I used to cut 10mm chain with my 18" cutters, but they would need adjustment and sharpening to keep them on top performance - now I am looking to buy the bigger ones!!!!!!!

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[snooks]

YM Test

We (YM) did a test...Nov 2002

1st things 1st, make sure, if you have wire rigging, you buy wire cutters, if you have rod rigging buy bolt cutters, it may sound simple, but don't think you'll get through cable with a pair of bolt cutters with the same ease!

As with most things you get what you pay for...the hydraulic cutters were easy to use and cut everything...downside they cost £760.....Shootit was the fastest to use, about 15secs per cable (inc reloading) but cost £250 Our best buy went to Falco, prices from £140 - £230 if you can get the cam shaped reduction geared you're life will be easier

We also found technique plays a lot, by starting with the jaws open and slamming down onto the cable it's far easier than starting with the jaws already clamped around it.

A friend spend 2 hours on deck cutting his rig off with tired bolt cutters and a hacksaw, I hope you never have to go through that

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[qsiv]

Re: YM Test

Hmm. But beware few cutters of any type will touch some rod rigging. Our nitronic rigging will only yield to cobalt hacksaw blades - and thats hard work. Ordinary cutters/croppers just get semicircular indentations, and the shootit device wont touch it either. Next time I'm going for PBO and a sharp knife!

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[chippie]

The wrist leash sounds like a way to make sure you sink with the bolt cutters if they go over the side if the cutters are of a largish size.

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[MainlySteam]

I carry a big pair of bolt cutters on board (somewhere, I wonder where??) but I am sure it would be extremely hard or impossible work with them cutting through the 12 stays/shrouds (11 if one can cut above the backstay bridle) holding our mast up. Both from cutting and working on deck points of view.

However, our rigging is attached to the chainplates with clevis pins and I have always anticipated just knocking the pins out if the dreaded day came (well not that dreaded as we are steel!).

Some learned magazine articles on the matter say it is not easy to knock the clevis pins out when dismasted, which I find hard to believe - does anyone have any first hand experience of that?

John

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[toad]

Has anyone tried a battery powered angle grinder,can you get stainless cutting discs?

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[vyv_cox]

Not direct, but the friend who had the dismasting found it impossible to knock out the pins. Any lateral loading, of which there is plenty when the mast goes over the side, locks the pin in its drillings. My friend, a very practical guy, could not remove any. The rolling of the boat was so intense that he struggled to even remove the split pins.

On the wrist leash post, this is a device used for paddles in canoeing, attachment to the wrist is by Velcro so in emergency it would be very quick and simple to take it off.

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[snooks]

Shootit

Shootit WILL cut rod rigging (but you need to buy the specific model for doing cutting rod rigging R-22, which will cut rod up to 9.5mm), Many of the BIG bolt cutters managed to cut the samples of S/S rod rigging (around 6 mm)...the wire cutters however just left the marks as you discribed

Just seen you can get the standard shootit for £199



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[PeterGibbs]

Re: Bolt cutters - be prepared!

I do now actually carry cutters, rated for the guage wire I carry. But I offer a heads-up to the inexperienced: if you have cutters or are contemplating buying, get down to the riggers and hide in a corner with your/some cutters and attack a piece of suitable SS wire. Now picture yourself on a heaving deck etc - a trifle tricky wouldn't you say?

It's as well to know that should the dreaful moment come, you will know what you are up against.

PWG

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[Leisure27]

An alternative to a battery powered one would be: Over on the Reader to Reader forum there is a discussion about 850 watt generators for £60. You can get an angle grinder for less than £20. Plus both bits of kit would find other uses. But I admit that their waterproof credentials might be a bit poor.

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[Strathglass]

Yes,
There are now very thin discs and they are available specifically for cutting stainless.

As you sugested, I may even be tempted to use a small, mains powered grinder and ss disc when cutting the lower end of my rigging (8mm) to length for the swedgeless fittings. This will be on dry land however.

I think it will give me a cleaner cut then my large cutters.

The best I can manage with my small felco cutters is 4mm and that is on the workbench and it is still very difficult.

Iain

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[Guest]

2 problems with them ...

a) Hard to use especially on heaving deck unless you get some really meaty hefty professional jobs ..... then where do you keep 'em.
b) Majority of available cutters actually blunt after just a few goes and are then literally useless.

Yes - great tools and good idea ..... but rigging wire is not like cutting bolts ..... it really screws up a cutter. That is why ship-board for years has cut rigging wire with a sharp cold chisel and hammer on iron cutting block. It's the cleanest cut you'll see ...... but it has to be a good strong hard strike !

Yes - I carry cutters ..... and hope never to have to try and use'em !!!!


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
Bilge Keelers get up further ! I came - cos they said was FREE Guinness !
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[qsiv]

I wonder how wet the deck might be if it is windy enough to blow the rig over the side?

We HAVE got an angle grinder aboard, and a 6KVa genny, and earth leakage trips - but after Mike McMullen electrocuted himself with a sander, in harbour I'm rather less keen on mains powered tools on deck, at sea. The only one that gets used is the hot knife - by definition if it's calm enough to be tiddlying up ropes it's unlikely to be wet.

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