Bolt Cutters

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scopas

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Hi
A question! I have heard plenty of horror stories about needing to cut rigging in a hurry and the rusty lightweight bolt cutters I have are doubtful up to the job. Trouble is it looks like you have to spend about £150 to get something decent to do the job - does anyone have any experience of this or any other ideas on the subject?

Thanks
Matthew
 
scopas said:
Hi
A question! I have heard plenty of horror stories about needing to cut rigging in a hurry and the rusty lightweight bolt cutters I have are doubtful up to the job. Trouble is it looks like you have to spend about £150 to get something decent to do the job - does anyone have any experience of this or any other ideas on the subject?

Thanks
Matthew
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Hi Mathew, Buy a new pair the biggest strongest longest handles you can fit on the boat, unless...you go for the shoot bolt system?

We had to cut through a 10mm rig and our 3foot long handle went straight through,.

Peter
 
I was talking about this last year with our local riggers and David was adamant that the best cutters for the job were Felcos, which are probably in the cost area you mention, depending on the thickness of rigging you would need to cut.

eg link:

http://www.alloutdoor.co.uk/knives-...elco-wire-cutters/felco-c12-cable-cutters.htm

I couldn't run to them, and have stuck with the long handled boltcutters that came with the boat, but now have a decent hacksaw with steel cutting blades as a reasonably cost effective back up/alternative.
 
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Mine are about 3 ft long and are the type with a hook on one blade that prevents the cable from slipping out. I saw them on a cheap stall on the market for about £30, went home and collected a scrap length of 7 mm shroud, took it back and tried the croppers with the permission of the stall holder. They went through with almost no effort at all. Since then I keep them wrapped in greasy rag on board, waiting to never be used.

A friend lost his mast in a bit of a seaway. The boat's motion was so violent with the mast over the side that he dropped the croppers overboard. He borrowed another pair from a boat that came to assist. They cut his rig away with no trouble. Since then I have always kept a leash on mine just in case.
 
Definitely need wire cutters rather than bolt cutters for rigging as the notched blade hold the wire (which usually skids out from the straight blades of a bolt cutter. Felco are fine - not cheap but much less expensive than the explosive items!
 
I have a 36" set of wire cutters on board, tested and greased but no particularly expensive (compared with Felco for example) at <£50. As I also carry a set of
18V cordless tools, I added an angle grinder (Ryobi, £49.95) and leave this permanently fitted with a 1mm disc specifically for cutting Stainless Steel. As a battery is used, I put it on charge and replace the one on the grinder with a freshly charged one and put the one off the grinder to use. That way all 3 batteries get cycled and the most recently charged one is always on the grinder. Safety goggles and gloves are kept with the grinder. Never had to use it in anger (touch wood) but tests were highly satisfactory!
 
I second Goldie , I own a set of DeWalt 18v cordless tools which I use in my small business. Included is a a 4.5 in angle grinder which is normally fitted with 1mm thick discs this cuts thro 10mm dia stainless as if it were butter ! When I'm on our usual 3 month Summer cruise I always have my DW's with spare batteries & charger. I would imagine that in a situation when it is necessary to cut away the rig, sea conditions would often be quite rough so how do you operate a 2-handed cutter when you also need a third hand minimum to hold on ?? A cordless angle grinder can easily be operated one-handed using the "notch" formed between the disc & the guard. The Ryobi is I think significantly cheaper than DW but still a pretty serviceable tool. If you haven't tried the 1mm thick discs you'll be amazed how effective they are, but they cost about £1 each.
 
Cutting rigging

Anyone ever used Silverline,
1000mm wire cutters less than £50 on Amazon, claimed to cut up to 12mm. plus lot of other sizes. Or are they just rubbish? I already have a set of boat jumble 600mm bolt cutters which do cut 10mm. ss wire but I have used them a bit on reinforcing bars recently and for the boat they are best new with virgin blades?
 
Whatever you decide on I would get some offcuts from your local rigger and try before you buy, not worth spending mega bucks to find in your hour of need they dont work
 
Guys - as ever a great load of suggestions - I would have stumbled into the trap of buying an utterly useless bolt cutter without your input. Missus thinks I have found love in a dating chat room..... Where am I going wrong!
 
scopas said:
Guys - as ever a great load of suggestions - I would have stumbled into the trap of buying an utterly useless bolt cutter without your input. Missus thinks I have found love in a dating chat room..... Where am I going wrong!
Click to expand...

Felcros or even some hydraulic ones, specially designed for wire, are the ones to go for. I agree with most above, keep them clean and lightly greased, in a rag.
When your rig comes down, it will probably be in bad weather and I'm not sure how effective a electric battery grinder (with sea water going all over the place) would be whilst trying to hang on with one hand and operate a disc grinder with the other hand, mind you its not easy with the cutters, I hope you never find out.
 
Four years ago as i was in a rigging shop for replacing for-backstay i asked the the rigger about cutters.He gave me a Felco and as i was going to buy it he made me test it by cutting through a wire of the same dimention as mine but while holding the cutter with one hand.When i had difficulty with the smaller and cheaper model he told me to picture an emergency and rough conditions where maybe i'll have just one shot at cutting.I went for the bigger model.
 
Another route is hydraulic cutters which cut through a 5/8 stay in about three or four pumps of the handle. They can be used single handed too with the right technique. Look out for Enerpac on fleBay - IIRC, I got mine for less than £100 a few years back. These are the same as those advertised by Holmatro (?) for the marine market at well over £1k. Wouldn't be any good for cutting the remnants of the mast though.
 
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I bought a scondhand pair of 3' 'Record' bolt cutters and have tested them on 8mm wire. They are fine, haven't tried using them one handed but will do soon. Incidentally they will cut through chain easily too.
 
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