Keel to Skeg wire to reduce risk of Pot Ropes round prop

[TonyMills]

Hi,

Last time I sailed up the coast I picked up a cray pot rope on the propeller (sail drive). It was scary! (alone, at night, in 30knots). I was fortunate as a little reverse cleared it. I'm heading north again next month and it has been suggested that I run a wire from the bottom of the fin keel to the skeg. This would be well clear of the prop.

Does anyone have any experience of this and to what extent is it likely to impair the performance of the boat, in its own right or through the collection of weed etc..

Regards
Tony
'Bunyip Dreaming'

 

[OGITD]

Its not the best shot of the arrangement on my yacht, so I will take a photo today to show a similar modification to your OP.

 

[TonyMills]

Thanks I can see the bar from the keel. The distance for me between keel and skeg is about 8' and the line would be well clear of the prop leg.
Regards
Tony

 

[Tranona]

Unlikely to be effective,. Saildrives are vulnerable, not just to ropes and nets etc but to plastic bags which can block the water inlets. Getting a rope round the prop can ruin the seals and let water in . Rebuild is £2500+!

Have a look at a rope cutter www.ropestripper.com

 

[SAWDOC]

Hi,

Last time I sailed up the coast I picked up a cray pot rope on the propeller (sail drive). It was scary! (alone, at night, in 30knots). I was fortunate as a little reverse cleared it. I'm heading north again next month and it has been suggested that I run a wire from the bottom of the fin keel to the skeg. This would be well clear of the prop.

Does anyone have any experience of this and to what extent is it likely to impair the performance of the boat, in its own right or through the collection of weed etc..

Regards
Tony
'Bunyip Dreaming'

Hi Tony
Do you carry a snorkling mask and good knife on board? I have only had to use mine once but I was glad I had them on board. Usually(thankfully not too often) I cut away from the stern quarter which has released me from most situations.
The rod does seem a good soution if pots are a potential problem for you.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Hi Tony,

An alternative to wire could be this stuff http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226530&highlight=standing+rigging+rope which is rope used for rigging, refer to post 17 or thereabouts. I like the idea of the bar in the picture. On my own boat I could run a wire from the rear edge of the keel to the skeg which would give greater clearance from the propellor.

A possible advantage is that the rope may be easier to cut away than wire, should it snap for any reason it. An alternative to consider.

I would add to Sawdoc's comment for the benifit of those who have propellor shaft to gear box flanges that a set of spare nuts and bolts are a good idea. I once had to slide the prop shaft out backwards to free a rope that could not be cut it was wound so tight. We ordered up new nuts and bolts because we were not sure if the bolts had been stretched.

 

[Mandarin331]

I can't imagine that this would impair the performance much, and there's a good chance that the pot rope would slide off, whereas without this it is guaranteed to foul the prop.

Any weed is normall floating on the surface, so again should not be an issues. I like the idea of using rope - as if this does get fouled then you could cut it free - but you'd have to be able to cut both ends otherwise it would foul te prop !

Only other thing to consider is lifting the boat - if we did a similar arrangement from the keel to skeg the yard lifting strop would present a challenge as this is positioned half way between the two

We had the same experience last year off Clacton and ended up dragging a pot a few hundred yards - probably on the prop, luckily a 360 turn released it and we wern't motoring. We do carry a very sharp knife attached to a 6' pole, so at least we could carry on sailing - even if the prop was fouled.

 

[Marsupial]

Thanks I can see the bar from the keel. The distance for me between keel and skeg is about 8' and the line would be well clear of the prop leg.
Regards
Tony

Ahh! but what would happen if the line came adrift at the skeg end? could IT now get tangled in the prop? Many of these lines ar made in two pieces joined such that neither piece can foul the prop, if it breaks at the join. To make sure it breaks at the join this is made deliberately weaker than the keel or skeg joints.

 

[TonyMills]

Useful Info - Thanks

I do carry a knife and snorkel (also an aqualung). But when I caught the pot rope last year It was 11.00pm pitch black and blowing 30knots - no way was I going over the side unless it was into the liferaft!

The concept of creating a weaker point in a position to limit the damage if it breaks is a good one. I'll see what I can do. I've heard mixed reviews on rope cutters but I'll check out the site.

I will need to fit the wire under water and remove it before my next haul out because of the slings.

Thanks very much for all your advice.

Regards
Tony

 

[JohnTH]

Mask, snorkel and a bread knife, well actually mine is one of those S/S knives for cutting plaster board and a hacksaw blade fitted with a handle.

Add the half inflated dinghy and an immersion suit and you have my rope round the prop emergency kit.

Yes it works however, it has never been tested in a 30knot blow.

Hope we never ever have to

73s de

Johnth

 

[Tranona]

Mask and snorkel sounds like a great ideas - in calm and warm water - until you see somebody killed as I have (or at least listened to the VHF exchanges and watched the helicopter arrive with the body). Getting at saildrives is extra difficult because they are usually deeper and further forward than shaft drives.

As to effectiveness and reliabilty, the saildrive cutter has been on the market for nearly 20 years and all the major boat builders and their dealers fit them to new boats as well as private owners retrofits.

 

[OGITD]

As Promised

As promised:
Photo of the Prop-Guard which is a mod to the Voyager.

 

[Salty John]

A variation on the theme is a shedding rod attached to the aft end of the fin keel. The rod is attached only at the keel and only extends far enough to ensure that as the pot rope comes off the shedding rod it is too far aft to snag the prop or rudder.
This 'open ended' approach allows a rope or debris that has wound itself around the rod to slide off easily. Also, it's usable by boats with a spade rudder. There is a wire cable method available to boats with fin and spade rudder but it requires a spring in the system to accomodate turning the rudder.
I really like OGITD's set up!

 

[William_H]

Rope deflectors

It is all a matter of risk versus inconvenience of fitting a wire or rope. As said a wire or rope may have to be fitted when the boat is in the water if strops are used to lift her.
Depending on the slope of the leading edge of the keel you might want a rope from near the bow to the bottom of the keel then to the rudder in a boat with near vertical leading edge of fin keel.

It is interesting that helicopters and agricultural spraying aircraft have this problem in reverse with power lines. Both often have a sharp edge up the middle of the windscreen to cut a wire. You often see a spike out the front of a helicopter at 45 degrees from the top of the windscreen designed to cut a wire rather than have it go into the rotor. Ag planes always have a wire from the top of the cockpit to the top of the fin with a clever little fitting U channel with slope cut to deflect the wire off the attachment shackle. This last idea could be useful under a hull.
Certainly any wire or rope would need to have antifouling paint on it if it were to stay in the water for long periods.
I am in agreement that one should only go over the side to clear ropes if you really think out all the dangers and certainly be attached to the boat by a rope. The boat will usually swing stern to the wind if dragging a pot and be quite slow. When released the boat will take off. Don't be left behind. olewill

 

[chockswahay]

a word of warning....

When I bought my boat it had a stainless steel bar fitted in a similar way to OGITD's set up.

My surveyor suggest that I have it removed because it was more likely to snag a pot/line around the bar and lead it on to the rudder mount or prop..........

Three weeks later a pot and line caught around the bar........stopped the prop.... !!!!!

Managed to sail in to Fowey in (big) sea's then get tow to buoy. Boat lifted out and engineer and surveyor looked at damage next day. The bar had been completely torn off and the rudder hinge point was damaged. Oh, and I forgot to say that the prop stop was so violent that the gearbox (Hurth 250) exploded into millions of pieces!! We had a new gearbox fitted, new engine mounts, prop shaft balanced, hinge point repaired..........and a SPURS CUTTER fitted.

Caught a few pots since and cutter worked every time.

Just a thought...........................

Chox

 

[JohnTH]

Speaking as one who has actually cleared a fouled prop (and lived to tell the tail) it may be of interest to note my use of a half inflated dinghy to lay in and an immersion suit. Even on a hot summer day the Clyde is too cold to mess with.

73s de

Johnth

 

[Roberto]

have a look at this, it's excellent for slicing jellyfish too :laugh:


http://sybrancaleone.blogspot.com/2009/08/eng-ultimate-weapon-against-lobster.html

 

[JohnTH]

Looks good to me, I am going to make one myself.

Cheers

73s de
Johnth

 

[fisherman]

I've posted about this many times in response to pot rope complaints. The device with the bread saws is similar to one carried on the local lifeboat, made by one of the crew. It is a stainless blade welded to a long handle, with a round stainless bar to make the crook on the end. I have suggested long handled pruning shears as the most practical, and I know several people on here carry them.

I apologise for this, third or fourth time posting: if you are 'moored up' by the prop to a pot rope you have trouble getting at it with anything. Get a length of rope with a bit of chain in the middle. Drop the chain over the stern, over the pot rope and let it run down far as poss. You may be able to run one end of the rope round the boat to get an extra turn of chain on the potrope before you 'jangle' it down. Take both ends of the rope forward and haul together so the chain pinches the potrope, haul the boat round to stem the tide, the slack in the potrope should now stream astern where you can hook it up, cut it, pull it through or at least get free if you have sails or another engine.

 

[saltwater_gypsy]

I have a wire rope between the keel and the skeg and think it is brilliant. I have accidently run over pot lines many times and braced myself for the consequences but the line has just popped out at the stern.
The only time it is slightly inconvenient is when lifting out. What I do is to take a line through the aperture under the stern so that the sling can be pulled through. Some operators grumble at the extra two minutes it takes to unshackle the sling at one end but... they always find something to grumble about. Fouling has not been a problem.
Anyway it works well for me!!!