Mysterious sailboat gadget. What is its purpose pls ?

[sarabande]

Kept by the hatch near the flares and emergency knife. Length about 12inches.

Any suggestions as to its real purpose please ?

[/IMG]


Oh, BTW, I I have a Port and a Starboard Snurble Gripthribley so I know it's not one of those.

 

[Norman_E]

Image not visible.

 

[sarabande]

Sorry, Norman, I am using IMGUR. I can see the image in the OP.

I'll see what I can do.

 

[duncan99210]

It's quite clearly a spring loaded lead for attaching to the collar of the boat's mugufflin. Absorbs the shock when it suddenly spots a lesser spotted green snark and tries to jump overboard after it.

 

[sailorman]

It's quite clearly a spring loaded lead for attaching to the collar of the boat's mugufflin. Absorbs the shock when it suddenly spots a lesser spotted green snark and tries to jump overboard after it.

Completely incorrect those were always made with 3 strand hemp, hence the spring to absorb loading in the weak hemp

 

[Iain C]

Is this a new boat to you and you are working out what various bits are? Or just a quiz?

If you have a pair, are they for looping through stern or midships cleats for cruising chute turning blocks? The spring may stop the lazy side from getting caught under the front of the cleat. If there's a chute, with the blocks still stored on the sheets, that may well be your answer...

 

[Neil_Y]

Quick / easy to attach loop spring end goes over tiller and snap shackle holds tiller hard to guard wire or something else for hove to emergency? Assumes you have tiller not a wheel...

 

[sarabande]

The Device has been lurking on board for nearly three years, and I have so far not done anything to make me think I need a springy strop with a clip.

The tiller suggestion sounds good: there are a couple of ring bolts P and St near the tiller. Thinking about it, it could be used for heaving to, or a MOB ? That it has been sitting in the immediate vicinity of flares, big knife, cockpit bilge pump handle. and a corkscrew leans credence to some form of emergency use.

 

[johnalison]

As set up it looks odd because the spring is not contained within the loop of cord, topologically speaking. If used on the tiller, the spring would be on the 'far' side and likely to scratch it.

 

[Thistle]

Let's start with the simple: it's an odd bit of cordage being used to tie a couple of spare - and unrelated - items together.

FWIW the spring looks like the kind used to hold blocks vertical.

 

[zoidberg]

That's a left-handed spring.... and it's on a right-handed boat. Sell it on eBay....

Oh, and that's not a good knot for that sort of thing!

 

[duncan99210]

Completely incorrect those were always made with 3 strand hemp, hence the spring to absorb loading in the weak hemp

Doooh, silly me for not spotting that straight away....

 

[lw395]

It's a loop of rope for collecting random items of stainless on.

 

[Boathook]

It's a mobile 'steadier' to hang onto when the boat lurches around. As the hand slips towards the bottom, the spring absorbs the movement and stops the hand slipping of the rope.

 

[LittleSister]

It's a gift, for the boater who already has everything.

 

[coopec]

Sarabande

Maybe a clue in these images

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=yacht+spring+rope+tiller&t=h_&iax=images&ia=images

http://navigatorjoel.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-to-build-adjustable-tiller-lock-for.html

Clive

 

[sarabande]

thanks Coopec, some more clues.

Here's the cockpit with a length of line (and three reversed left-handed clovehitches) holding the tiller. Nothing immediately obvious to connect the tiller to the coaming area during a heave-to or MOB process.

[/IMG]

Still, I'll try it out this weekend.

 

[TLouth7]

As mentioned above there isn't actually a knot at the spring end (but maybe a lark's foot in the past?). The spring looks exactly like the one under my lower mainsheet block which stops it flopping around. Thus I am going with handy overwinter storage of the spring and snap-shackle.

 

[Aardee]

Some sort of spring-loaded anti-frapping line? - More likely it started as a way of storing the spring (in the absence of a convenient Round Tuit)

 

[JumbleDuck]

I'll be selling my Hunter 490 soon, and I will make sure I include several contrived and plausible looking gadgets to occupy the happy new owner's mind.