Rope cutters

I seem to remember that PBO have done at least one review and an independant article some years ago try looking through their index over the last three years.
 
Ambassador and various other sites point to tests carried out.

I had an Ambassador fitted to my boat and I never had a prop problem. Unfortunately I didn't know the previous owner hadn't serviced the plastic bearing shim in it and when we replaced the shaft - found the cutter blades seriously worn away. It was removed by the engineers and put in the locker. That year I caught this going past the folly :>

Solent_007_net_a-1.jpg


Luckily I could dislodge it once tide went out. But while gently motoring up to pontoon after catching it - thought the engine was coming out of the bottom of the boat ! The vibration and noise was amazing. We literally only used bursts of slow engine as we were unsure of what it was ... tried all the reverse / fwd / reverse stuff ....

I am now having a new cutter fabricated to own design out here to fit to the shaft ....
 
I have the Plastimo disc cutter which was fitted by the previous owner when new in 1999. AFAIK he never had a fouled prop during an entire circumnavigation and I haven't had one since Aug 2004 when we bought the boat. We do a heck of a lot of sailing in the Med and sailed down from the UK in waters renouned for stray rope.

It might have been luck, or it might work. Dunno - but that's going to be the problem if the rope cutter works!
 
Do 'rope' cutters work on plastic bags etc?

Last year as I entered Calais I got (what I later found out to be) a heavy duty plastic sack around the prop. With a F5 to 6 on the nose going into the inner harbour it reduced power to the extent that flat out just gave me headway - this might give some peace of mind if it works.
 
Here's a personal account:

1. Crossing the Channnel on the motor, suddenly it stopped. Looked over the transom, huge sheet of blue plastic clearly attached under the boat. Restarted the motor and ran it in spurts ahead and reverse using "Spurs cutter" to grind off the sheet. Worked. No damage. Proceeded.

2. Running into Harwich, saw small pot, semi submerged, too late and ran it over, engine faltered as cutter demolished fishing line, then resumed normal pace and saw me home. Again, no damage to boat.

In my experience of 20+ years in home waters, threatening rubbish is less frequent these days, marine practices seem to have improved. But the consequences of not being able to clear an obstruction can be life threatening. The price I paid for the Ambassador cutter on my present boat is worth, in my view, every penny.

Get one, I recommend!

PWG
 
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Out of curiosity - how do you know it works?

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Hi js48,

Sadly I have totally irrefutable proof!! The day I launched my boat after the winter lay-up during which I'd fitted the Spurs, I motored downriver to pick up my mooring. I had JUST fitted brand new 25mm nylon pick-up lines and a new pick-up buoy to my mooring set-up.

Sadly I got the sluicing tide wrong as I approached against the current and misjudged the distance to the buoy.

I was single-handed and reallised from the foredeck I was going to over-shoot and not be able grab the lines. I shot back to the cockpit as the boat swung beam-on to the current and began moving down on my nieghbours boat and shoved the engine into gear without thinking about the lines!

There was an almost instantaneous 'd-dunk' sound as we gathered way and I thought 'Christ' the mooring! I swung the boat head to current and noticed my pick-up buoy heading off downstream along with a sorry looking buoy!

I nipped round and picked the lines up with the boathook to find BOTH had been chopped right through and the buoy was completely bug**red and chopped almost in two!

Quite honestly I really didn't know whether to be bloody angry at the stupidity and additional cost I was in for, or chuffed to bits that the brand new Spurs had worked so brilliantly and avoided a potentially nasty collision.

So, yes, I KNOW it's 100% effective at least with 25mm nylon! We have also cruised down the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal several times which, as those who have done the same will know, is strewn with dozens of lobster pots along the 20 metre line. Again we KNOW we've cut through several of these both during foggy days and at night 'cos we've seen the results!

I don't know whether the Spurs, Ambassador's Stripper or any other is the 'best', but when I bought the Spurs unit 16 years ago or thererabouts, they were being fitted to the lifeboats (I checked for advice!) and that was good enough for me.

Put it this way, IMHO I reckon in todays debris strewn waters, you have to be crazy NOT to fit one or the other if you can possibly afford it, and DEFINITELY before 'peripheral' stuff like chart plotters and the like!

Hope this helps.
 
The last independent evaluation of different types and makes of cutters was carried out in Feb 99. At this point in time there were only two types to choose from scissor or disc.

Since then no comparisons have been made with practical tests.

The scissor cutter is now over 25 years old so you will find many boats and owners that have experience of these.

Three years ago a new type was introduced, the shaver cutter, as mentioned above. The only independent results of actual debris cutting come from customers, the rope below was cut.
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I hope that answers your question.
 
I have an Ambassador Stripper. It has succeeded once to my knowledge, cutting my trailing log when I forgot to heave it aboard before going astern and maybe more times without me knowing it. It has failed twice, once when picking up my own mooring line (don't ask) which was 20mm three ply, and once when picking up an orange netting 'onion sack'.

My conclusion - ok on light stuff, not so good on heavy stuff or when 'smothered'.
 
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