ex-Gladys
Well-Known Member
We've also seen a couple on the way into Mersea, East and North of the Nass...
really? are there lobsters in the Blackwater??
We have a number of pots up here in the Moray Firth but probably not as bad as down south. Does anyone have opinions on rope cutters? I have a new boat ordered and it is to be fitted with a cutter. Just wondering how well they perform.
We have a number of pots up here in the Moray Firth but probably not as bad as down south. Does anyone have opinions on rope cutters? I have a new boat ordered and it is to be fitted with a cutter. Just wondering how well they perform.
I have a saildrive & have cut quite a few ropes from pots with my "stripper." I have also cut a net in about 50 places ( I kept a picture of the bits when it was removed) & when the boat was hauled out i could see that if I had continued trying for a few more minutes I would have cleared it. I did pick up some polythene on the French coast & the stripper cut enough for me to get 2-3 kts in reverse at first then finally about a kt in forward which enabled me to get into Boulogne where a diver sorted it ( feathering prop)
It has also cut some difficult weed in places like the Alderney race where my engine has almost been bought to a stop. The bits streaming out from under the boat caught in the Aeries & could be seen to have been chopped
The bearings/bushes do not last long & my blades are worn thin but as I have a lathe I make my own & can accommodate the worn cutters, whereas the standard bearings would not do that and a new stripper is circa £ 500.
When I discussed a new one with the supplier I pictured a bloke sitting in his lounge making up prices as he gradually reduced the price to do a deal. In the end I refused to buy a new one & resolved to solve the issue myself which I have done for the last 5 years; making new tufnol bushes each year