What happens when you snag a lobster pot ?

DAKA

DAKA

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How do you get off a lobster pot while caught in a race ?

I have successfully managed to release myself from a lobster pot hooked on Outdrives

Raise leg and cut away with hacksaw or tree loppers.

But how would you get unhooked from

a) Prop shafts

b) IPS
 
Thats a good point /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I used to ignor sandbanks that were 3 m deep but have now found it best to go around them to clear pots. Also learned the sandbanks are rough with breaking waves.

Best not to use auto helm when in potted areas even if you are watching.
 
Most lobster pots will be set at low water, therefore you will not see them at high water, many a time whilst fishing wreckage thinking we were in the clear, suddenly see floats appearing as the tide drops away, so if you are cutting corners across banks the pots will be under you but between the high and low water depths. Hope this makes sense, it does to me but I had to have it repeated very slowly.
 
Daka, thanks. Heard on a Solent to Poole route that there are loads in Christchurch Bay but wasn't sure why it was being said they were where they were. Makes sense now so will avoid short cuts!

Omega, makes perfect sense. Guess depends on how much line is between pot and float/marker how far above low water the danger will be. I'd guess 4m of tide in calm water would be a safe bet on a boat drawing 0.85m? They aren't gonna be more than 2m above low water are they?
 
Certainly true that you can get them off shallow areas but they're around in 30, 50 metres and more as well, especially on both sides of the Channel (though more off France, I think) at the Western end.
 
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Guess depends on how much line is between pot and float/marker

[/ QUOTE ] generally it's more the relationship of the size of the marker and the flow of the tide! They are not 'set at a depth' - can you imagine a fisherman carefully setting each line to the exact depth and adjusting for tide etc etc everytime he sets his pots! They will be rigged once for his general grounds and that's it. In areas of strong flow they will be swept below the water for the run of the tide, surfacing as it easies. Some areas have so little flow they are up all the time, some aren't pot markers and are designed to stay up and some deeper water ones are also large enough and strong enough to stay up through the tide...........
 
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Guess depends on how much line is between pot and float/marker

[/ QUOTE ] generally it's more the relationship of the size of the marker and the flow of the tide! They are not 'set at a depth' - can you imagine a fisherman carefully setting each line to the exact depth and adjusting for tide etc etc everytime he sets his pots! They will be rigged once for his general grounds and that's it. In areas of strong flow they will be swept below the water for the run of the tide, surfacing as it easies. Some areas have so little flow they are up all the time, some aren't pot markers and are designed to stay up and some deeper water ones are also large enough and strong enough to stay up through the tide...........

[/ QUOTE ] so that every other fisher knows where you are setting
 
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Dive in i guess... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

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I would be extraordinarily reluctant to do this. I know people do, but I think the risks of an "unplanned" dive are high (tidal flow sweeping you away from an immobile boat, boat rolling in swell potentially, etc). It's a bit different from swimming off the back in a secluded bay.

Fortunately I have an outdrive so I can reach my prop if I have to. I intended to buy a big diving knife for just such an emergency, but upon seeking the advice of a very experienced diver friend was advised "forget diving knives, they cost a fortune and they're rubbish. Just buy a hacksaw, far more useful for clearing ropes off props".

So I did.
 
You need a long pole with a blade securely attached to the end of it. Some lifeboats carry them especially for the task. This may not untangle your props / ips but will free you from the pot and if you are lucky enough to have two engines you can limp home. Even if you find that the prop is turning once you have cut yourself free I'd be a bit gentle with it until you have inspected to check the prop shaft is clear. Rope jammed in a cutlass bearing or sterngland can cause damage...cheers Iain
 
I also think there should be rigorously policed legislation about the type, size and colour of lobster pot buoys. They're an absolute menace! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
Perhaps shaft drives should be built with prop. access boxes/plugs built into the hull like those on Mitchell 31s? Then simply undo 4 stainless bolts and clear the prop. from inside the boat before putting the lid back on.

I remember being hooked up at night by a prop. on a raggie catamaran on a drift net in the Bay of Biscay. Once caught, waves were flopping into the cockpit and the only way to get away was over the side and under the boat with a saw. By the time it was off, I was black and blue with the hull coming down on top of me. Quickly fitted Strippers to the shafts of my boat which have done a really good job except with polypropylene rope which sort of melts into a plastic ball and can only be sawn off. I understand fishermen have to make a living in what I regard as very hard circumstances but unmarked or poorly marked nets can be hightly dangerous and IMHO those who lay them in places like the inshore passage at Portland Bill are criminally irresponsible.
 
can only speak for the Poole and channel out area but there are 'owned areas' - whihch of course coincide with worked areas.

you might get away with slinging the odd pot over in proximity occasionally but 'muscling in' is going to create a problem!
 
[ QUOTE ]
How do you get off a lobster pot while caught in a race ?

I have successfully managed to release myself from a lobster pot hooked on Outdrives

Raise leg and cut away with hacksaw or tree loppers.

But how would you get unhooked from

a) Prop shafts

b) IPS

[/ QUOTE ]


If you have enough slack in the rope, cut it with a hacksaw or very sharp blade, but hold onto the entangled part. If you reverse the engine, slowly and someone hangs onto the end of the rope and keeps it taught it might unwind. Failing that, in calm water, get under and hack it off. I've had both situations, once when it unwound and the other time when I had to limp to calmer water, anchor and hack it off. If you are in a (tidal) race, I wouldn't hang about. Either drop anchor and follow above, i.e. reversing engine, or cut it off and quickly get to calmer water on other engine, if you have one!!
 
Having given this some thought I am puzzled.
How can you get to the pot rope to cut it off. ?
Unless slack tide you will be anchored from the stern.
Rope will be 3 ft down at an angle so could be 5 ft under .

Could I take a weighted rope from the bow and pull it to the stern
and then pull it up to bring the tight pot rope to me ?

Do you think one of those cable saws could be used with a rope tied to both ends ?


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