What happens when you snag a lobster pot ?

Have twin shafts with beefy rope cutters, that so far have worked really well. As to what happens - well nothing except we have shredded a few lobster pot mooring lines. So far we have always snaged them at speed so the cutters made mince of the lines. Off the SW coast of Ireland they are all over the place and it's not possible to see them except in very calm conditions. No markers just the little orange buoys. Generally if we keep 3nm off there are far less of them. Same goes for drift nets, the cutters mince them as long as you keep the shaft speed up.
 
I had this last October, and though it was not a problem to escape (various methods covered in the numerous previous replies). I am a diver and have all my gear onboard, but on this occasion did not need it.

However, I have wondered ever since, and would like to ask any legal experts out there.

Had I hauled the pot up, could I have have kept it and/or its contents as unattended salvage?

This question is not just about the obvious benefits - I have been nagged since about the fate of any poor lobster trapped in the pot and starving with no-one to haul them up. Should I have hauled them up and !!!! released them!!!!

Addition - Difficult to cut any rope or cable unless cutting against something - Very occasionally, like this event, Bolt croppers very useful, I would recommend anyone to carry them.
 
You can't fit them to outdrives I'm afraid, only shafts.

They're a good idea, but there is a trade off in performance and fuel economy (slight) and they can unbalance the shaft causing vibration and accelerating cutlass bearing wear.

If you're in a bad lobster pot area the advantages probably outweigh the disadvantages.
 
It'll depend on the design of your boat, e.g. how far fwd your props are and how tightly wrapped the rope is. If the pot is tight against the hull/prop, you'll have to go under the boat. My props are not that far down/fwd and I cld get the rope with a boat hook and pull it up to cut it. I tried going under the boat once, but I don't recommend it even in a light chop. 5 tons banging on your head might not be pleasant. I have read that the thing to do to avoid a head banging is to go under the boat and somehow brace yourself so that you move with it as you disentangle the rope. Not recommended!
Thing is in these waters, it's usually warm, so no problem jumping in at almost any time of the year without a wetsuit. Air temp today 82F and gulf waters in high 70sF.
 
ok interesting point raised by ocean froggie. If at the last minute you see the rope or net>>>>>>>>>>>>

Do you cut the throttles and try to avoid damage to the shafts and avoid pulling them out the hull or...

Do you accelerate and hope the power and the rope cutters can do there job?
 
Well, I don't have rope cutters and the pots are all over the place in the Gulf of Mexico and often in the ICW, so we just keep a good eye out for them and use the "dodge" buttons on my Comnav autopilot to hopefully avoid them.
 
My rule of thumb is within 3nm of the coast never below 16kt, unless it's calm enough to spot them in time to dodge. Last minute advice is to floor the throttles so the cutter can work, at displacement speeds it's more likely to pull than cut. The only place I have seen marked pots (ie flags) is off the wexford coast. Off cork, kerry and clare they are just small orange bouys. In places like blasket sound at HW the bouys are submerged as they are dragged under by the tital stream.
 
Dont think I would perposely go through lobster pots full bore. But judging from the repairs done to shattered rope cutters, I suppose I most have done without knowing.

If caught in them, I usually go slow forwards, then back. The engines might stop many times. Eventually I've come free. Danger being that the rope cutters are knackered before the rope is cut.

My big problem is, I got three bladed cutters and four bladed props. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
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Interestingly enough we had no measureable fall of in performance. I was expecting a least 1kt, but not so.

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I'm not sure if that's good (no efficiency loss caused by hanging cutters on the shafts) or bad (hanging lumps of metal in front of the props making zero difference!) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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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

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There are regulations about the size etc - HERE
 
Some cutters don't hang on the shafts they hang on the P bracket, so they won't have an effect, the cutter doesn't rotate with the prop it's a fixed unit. I'm not sure what type ocean Froggy has as he describes his as Beefy?

There are three distinct types of cutter available just search for "rope cutters marine" and you'll find all three on google.
 
potter will still recover the string anyway, by either hauling from the other end or, if both north and south have been 'cut off' somehow a creep, so the poor lobsters won't die of boredom (they often get out anyway !)

you are unlikely to be able to haul up a string unless it's in such shallow water that you are able to get one pot in the string up on it's own. With any tide running even this is difficult and if the tides approaching slack the potter will be around anyway so I wouldn't want to be seen hauling up a pot!!!!!
 
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Some cutters don't hang on the shafts they hang on the P bracket, so they won't have an effect, the cutter doesn't rotate with the prop it's a fixed unit.

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Surely part of it must rotate with the prop otherwise how does it cut? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
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potter will still recover the string anyway, by either hauling from the other end or, if both north and south have been 'cut off' somehow a creep, so the poor lobsters won't die of boredom (they often get out anyway !)



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Do you know, I always assumed there was one buoy to one pot, it never even began to occur to me that there might be a row of them down there! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

S'pose I never gave it much thought, that's interesting.
 
commercial will shoot a string across the tide with dan at either end with 20 to 60 pots (or more in some areas!)

in many places however what you are 'up against' is leisure boaters putting down the odd pot - many on here have admitted to doing it!
 
If caught in tide and the cutters don't work, which is rare, drop a rope with a chain in the middle over the rope, keeping both ends. Jiggle the chain down the rope as far as possible. Take the ends to the bow so the chain is draped on the pot rope and haul both ends tight from your bow, so the chain pinches the rope and haul up if possible to turn your boat into the tide and moor it to the gear. This should give you slack in the pot rope to cut it short or haul it through or rotate the shaft with a stilson to unwind it. At least you can get it within reach to cut yourself free, although you may still have rope in the prop. Butcher's stainless hacksaw blades are big and tough, weld to the end of a pipe or insert in a slot in a pole, put jubilee clips on. I still think long handled pruning shears may be the answer, kept wrapped in rag and grease.
 
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