T&T: Rope Cutters

[Rock Bradford]

we have a single engine, heavy displacement trawler turning a 42X27 four
bladed prop.  the first thing we did when we bought the boat three years ago
was to install "spurs" cutters on our 3" shaft.  they were not inexpensive,
we recently saw them in action when they neatly severed a 3/4" nylon anchor
rode and who knows how many other times they have quietly and efficiently
done away with crab pots, ad nauseam.  worth every penny.  you can sharpen
the blades and don't forget to change zincs.

rock bradford
44' Cygnus "Magpie"
Georgetown, SC

On Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 6:40 PM, Ron Rogers <rcrogers6 at kennett.net> wrote:

> I have had Spurs on my divided keel and they saved me the night that I was
> entering an unfamiliar harbor with one aid to navigation - red. My wife was
> sick and we had to get in. On the way in, there was a loud thump and
> looking
> back I saw a float moving away. Had we gotten hung up, it would have become
> an emergency. We got in without help.
>
> On another occasion, prior to installing the Spurs, I got tangles in my own
> "floating" polypropylene dinghy line - with a float on it. Go figure. I
> think a strong current had something to do with it. I dove and got enough
> off to free the dinghy and move the boat to a dock under power. My buddy
> who
> is a much stronger swimmer went down and could do little because of the
> current and the crab dropping in the water. Spurs would likely have cut up
> the soft poly.
>
> The trawler that I bought came with Spurs although its single screw is very
> well protected - up to saying this now. I think that twin screws multiply
> the likelihood of fouling - especially if they are not protected by a
> full-displacement hull.
>
> Spurs are not very expensive and depending upon the configuration of your
> shaft and prop, not expensive to install. You can do it yourself. The split
> razor discs are a cinch to install. My incidents happened on the
> Chesapeake.
> If the weather had been bad or if I had been in a more exposed location, I
> would have need a professional diver.
>
> Ron Rogers
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