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Line cutter advisable for Chesapeake Bay?

4K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  Kutter 
#1 ·
My prior boat, which I moved down to Annapolis, MD from Marshfiled, MA, was equipped with a line cutter. The current boat, which like the prior boat also has a fin keel,semi balance spade rudder, and a Flexofold prop, does not have one.

Is a line cutter worth having? Any downside (other than cost)?

I swear that sometimes I wonder whether I'm really sailing in the Chesapeake or mostly dodging crab pots (and fish traps and container ships). Although I do love eating crabs, so I guess I can't complain too much.:D
 
#3 ·
Jim-

It's not an essential piece of gear for sailing the Chesapeake, but it wouldn't hurt. If you had one, I'd keep it. If you don't have one, I wouldn't rush out and buy it.

I have personally laid eyeballs on your boat, as I was visiting a friend's boat. Very nice ride.

The West River has a "float free channel" that leads out to the Bay. Although the crabbers frequently encroach on the float free zone, it's better than driving through the main body of traps, so I advise you to get familiar with the locations of the white/orange informational bouys that mark the channel, and plug them into your GPS.

Also, be advised that the West River and Pirate's Cove Sailing Clubs put race marks out in the water that resemble the float-free info bouys, so be careful.
The race marks are usually light gray, and most (but not all) of them have a pointy cone on top.

Hope that helps, and hope to see you out there. :)
 
#5 ·
I have personally laid eyeballs on your boat, as I was visiting a friend's boat. Very nice ride.
Thanks Bubblehead, we enjoyed it a lot for the couple months we had it in the water before it went up on land for storage. I've loved cat boats every since my Beetle Cat when I was a kid

Jim-

The West River has a "float free channel" that leads out to the Bay. Although the crabbers frequently encroach on the float free zone, it's better than driving through the main body of traps, so I advise you to get familiar with the locations of the white/orange informational bouys that mark the channel, and plug them into your GPS.
Appreciate the tip. I do know about the channel, although as you say it's not always honored, or the traps shift with the weather. Mostly, though, I worry about the traps in the spots where I don't expect them.
 
#6 ·
Is a line cutter worth having? Any downside (other than cost)?
A line cutter can be rough on divers cleaning your boat bottom, and on their equipment. They aren't perfect so if you get a line wrapped in the prop that the cutter doesn't handle you have to deal with the wrap AND the line cutter. Sometimes that means a tow and a haul instead of a quick dive.
 
#16 ·
Totally agree with Dave here. When I replaced my prop shaft last year I thought about putting a line cutter on as we travel to Long Island Sound and New England and the lobster lines make the crab pots look harmless,

After looking at how sharp they really were I decided against it because as mentioned above.

1- dining on the boat I will need mail gloves to prevent from being slashed
2- my diver will be at risk in cleaning the boat
3- if I catch a crab pot and it doesn't cut it but wraps I have to work around
those razor blades
4- added weight on the shaft isn't something I really want to do.

Dave
 
#7 ·
With all the boats on the hard this time of year, stroll around a few yards and see for yourself. I think you will find as I did that they are certinaly not common?

I considered one a few years ago but ultimately chose no for reasons mentioned by Auspicious, plus we swim a lot off the boat with our kids ;)

I have caught a line probably 5-6 times on our current boat, only once did I have to dive and cut the line, the others I was able to remove with the boat hook.
 
#9 ·
I'll second others thoughts. We've been sailing on the Bay for over 20 yrs. Never had a cutter, nor wished we had one. Caught a line a couple times, but it usually pulled right off. Have to admit that it's sorta second nature to keep a 'crap pot watch' - especially when the engine's on.

I have been considering one of the hook knives, but it's a little pricey for me compared to just jumping in with a mask and rigging knife. Still might add it to the toolbox, though.
 
#10 ·
I'll second others thoughts. We've been sailing on the Bay for over 20 yrs. Never had a cutter, nor wished we had one. Caught a line a couple times, but it usually pulled right off. Have to admit that it's sorta second nature to keep a 'crap pot watch' - especially when the engine's on.

I have been considering one of the hook knives, but it's a little pricey for me compared to just jumping in with a mask and rigging knife. Still might add it to the toolbox, though.
Oh yea, you all have stuff called "warm water"... I've heard of it :laugher

It is a quality product, comes with a shorter removeable handle and it's made to fit on the end of a common boat hook/scrub brush handle.
 
#15 ·
Since the question is about Chessy crab pots, I'll defer to the locals. If you ever fancy coming up to New England, especially Maine, but also RI, you may want one.

I never had one and was one of the lucky ones to never grab a submerged line that was unseen. But know that you can't always dodge everything, some of it is out of sight. I installed one before my cruise to Maine a couple of years back. Made it up and down the Maine coast without a single snag. Some of those lobster pot fields have to be seen to be believed!!

Then motoring in a dead calm about 30nm off the coast of Boston, I grab a line on a pot in the middle of no where. My wife swears it was pot that had already been cut free closer to shore. Maybe.

I had to go to idle and then back to reverse to get the cutter to free it, but it worked like a charm. I hate to think of having to dive the prop out there.

We have a Spurs cutter. Not expensive, may be $275? Fairly easy to install yourself, depending on your shaft arrangement.

Unlike the reported experience of walking the hard around the Chessy, you'll find them on most shafts up here, but not all.
 
#17 ·
Guys, how big is your boat? The blades that might cut you are about an inch wide and are not sharp on top. It's not like walking over broken glass. :)

I really don't see how one would realistically cut themselves, unless careless. If you were still concerned, just turn the shaft so the blade aligns with the cutting surface, like a closed pair of scissors. No way to get cut then.

They don't weigh more than a shaft zinc either and many double up on those without giving it a second thought.
 
#20 ·
Really? again I think you are probably not familiar with some more recent developments in shaft protection systems.

If the rest are crap why would one of the worlds leading lifeboat services remove spurs to fit quicKutters? Many hundreds of commercial vessels have also removed scissor cutters to fit the shaver. Builders that fit quicKutters include Fleming, Christensen, Aqua star, Grand Banks and The Royal Navy.

I'd be interested to hear your arguments for why the rest are crap?
 
#24 ·
Yep, sorry I wasn't trying to hide my inside knowledge, I work in the marine industry and I do supply quicKutters, what I was trying to do was keep people informed as there is a lot of mis information being given by people who are not fully aware of what may be new systems or materials.

I'll list all the choices below and then people can do their own research and make up their own minds.

To let users make up their own minds they need to be fully informed.
There are actually three distinct type.
Disc- Many types serated, plane, double discs all clamped to the shaft
Scissor- Spurs, Gator and stripper one blade bolted to bearing carrier and multiple blades bolted to the shaft and rotating
Shaver-QuicKutter
 
#26 ·
Good point,

I do as you've all gathered supply the quicKutter rope cutter, I will never start threads or try and do any sort of sales pitch, but hope to just open people eyes to what is available without telling them to go and visit my website or any of the other agents.

I guess it's just when I see people discussing the two options that are more widely known the disc and scissor that I want to just make people aware of developments. Then they can go and make up their own mind, I'll try not to get into any debates about the relative merits. I also have quite a bit of experience in other areas of yachting and boating having lived aboard and cruised yachts across the atlantic a couple of times and raced and delivered boats from F18's to Open 60's.

I am based in the UK (at the moment)
Neil:)
 
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