Line Around Propeller

[pdqaltair]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

I guess it's a good thing I live on the west coast - they aren't a problem here.

Also, I never said or implied I'd consider cutting a pot float because I " single handedly decided they don't belong." I made it pretty clear I was referring to pots dropped in a navigation channel. Refer to post #36 that describes them blocking a harbour entrance. Just WHO is at fault here and who is acting high handedly?

There are a great many things in the world I see that I don't like. There is a crabber that loves to string his trot line right in front of my slip; often I have to straddle the floats, but I work with the situation.

[fallard]

Connecticut has a statute on fishing gear in channels, fairways and mooring fields, excerpted here:
"26-142a-3a. Area-gear restrictions---
(d) No fixed commercial fishing gear shall be set at any time within any navigable channel as indicated by United States Coast Guard channel markers or within any fairway as designated by an approved harbor management plan adopted under Chapter 444a of the General Statutes. No fixed fishing gear shall be set in any mooring area as designated by an approved harbor management plan adopted under Chapter 444a of the General Statutes during the period May 1 through October 15."

That said, we've seen a number of pots showing up in the Mystic River over the past several years. The pots tend to be placed at the edge of the channel, but the floats can impede the channel, depending on wind and tide. I am not aware of anyone cutting the lines, even though they can be found in congested turning areas near the RR swing bridge, nor am I aware of any formal complaints to our Harbor Commission, whose ordinance cites the State statute in this regard.

[LinekinBayCD]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

Also, I never said or implied I'd consider cutting a pot float because I " single handedly decided they don't belong." I made it pretty clear I was referring to pots dropped in a navigation channel. Refer to post #36 that describes them blocking a harbour entrance. Just WHO is at fault here and who is acting high handedly?

Ya sure gave that impression.

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

If you see a pot float in a channel, just cut the float off - they'll soon learn.



Fishermen are frequently like taxi drivers - they think they have more right to be there than anyone else because they are working.

Navigation channel or not don't try it in Maine.

[tomperanteau]

We once wrapped some line from part of our running around the prop. We drifted against a dock where cargo ships unload. Had about 20 people from the unloading crew at the dock helping us steady her (and laughing at us) until help arrived. The port patrol stopped by (again, laughing at us), and stated that it looked like we were okay.

We got hauled back and during the next hull cleaning had the line cut off the prop shaft. Cost? $50. Experience? Priceless.

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

Also, I never said or implied I'd consider cutting a pot float because I " single handedly decided they don't belong." I made it pretty clear I was referring to pots dropped in a navigation channel.

It seems to me as if you're still suggesting it is okay to cut a pot if it is placed in a "navigation channel".?? That is vigilante style law enforcement which is frowned upon and illegal everywhere I know of. It is not your job or my job to enforce local, state or federal laws no matter how much it may anger me to see people breaking a law. It is my duty to report a violation but not to take the law into my own hands.

My point is that even if they are "illegally" blocking a channel, which in Maine they would not be, that it is still illegal to take the law into your own hands as you've suggested on a multinational forum.

In Maine you CAN place gear & traps in anchorages, mooring fields, "harbor entrances" and "navigation channels" and do so LEGALLY. The suggestion to cut them, on a forum read by people all over the world, can have implications beyond what your local laws may be. Ours laws on gear placement are very different and it is not illegal to block a "harbor entrance" or to place gear in a "navigation channel"....

I would hate for someone to read here that placing lobster gear in a "navigational channel" is illegal and cutting the pot buoys is ok to do. In Maine there are no restrictions on where the pots can be placed (other than some resource management zones). This is why I opened my post with;

"You would be very wise to know the laws of your state or province before doing that, or taking the law into your own hands."

I would guess that in most areas the only people allowed to touch fishing gear are the owners of it and the law enforcement agencies regulating and monitoring it. In Maine those are the only two groups allowed to touch fishing gear, owners and law enforcement.

IMHO suggesting the cutting of fishing gear, even if it is placed there illegally, is similar to suggesting running someone off the road because they were "illegally" speeding.

Two wrongs don't make a right and making yourself the "law enforcer" is also not the right thing to do......

In some areas up here you'd need a pretty sharp knife to clear the channel..

[PBzeer]

My line wrap ended up costing me around $3k. What happened was, it bent the bronze strut, instead of the shaft. This wasn't visible until I had the boat hauled. So with the haul-out, digging through the fairing to where the strut was attached to the hull, straightening, and then re-bedding and re-fairing, it took about a week to set it right. And off course, alignment had to be checked. Oh, and it took like 3 hours just to get the cutlass bearing out.

So, it can get expensive and remember to check your strut, as well as your shaft (if you have a stand alone strut).

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by SloopJonB

I wasn't suggesting trashing such a vehicle - but I sure would get it towed in a heartbeat. Perhaps instead of cutting off the float, lifting the pot and putting it ashore would suit you better? That would be more akin to having them towed.

A personal example that may give you a better picture of how I act in the real world - I live about a mile from a major ferry terminal. In the summer and on long weekends, numerous people will park their vehicles on our street for days simply to avoid paying for parking at the ferry terminal lot while they walk onto the ferry. There is very limited street parking here at the best of times so they really cause the residents a problem.

I leave a note on their windshield, politely advising them of the situation and that it's not a ferry parking area. I also advise them that they will be towed if they repeat it. So far no-one has.

I'm not an Admiralty lawyer but I'm sure there must be regulations against intentionally obstructing a navigation channel - I don't believe it is legal to anchor in one for example. That's how they cleared the anchored boats out of False Creek here.

Luckily for me (or perhaps the crabbers ) it isn't a problem here.

Think again. I once had a guy park in my driveway completely blocking it. The police would not tow it because it was on private property. The Tow Company would, I __I__ paid them $200.

I now have a signed contract with a tow company and marked signs so they'll come and tag the offender, but it's not 'normal' to tow somebody else's car.

Same with pots, yes, they might be totally illegal, but it's not your job to correct it. Molesting someone else's *anything* is illegal.

[sawingknots]

thus far getting tangled in a misplaced crab pot has only cost me a little time and aggravation,but if one ever tears up something/shaft/prop etc i'll join sloopjon's side pretty quickly,intentually placing such an obstruction in a boat channel is just wrong,you know it,i know it and the crabbers know it!

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Looking at that picture I'm surprised the pot owners get any support from anyone who goes on the water - I've never seen such an incredible display of piggish, selfish use of the water. How you can operate a boat in that mess is beyond me.

[sawingknots]

exactly,the reason the crabbers put their pots in channals is because there's too many crabbers and not enough legitimate crabbing area to go around,maybe its time to increase crabbing licences and penalties,i also wonder if maine sail is a sailor or in the business of repairing boats damaged by crab pots! uh huh