I have yet to own a boat hook that I can actually do with it what I wish. The aluminum telescoping varieties are not safe to use IMHO b/c they do not lock well enough when partially extended to hold what is being pulled (e.g., a BOAT!) w/o unexpectedly extending out more. I usually cannot pick up a dock line off of a dock finger or grab a dock cleat while standing on the boat b/f the boat hits something or blows off to leeward b/c the combination of the pike and hook make it nigh impossible to snag the line. If I do get the cleat, I cannot let it go easily. So then, my attention is diverted to that impending CF instead remaining on docking. Only with much effort and sometimes with more than one attempt can I recover something that has fallen overboard. As the aluminum telescoping ones also gum up with deposits I might not get it extended before passing the thing I might wish to recover, etc. The non-telescoping (wooden) ones are too long and unwieldy for most sailboaters to have aboard. The pike on those are even more ridiculous. They remind me of jousting poles of Medieval Fairs. Those things belong in a museum along with pictures of clipper ships from the Age of Sail!!
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