How many of you carry cable cutters aboard your boat and have you ever used them? Perhaps those who don't and are safety minded might take notice. We were sailing a 22' boat on our way to St. Michaels on the Chesapeake when our mast just fell over (suspect a clevis pin failure on one of the shrouds). To be able to salvage the broken mast we had to cut one of the wires which was badly tangled. With a heavier mast in foul conditions I can understand the need to perhaps jettison the mast quickly to save the boat. We always keep an oiled cable cutter in a plastic bag aboard the boat.
Just a question?
- Thread starter Benny17441
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Since I have a built in diesel generator, and 1/2 inch 1 X 19 wire, I opted for an angle grinder instead. A lot quicker and if one is trying to cut away a mast in heavy weather, I think speed is of the essence. I'm not at all sure I could cut through my wire with cable cutters by hand anyway, so it would require a hack saw, but it would be slow going.
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Yeah I carry one. Just a five pound piece of safety equipment that amongst other things give me a 'prepared' feeling. And a .45
I don't have any bolt cutters. The rigging is regularly inspected (me), I just had the shrouds replaced, keep clean\remove salt residue, try not to over-stress the rig by reefing\trim\proper tension\tuning - that is, try to prevent such an event to begin with.
Also, the mast can't fall - it's keel stepped. It would have to break. However, if I lost a stay or shroud and it did break, I'd try to retrieve it and haul it on deck. If I couldn't, I'd call Tow Boat to help save the mast. This is all given my usual proximity to harbor(s), and the weather in which I sail now, which is pretty good
and the incredible unlikeliness of this mast breaking. If I were going offshore, cutters would definitely be added to the list, but right now they would just be superfluous clutter.
My mast fell many years ago on my first sailboat, a 2-year-old Catalina 250 deck stepped. The furler had been muckering up the head stay at the mast head, and had been twisting the head stay. I knew it was afoul the whole time, but was too new and ignorant to know it was a red flag. I went to furl one day and the head stay let go. The mast came down into the cockpit, but was held up a little by the boom vang and shrouds. Calm sea, 5 knots wind. I just tied it off to the stanchions on each side, and motored in. One sailor came by while I was working on it just after it fell, and asked if I needed bolt cutters to discard the mast. I looked at him like he was a nut, and said to myself, "Now why the %$@# would I want to do that?"
So, there are circumstances in which masts should be cut loose in the event of a failure. My guess is that that kind of severe remedy is typically not needed in most daysail outings. Others' venues might be different.
Also, the mast can't fall - it's keel stepped. It would have to break. However, if I lost a stay or shroud and it did break, I'd try to retrieve it and haul it on deck. If I couldn't, I'd call Tow Boat to help save the mast. This is all given my usual proximity to harbor(s), and the weather in which I sail now, which is pretty good
and the incredible unlikeliness of this mast breaking. If I were going offshore, cutters would definitely be added to the list, but right now they would just be superfluous clutter.My mast fell many years ago on my first sailboat, a 2-year-old Catalina 250 deck stepped. The furler had been muckering up the head stay at the mast head, and had been twisting the head stay. I knew it was afoul the whole time, but was too new and ignorant to know it was a red flag. I went to furl one day and the head stay let go. The mast came down into the cockpit, but was held up a little by the boom vang and shrouds. Calm sea, 5 knots wind. I just tied it off to the stanchions on each side, and motored in. One sailor came by while I was working on it just after it fell, and asked if I needed bolt cutters to discard the mast. I looked at him like he was a nut, and said to myself, "Now why the %$@# would I want to do that?"
So, there are circumstances in which masts should be cut loose in the event of a failure. My guess is that that kind of severe remedy is typically not needed in most daysail outings. Others' venues might be different.
Capta and Skipper you have taken two different approaches to the issue and I have no objections to either one. The thing is both have given consideration to the issue and the risks involved and both have come up with a solution that they feel comfortable with. These cable cutters or the need for them are rarely mentioned in the forum so I'm most concerned about those who may have never given the issue a consideration.
Chris, you must be getting old. Don't you know a .45 can do the job of the cable cutters, only quicker? No need to carry both!
Careful Gene..... you are going to open a "guns on boats" thread.... and we all know that those go on FOREVER!
Cutting a shroud on a 22' boat is one thing, cutting a shroud on a 40' boat is a whole other thing. And using blunt bolt cutters? Before you bother carrying this gear I suggest that you get a chunk of your standard rigging wire from a rigger and test your hypothesis. Now do it again in the back of a pickup truck while a buddy drives you down a dirt road at 60 miles an hour. That's more like the conditions you will hacking away rigging in. Even a hacksaw with a proper blade works bettter. There used to be a powder-powered rigging cutter, took me 3 rounds to cut my rigging, and the damn thing was super expensive. You can buy cordless angle grinders that will do the job. And you can hand off the duties to a weaker crew member while you work to stabilize the rig.
It's hard to imagine the mess that I would have to work through to cut away the rig of the Bavaria 38. Not only the likely tangle of wire rope but the mess of sails and running rigging as well. Eegaads! Preparation, I would think, would require more than a single blunt bolt cutter that may take two hands to operate. Like everything else on a boat, one might need multiple avenues (redundancies) to the same end point. There are single grip cable cutters that supposedly can do the job on 10 mm 7x19 wire rope (shrouds). See below. My reading on the subject lately has brought me into consideration of heavy duty hacksaws using fine toothed, bi-metal blades, etc. Now, in the forum, I hear about cordless angle grinders (also two hands to use?). But will they operate soaking wet? This is all good info. I think two of each might be the ticket along with some sharpened, serrated rigging knives ready to go. Or at least some assortment where you can get more than one person at a time working on getting the rig jettisoned. Might need the hacksaw to cut through the mast stub itself. What do we do about the forestay loaded (protected) with a furling system?
Truth in advertising statement in response to OP: I don't have any of the above rig-cutting items aboard except for one serrated-edged rigging knife.
Truth in advertising statement in response to OP: I don't have any of the above rig-cutting items aboard except for one serrated-edged rigging knife.
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cable/wire rope cutters are very different than wire or side cutters... even a small pair of wire rope cutters can sever a very large diameter cable, but a bit slower with more effort involved.
a dedicated cable cutter has jaws resembling a parrots beak, except they are bypassing/shearing blades, rather than a pinching/anvil type, like wire cutters, dikes, an side cutters are.
the shape of the jaws on a wire rope cutter are designed so that they can be used to pick out a couple of individual strands of a large cable at a time. the will make a mess of the cable ends, but if getting it severed is the most important thing and you have the time, then smaller ones will work fine.
if the cutter is a quality brand with 24" handles, it will easily cut thru 3/8 cable in one stroke without much effort. and leave very clean ends to work with...
the hack saw method is reserved for AFTER you donate the wire rope cutters to the deep
...
No hypothesis testing needed. Felco C112. $500 but totally up to the task, even rod rigging.
http://www.felcousa.com/felco/pages/product.page?name=FELCO C112
Yes we carry a small cable cutter on board, several thimbles, nicopress sleeves, and one of the portable tools you tighten with a wrench to press a nicopress sleeve. I also have a coil of 1 X 19 1/8" SS cable that was one of the older stays that I salvaged when I replaced my standing rigging. Never had to use any of it, but all it takes is one time to ruin a vacation.
Don
Don
Certainly, no one is going to carry two of that one. The webpage ad has 'em at over $600 each; hope you have a lanyard attached when using, etc.No hypothesis testing needed. Felco C112. $500 but totally up to the task, even rod rigging.
http://www.felcousa.com/felco/pages/product.page?name=FELCO C112