Re: [AlbinVega] lobster pots and prop

Oct 30, 2019
109
Oops, I just replied about the ladder, but I reread your message and saw
your comment about the lobster pot warps and the prop. I thought I'd
share a little device I made that has saved me from probably hundreds of
pot warps using toggles. (For those of you who haven't been downeast and
don't know what a toggle is: in our waters where lobster pots are placed
almost every 10 feet almost everywhere within a mile of the coast, there
are often two floats per line, with a connecting line between them
running just beneath the surface. Often the extreme tidal currents pull
one of the other float underwater, making it invisible and the water a
minefield of almost totally unavoidable lines running every which way
just below the surface. My previous small boat with a kick-up rudder
would catch a line about every 20 minutes of sailing time even when I
spend all my time on the lookout.)

Anyway, an old Maine sailor took one look at my Vega's exposed prop and
suggested installing a flat piece of stainless steel (maybe 15-18 inches
long, about the size of a paint stir stick) horizontal, mounted to the
trailing edge of the rudder just below the prop. Any line that crosses
under the keel and sweeps up the rear edge of the rudder is deflected
back and away before it hits the prop. In 4 years I've only snagged
once, and that was on light wind in the middle of a tack when I think a
strong tide flow actually set me slightly backwards on one. I forget
where I found the piece of steel, but I simply drilled a couple holes
through the rudder and through-bolted it. I didn't know if I might be
letting water into the rudder and so sealed the holes well. Four years
later, it's the best and cheapest modification I've made!
Tom

ellissitzky wrote:
 
Oct 30, 2019
22
Gee Tom, Your tip about the fix for the lobster pot line is the best tip I
have read in years. It's simple, cheap and effective. Better than putting
cutters on the prop shaft. Thanks Walt S.
 
May 30, 2000
45
Tom:
The lobstermen who remain at it in our harbor work very hard for small returns. We have great respect for them. Despite every precaution we still had one minor incident last year about 100 ft. from what we believed was the outside edge of a lobster pot field on LI Sound. Thanks for the nifty "Down East" idea for improvement.
Jim #3228
Tom Lochhaas wrote:Oops, I just replied about the ladder, but I reread your message and saw
your comment about the lobster pot warps and the prop. I thought I'd
share a little device I made that has saved me from probably hundreds of
pot warps using toggles. (For those of you who haven't been downeast and
don't know what a toggle is: in our waters where lobster pots are placed
almost every 10 feet almost everywhere within a mile of the coast, there
are often two floats per line, with a connecting line between them
running just beneath the surface. Often the extreme tidal currents pull
one of the other float underwater, making it invisible and the water a
minefield of almost totally unavoidable lines running every which way
just below the surface. My previous small boat with a kick-up rudder
would catch a line about every 20 minutes of sailing time even when I
spend all my time on the lookout.)

Anyway, an old Maine sailor took one look at my Vega's exposed prop and
suggested installing a flat piece of stainless steel (maybe 15-18 inches
long, about the size of a paint stir stick) horizontal, mounted to the
trailing edge of the rudder just below the prop. Any line that crosses
under the keel and sweeps up the rear edge of the rudder is deflected
back and away before it hits the prop. In 4 years I've only snagged
once, and that was on light wind in the middle of a tack when I think a
strong tide flow actually set me slightly backwards on one. I forget
where I found the piece of steel, but I simply drilled a couple holes
through the rudder and through-bolted it. I didn't know if I might be
letting water into the rudder and so sealed the holes well. Four years
later, it's the best and cheapest modification I've made!
Tom

ellissitzky wrote: