Line Cutters

[SGIDAVE]

Does anyone think having a "line cutter" devise on their propeller shaft is important? A search of the forum came up with nothing. I'm asking about something like this

or this one called "Shaft Shark"

In principle they seem like a good idea especially if you boat where there are a lot of crab pots, etc. But in reality how many on the forum think they are worth the $$$ to actually have.

Thanks for your opinions,

/david

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

David:

We had line cutters on our last boat and I can state that they really work. I dropped a dock line into the water and sure enough the cutter did the job it was supposed to do, it cut the line very cleanly and without any problem. I do not have one on my Ranger Tug thou, even thou we occasionally cruise in crab pot infested waters. My opinion is that this, like anchors, electronics, etc becomes a personal preference. If you think the cutters will make you cruise with less worries, you cruise in crab pot infested waters and you can justify the cost then I'd the addition would be worth the cost.

Jim F

 

[RProffer]

Here on the Chesapeake Bay we have bunches of crab pots every where. I hate to cruise at night in unfamiliar waters around here because you never know when you will run into a crab pot field. I mark all the crab pot fields on my chart plotter for future reference. In all the years I have been boating here on the Bay I have yet to wrap a line around my shaft/prop.

Now down in Florida where they have a lot of trout lines, that is a different story. I wrapped a lot of those lines around my prop.

In the San Diego area we did not have any trout lines or crab pots.

I guess it depends on where you are cruising and what the hazards are in that area. The line cutters I have seen advertised were not that expensive. I guess if you would like to spend a few dollars to have some more peace of mind, go for it.

 

[dencarst]

Hi

When we bought our R27 Ranger Tug (John Livingston) recommend not using this cutter. There is a problem with prop spacing on the shaft but that was in 2010.
You might ask the factory for the latest information.

Dennis
Tug of my Heart 11

 

[nzfisher]

I keep my boat at Newport Harbor OR during a short fishing season. I would have a line cutter if I could find one that fit. I am thinking of buying one and having it remachined to fit the shaft with some space on both sides to allow for movement of prop shaft during loading. The problem is that many pots are put out by folks how are too cheap or too uninformed (read dumb) to use weighed lines. The buoy you see 10 feet to port might have a line stretched almost horizontally under you boat during the right current or tide without a line weight. So far, we have been lucky but it is just a matter of time.

 

[SGIDAVE]

I keep my boat at Newport Harbor OR during a short fishing season. I would have a line cutter if I could find one that fit. I am thinking of buying one and having it remachined to fit the shaft with some space on both sides to allow for movement of prop shaft during loading. The problem is that many pots are put out by folks how are too cheap or too uninformed (read dumb) to use weighed lines. The buoy you see 10 feet to port might have a line stretched almost horizontally under you boat during the right current or tide without a line weight. So far, we have been lucky but it is just a matter of time.

The Shaft Shark (second photo in original post) requires 0.90 inches space between the bearing and the propeller for installation. I think my R21-EC has that amount of space but I will need to get down there with calipers to measure it carefully before swearing to the dimension.

How much space is there on the R25, 27, etc?

/david

 

[SGIDAVE]

I meant to post this video before; it shows various line cutters in action

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WADETXBD3Pc[/youtube]

 

[BluebirdTug]

But what about the livelihood of the pot/line users?