Wrapped a line around my prop. That’s was fun :/

[Airstream345]

This is one of those things I’ve been told everyone does sooner or later. For me it was sooner and I was lucky enough to be in my slip when it happened.

After finishing up a complete fuel filter service on our twin Lehman’s I was running each engine in gear, one at a time, in the slip to get them up to temp and ensure no air was in the fuel system.

Port engine went well with no issues. I started the starboard engine and after a short idle I put her in gear, immediately hearing a cracking sound and the engine died.

Shut everything off at the helm and ran down to check things. The starboard stern line, which I had nearly piled up on the rail the day before to get it out of the way of some outboard maintenance had fallen into the lake and wrapped itself around the prop.

With an old pair of diving goggles I found onboard and a trusty Gerber knife in hand I proceeded to remove/saw the line off the prop. BTW - holding your breath at 49 is much harder than it was at 29. [emoji6]

Fortunately there was no damage to the prop or shaft and no vibrations up to 1500 rpm. I’ll sea trial it this weekend.

The crack was the sound of the cleat pulling up 1/4 from the gunwale. Fixable but one more thing added to he list before we leave for the San Juan Islands.

This one was totally my fault but It’ll guarantee I’ll never put her in gear without checking the lines again.

 

[dhays]

Damn! Sorry about that Airstream.

I’m just impressed you could stay in the cold water long enough to cut the line off, let alone hold your breath.

 

[Airstream345]

Actually it was damn hot today so the dip in the lake was very refreshing. Also, my zincs all looked good

 

[GFC]

Some guys get all the luck. In your slip, tied to the dock and you have goggles on board.


Many years ago I caught a line in BOTH of my props while out on the river at 10:00 p.m. In OCTOBER-R-R-R-R-R. In 53* water. It took 35 minutes beneath the boat with a Maglite between my legs and a steak knife in my teeth to get it all cut loose.

 

[dhays]

Actually it was damn hot today so the dip in the lake was very refreshing. Also, my zincs all looked good

Ah.. the lake! No wonder.

 

[Moby Nick]

Did that once in Nipigon Bay in Lk Superior. With no face mask aboard, I was fortunate to be able to just barely reach the prop from a position beside the swim platform (which gave me a necessary hand-hold). The culprit was a polypropylene tow line for our dinghy which had decided to NOT float. The incident happened at a mooring in a cove having a narrow entrance, in shallow water somewhat warmer than typical Lk Superior. I added a facemask to our gear right after that episode, along with a larger dia polypropylene line having better ability to float.

 

[menzies]

Done it twice. Once in the last boat which meant diving below with my knife, once on the dinghy rope on Sonas which the line cutters took care of - of course then I had a runaway dinghy to handle!!

 

[FF]

A new fresh serrated knife is your best friend to cut line.

 

[angus99]

On the first day we ever moved our boat — to get it up to the Chesapeake nearer where I lived at the time — I committed the worst error: running with a tight schedule. My son and I arrived at Fernandina after dark, a place I was unfamiliar with, in a boat I didn’t know how to run and in powerful currents . . . and tried to pick up a mooring ball.

The first thing I learned was I can’t hold a 46,000-lb boat by a mooring pennant in strong currents; it was just inexorably pulled out of my hands. The second thing to learn was those pennants are covered with razor-sharp crustaceans! As I was cursing a blue streak over having my hands shredded—and bleeding all over the boat—my son was distracted enough on the helm to run over the pennant, wrap the line around the prop and stall the engine.

Diving on it in that current, in the dark, with two bloody hands was out of the question. But I also wasn't comfortable hanging on a mooring by our propshaft in a crowded field with our stern against strong currents. Luckily, a guy on another boat was able to take our anchor upcurrent in his dinghy and give us another point of contact with the bottom. The next morning a Towboat US diver had us detached from the pennant in about 10 seconds—confirming my fears that we might not have been connected that well and could have slipped off in the night.

So many lessons learned from one incident!

 

[Airstream345]

Yikes! After hearing these stories I'm feeling very lucky.

 

[mahal]

Lucky indeed. When I did this I had a bent shaft and strut, broken engine mount arm and transmission had to be rebuilt.

 

[ghost]

Lake doesn’t count. Worst was November, with the flu, just before dark and raining. Then there was that crab pot in Garrison Bay, the crab pot outside Everett with a good 75 feet of floating line. Most pathetic was Butchart Gardens, anchor line tangled, dingy painter in the prop, blocking the float plane trying to come into the dock with a crowd of about 20 watching the whole thing up on the hillside.

#1 hacksaw blade
#2 serrated victorinox

Sadly, I have lots of experience in this particular department.

 

[psneeld]

Never had a crab pot line do much of anything on many different kinds of boats...most of the time they get cut off at haulout or diver cleaning in my experience.


I certainly would only dive on one in near ideal conditions.


Virtually had some kind of line around the shaft/prop on the assistance towboat nearly all Summer every year and the trawler most years.

 

[BruceK]

Reading Angus 99`s sad tale(ouch!), we carry leather faced gardening gloves, mainly in case of a hand anchor retrieve. They would be good, if you have the presence of mind to don them, picking up nasty objects like a fouled mooring pennant.

 

[k9medic]

I played this same game a few weeks ago when leaving Green Turtle Cay early in the morning.

Around 0530 and just outside of the marina I decided to go ahead and hook up the tender to the tow line. Moments after hooking up the line I realized that we were drifting into the mooring field.

My son was at the helm and was manipulating the controls and (admittingly) had a good handle on the situation. I ran up to the helm to "help" and after throwing the shifters into reverse, subsequently ran over the tow line.

I then dropped anchor and waited until the sun came up. After the sun came up, I grabbed what I call my "oh crap mask" from the back swim deck and jumped in. Sure enough, my 5/8" bridle was wrapped around my port engine and about 30' of dyneema rope was wrapped around my starboard.

Thankfully, I carry a size 60 scuba tank for such adventures and I was able to unwrap the lines after a few moments and no damage was noted.

 

[Keysdisease]

I will second the hacksaw, cuts better and is easier to use underwater, of course and then there's this........

 

[Airstream345]

Lucky indeed. When I did this I had a bent shaft and strut, broken engine mount arm and transmission had to be rebuilt.

Oh man. That was my immediate concern because the other end of the line was tied to the cleat. Fortunately I appear to have avoided any serious damage (engine was at idle and immediately stopped).

 

[MurrayM]

About two weeks ago we found out that a floating tow line with floats attached can get sucked 3' under water into the prop when the boat is put into reverse to stop going past a mooring bouy. Luckily I had fed one foot of line through the ring before the boat stalled.

Also lucky for us the some friends with dive gear were within range with their jet boat dinghy to cut our prop clear.

Our daughter asked, "Why do we tow the dinghy anyway?" and I sheepishly answered, "Because it's convenient"

Never going to tow the dinghy again...

 

[BruceK]

This is drift, but imagine how dangerous. Every year during their migration,some whales get caught up in fishing lines,floats,nets etc which they drag along as they swim, impeded by them. Some very brave and resourceful people go to their rescue in small inflatable boats,to cut the fishing gear free.

 

[Airstream345]

BruceK, I've seen video of some of these efforts. Yes, bravery indeed. Knowing now how much effort it took to remove a small line from a small stationary boat tied to a dock in warm water, I cannot imagine what it takes to remove lines from enormous, live, moving, diving, spectacular animal at sea.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Cutters work (most times) but a prop clean out port would be my preference. Knife on a stick and no diving....standard equip on many downeast type boats. Hamilton marine sells them but many use fiberglass exhaust tube.

 

[dhays]

About two weeks ago we found out that a floating tow line with floats attached can get sucked 3' under water into the prop when the boat is put into reverse to stop going past a mooring bouy. Luckily I had fed one foot of line through the ring before the boat stalled.

Also lucky for us the some friends with dive gear were within range with their jet boat dinghy to cut our prop clear.

Our daughter asked, "Why do we tow the dinghy anyway?" and I sheepishly answered, "Because it's convenient"

Never going to tow the dinghy again...

I think the answer is to pull the dinghy up to the stern BEFORE you start to maneuver.

 

[MurrayM]

I think the answer is to pull the dinghy up to the stern BEFORE you start to maneuver.

Yup. Duly noted.

Then again...if it's hoisted out of the water all concerns are gone, and we get more miles per gallon anyways

 

[ghost]

Never had a crab pot line do much of anything on many different kinds of boats...most of the time they get cut off at haulout or diver cleaning in my experience.


I certainly would only dive on one in near ideal conditions.


Virtually had some kind of line around the shaft/prop on the assistance towboat nearly all Summer every year and the trawler most years.

Happy to learn here if possible. I’ve had my two inch shaft stop cold from poly(don’t recall it being lead line). It’s nasty to get out once it’s binded that tight. Since then I’ve been more conservative and would opt to cut it out before risking making it worse.

What do you do recommend when you get a line going? Just rock the power back and forth until it gives? I know a lot of people have spurs, but I’ve just gotten more careful and have not caught me for a number of years. Lucky I think, more than skill. I’ve near missed sunken crab buoys more times than I can count, still only a matter of time.

 

[HopCar]

When I had my boat Possum built, I had a set of Spurs installed. In 28 years I was never stopped by a line fouling the prop. I know I hit at least one line. I found about a 1 foot piece of it hung up on the rudder.

I wish they made them for Outboards. I’ve had fishing line cut the seal in the lower unti behind the prop.

 

[psneeld]

Happy to learn here if possible. I’ve had my two inch shaft stop cold from poly(don’t recall it being lead line). It’s nasty to get out once it’s binded that tight. Since then I’ve been more conservative and would opt to cut it out before risking making it worse.

What do you do recommend when you get a line going? Just rock the power back and forth until it gives? I know a lot of people have spurs, but I’ve just gotten more careful and have not caught me for a number of years. Lucky I think, more than skill. I’ve near missed sunken crab buoys more times than I can count, still only a matter of time.

At least all the line used on crab pots between NJ and FL never has done anything but get sucked up and cut off without an engine hiccup. Many people including myself never even realize they picked one up.

Docklines are a different story.... Depending, yes they might choke an engine off.

The best thing to do is find an end with a boathook and work back and forth till you pull as much as you can off. After that, cut off the excess and see if the engine will run in gear.

If so, run the gear in forward and reverse with bursts of throttle to see if more will unwrap or shred.

If it runs in gear, sure a few dozen more hours might prematurely wear the outer edge of the cutless bearing, but I have never seen bad damage.

Guess it may cause more damage, but better than a dive that can be way worse unless like I said, in ideal or at least good conditions.

Only go in in bad conditions if lying ahull if more dangerous and you can't get the how into the waves and you aren't expecting help.

 

[NightCrawler]

Spring of 2017 at Sebastian River Marina. Tow boat pulled a 40ish power cruiser into the lift bay. Two big pumps were on the swim deck pulling a LOT of water out of the boat.
Once in the lift, water poured out of a nasty hole in the bottom for over an hour.
Captain had wrapped a dock line around the prop and kept going. Tore the drive shaft strut out of the hull. Apparently the deck cleat won the tug of war.

 

[Marco Flamingo]

I just had my initiation last weekend. I had the new inflatable behind me when I decided that I needed to move into deeper water during low tide. I backed down on the anchor at idle until I heard a whack, whack, whack and immediately shut down. The wife said "Hey, the dinghy is caught under the swim step." I had pulled it down until the "painter" tore the D ring off the bow of the dinghy (and broke the tow line off of the cleat) and it was the D ring that was doing the whack, whack, whack on the bottom of the boat. I say "painter" because I was using a new 5/8" dock line instead of a little poly rope. That had to take quite a tug to snap it off of the cleat.

The next day at slack tide I could look down and see the D ring hanging from the line. After four snorkel dives, I had it free. Being as it was larger line, it hadn't seized up tight at all. I even saved the D ring and will be able to re-attach.

We have since motored 10 hours without incident. But . . . how concerned should I be that I might have bent the shaft a little? At last haul out, I was told that at the next haul out I should replace the cutlass bearing. If I haul out, is it possible that a yard would have a dial indicator to check the shaft or is that something I need to have on hand? I'm assuming that a cutlass bearing replacement is just a haul and hang. If I want the prop checked, should I have a diver pull it, put on my spare, and have the present prop checked and tuned prior to the cutlass bearing replacement?

Yeah, holding my breath in Puget Sound was more difficult at 66 than at 26. I told an old diving buddy that my downtime was limited to 6 seconds each dive. I think that may be an exaggeration.

 

[STB]

Without knowing anything else about your vessel, e.g. shaft diameter, distance between struts/hull, etc, I'd say to get the diver to clean the bottom and inspect and, then, on a good day, run it up to WOT. Increase RPM deliberately and pay attention. If you get uo to WOT and there are no unusual vibrations or sound, you are likely good. Also check the packing gland, but it is probably fine.

We've all occcasionally caught a rope one way or another and, although there are some real horror stories, most people get lucky most of the time.

 

[OldDan1943]

Get a hooka. The compressor will provide air via a hose and regulator..Some folks, like me, are air hogs. Buy a larger reservoir tank. Your other option is to buy the regulator double LONG hose and hook it to an a standard SCUBA tank. I carry 4 tanks onboard. The brand I use is Third Lung. They are local to Ft Lauderdale.