hitting crab traps at high speed

This isn't a case of the traps being "in the channel". We traveled in a straight line from the Sanibel bridge to the marker outside Key West. The crab pots were everywhere along the entire route. Going further East or West didn't change the situation any. Slowing down for evryone of them wasn't an option. I would never want to hit one, not for the sake of the boat or the owner of the trap. It just made me wonder if we ran over one would it actually get caught up in a propeller (the boat has outdrives). I can't imagine a marker or the line attaching it would stand a chance against a dual-prop outdrive pushing a 40 ft boat 40mph. We didn't hit any so we were pretty carefull. As for my friends sanity, I look forward to asking him!
 
Flutterby, I see where you are coming from, but here, you could often leave the boat at the dock and -walk on the floats- to your fishing hole. They are everywhere. And though the crabbers do not ( usually ) place there traps in the channels ou purpose, there are always some in the channels. It is a mess.

In fact, there are so many floats that get cut off, we just recently instituted a 2 week closed season during the winter low water period so that "lost" traps can be recovered ( they still catch fish and crabs... a real problem ). I think in this county last year they recovered about 3000 "lost" traps.

In short, they are unavoidable.
 
A high tide or strong current will pull the floats under the water. You won't even see them. When you hit them, shut the engine down as fast as possible to save the prop. Clear the line and determine if the prop can be saved. If not, you will need a tow or can try to put on the spare at sea.

A popular option for inboards are "SPURS" line cutters.

The best way to avoid crab lines is to stay in the deeper water, to deep for crab traps.

Crab_Line.jpg
 
I'm familiar with the problems of avoiding crab traps buoys. When we brought my friend's 47 footer down the west coast from Anecortes, WA to San Francisco, we encountered large areas blanketed with crab traps. We did our best to avoid them but chose to run farther from shore most of the time so that we could avoid them. We had to wind our way through them as we approached harbors in the afternoon.

They are difficult to see and with darkness or rough seas, it could be very difficult. I don't have any good advice for you Dominic except that crabbers rarely set their pots deeper than 50 fathoms around here, you might try running further out or have some of your crew help keep a watch. We found that having two people looking was very effective as one of us would invariably miss a few pots.

I also agree that it isn't very considerate to set pots IN the channel, but Pascal to suggest that they shouldn't be immediately outside the channel seems a bit restrictive. How far from the channel is okay? 5 yards, 10 yards, 100 yards or a 1000 yards? The channel is the channel, stay in it and you won't hit the ones immediately OUTSIDE the channel. Responsible crabbers should also be using real floats, sized properly for the trap (not clorox bottles) and leaded line so that it will sink. Weights can and often are added to non-leaded lines.
 
Grady, to me it seems that your lobsterman is creating a deliberate hazard to navigation and if I hit one of his chains, I'd try to get him to pay damages. I don't know the law on it but it would sure piss me off if I hit his rig.

Jimherbert, duos aren't immune...just twice the PITA to untangle.
 
I know that here in the UK the RYA has been running a campaign for some time over the problems associated with crab and lobster pots. About the only regulation of the potting industry there is over here are minimum catch sizes, and EU quotas on the amount of fish that can be caught have resulted in a lot of fishermen moving to shellfish instead. The problems we face seem similar - large numbers of poorly marked pots, often placed in restricted waters.

If a fisherman is being responsible, they should have a large buoy, preferably topped with a flag on a stick. It should have 2-3 metres of chain between it and the pot warp, to ensure that excess warp doesn't float on or near the surface, and the warp should be long enough that the buoy remains above water at all states of the tide (often the major complaint over here is of buoys lurking just below the surface at high tide). Under no circumstances should pots be shot in areas where vessels are restricted in the ability to avoid them. Given that most fishermen these days will use GPS to determine the locations of their pots, even if the buoy is separated from the pot warp, they normally have a fairly good chance of recovering their pots by towing a grapnel across the area (the traditional devices I've seen tend to look like christmas trees with no needles, made from galvanised steel). A fisherman who behaves responsibly shouldn't lose many pots to leisure boats, and those fishermen who don't behave responsibly deserve to lose their tackle to ropecutters, etc.

One aspect that's possibly more apparent to UK eyes (since we seem to have proportionally far more small sailboats and far fewer big powerboats than in the US) is that a line of 20-30 crab or lobster pots (not at all unusual, in fact 50-100 is quite common) is enough to efficiently anchor a small sailing boat, and if that's by the propshaft when going at or about hull speed then things can get very ugly indeed very quickly.
 
Chopping pots is mean spirited. A run up Bravo III won't foul. Many sternfrives won't foul if they're runup. DO NOT jockey the shifter while someone is trying to clear the prop. And don't hit them on purpopse so your spurs can 'deal' with them - the working boatman whose gear you're trying to deprive him of has been around the harbor a few more times and knows how to foil -as in disintegrate - spurs, an they have an uncanny knack for finding out who stole their gear.

If you accidentally cut someone's pot, mark the position, and spend a couple minutes asking around a fisheries dock, or keep an eye out for a lobster boat with that color buoy posted. It'll be very appreciated.
 
dave, let me clarify... outside the entrance to the channel where you have to go thru to get in or out, nicely lined up with the entrance. not outside the channel side, that would be ok obviously.

mike, i'm sorry... i will try to avoid them at all (reasonable) costs but as i said, they could be using more visible floats. a singly 4 or 5" foam ball, sometimes painted dark color, is not adequate. why are they trying to save a buck on a float when they have $ 100 or $ 200 of gear at stake ?

that's what i'd like to know...
 
One more thing the Crabbers could do is put a weight on the line from the marker to the pot.
Put the weight down about 20' and it'l hold the line straight below the markers.
Normally a boat wont pick up a ling going straight down.
 
It might be a lot better if the pots in the US were set the same way as the UK pots. IN UK they have a line strung between the pots with a buoy at each end. For 20 to 100 pots that is only 2 buoys. In the US each pot has a line and an individual buoy so 100 pots is 100 floats and lines.
 
I never thought to keep a bike helmet handy for that reason,, very smart
 
and if i ever use my boat in colder waters (I don't think so...) i will also keep a wet suit on board so that is can at least go under for a short time if i need to.

I've had to clear some poly lines a few times, never stopped the engine though, but found it afterward... it's no fun but not a big deal with a good knife and snorkel.
 
Had to take turns with my son going under to cut lines off both props two years ago. Bent strut and damaged props - I have no sympathy for the lobster/crab potters.

BTW, a small hacksaw seemed to work well but when the line is wrapped into the cutlass bearing you are in trouble.
 
One of the reasons crabbers use a certain size float is so that it doesn't cause the trap to float if there is an unusual current, tide or swell action as in the case of a storm. If the float has too much "lift", the trap will rise up off the bottom and move with the current. You want the float to submerge when necessary. Out here we run an extra 25% of the line depth and recreational crabbers stick with 5"x 11" floats. Commercials, with heavier traps, run double 7"x13"

Pascal, it sounds as if the crabbers there are not acting too courteously if they are blocking the entrance to the channel. I can see why locals would be mad.

I've also had to dive on a line on my prop .... in cold water without a wet suit. The line had bunched up between the strut and the prop and had melted in place from the heat. It was very difficult to cut off with a standard knife. I would advise everyone to carry a very sharp serrated knife for situations like this. I also was able to put my SpareAir to good use. This is a small scuba tank with built in regulator that hangs from your mouth for about a minute or two of underwater breathing near the surface. I now keep that onboard as well.
 
helmet , wetsuit , cutting tools , snorkel.... any other suggested Items for going under water while out at sea or underway ??

Mark
 
Crabbers set traps in navigable waters in the Great White North as well as in your southern clime Jim and I fell prey to that elusive submerged buoy attached to 25'of line at the end of which was a 2 foot conical mesh trap with a hole only big enough for a rock crab similar to your blues. Doing about 35-40 on plane when the skeg snagged the line and it rode up the back of the drive and wedged the buoy in the swim platform keeping it just taunt enough and far enough away from the prop.Had been dodging kelp and seaweed mats previous and when I suddenly fetched up, thought that was what it was.
revs and mph dropped quickly and temp gauge red lined for just a few seconds and all went back to normal but had difficulty keeping on plane.When I throttled back and attempted to get up again temp red lined and I shut down but not before the overflow coolant line blew a hole and emptied the exchanger. Not much wonder the boat was struggling cause I was pulling a fully loaded crab trap and I was so POD when it surfaced, I cut it off and cursed it back to Davey Jones when if a cooler head had prevailed would have eaten the dam things and then thew back the empty trap. Fortunately no damage done.
Had extra distilled water for my batteries and top up coolant and was able to make the ten mile
return home. Learned a lot about boating over the years and one thing that is really important to remember is " know you boat, keep an eye on those gauges and be ready to react when values are abnormal "

doi
 
quote:
Originally posted by lanbuilder

It might be a lot better if the pots in the US were set the same way as the UK pots. IN UK they have a line strung between the pots with a buoy at each end. For 20 to 100 pots that is only 2 buoys. In the US each pot has a line and an individual buoy so 100 pots is 100 floats and lines.

Click to expand...


I didn't realise that US potters set their gear up like that. Does anyone happen to know why they use individual lines, floats and weights, rather than investing in a hefty pot warp, a couple of decent anchors, and two big, beefy, hard-to-miss, buoys?

As far as I can see, the only real advantage to individual lines over a long warp is a safety one for the potter - getting caught up in the pot warp, pulled over the side, and anchored firmly to the bottom is a leading cause of death in British fishermen. Having said that, it's possible to design a safe system of work using this technique, and it does offer a lot of other potential advantages.
 
when we race the offshore boats in key west in november the course and harbor are filled with pots try seeing them at over 100 hitting one will take you out and can cause a lot of damage
 
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