Hydraulic Wire Cutters?

[AdriftAtSea]

The owner really needs to think about what that would have done... wrapping all that poop around the prop would have made a bad situation much worse.  Something similar happened to a friend on a delivery and they couldn't stop the owner in time... and the poop pulled the prop shaft out of the hull.   

...Biggest battle we had was sitting on the owner, who wanted to IMMEDIATELY start the motor and head to a marina- with all the poop ( I didn't type poop ;D) dangling in the water!!!

[Captain Smollett]

The owner really needs to think about what that would have done... wrapping all that poop around the prop would have made a bad situation much worse.  Something similar happened to a friend on a delivery and they couldn't stop the owner in time... and the poop pulled the prop shaft out of the hull.   

When the doo-doo is hitting the fan, you don't always think in logical terms like that.  After years in emergency services, my observation is that when something goes 'wrong,' people generally latch onto the first thought that hits their head that provides some semblance of comfort.  In this case, motoring in immediately was probably the first thing he thought of to remove the danger.  For others, it's calling for help/rescue.

Always easier to analyze from afar after the fact than to be IN a situation.  That's why I usually sit in utter astonishment and admiration at those who hit hardship at sea and rig jury rigs and the like to keep going.  The presence of mind in trying circumstances merits respect of the highest order.

For those that fail to act with such aplumb, I think "there but for the Grace of G o d go I."

[Fortis]

I have been on board during one sort-of dismasting (broke just above the spreaders), someone else's boat. Sitting ont he skipper is indeed one of the hardest tasks.
He began screaming first to cut the cables and drop the mast, then when he noticed that the lower shrouds and babystay were still holding the stick up, for someone to climb up and start cutting stuff off so we could drop the broken bits of spar...and all sorts of really dangerous nonsense that was going to make things much worse very quickly (I had a vision of the top half of the mast harpooning down through the deckhouse!). About four seconds into his stream I actually recognised the book he was literally QUOTING by way of giving orders and instructions. Minor problem was that the book dealt with a mid ocean dismasting and we were maybe 45 minutes motoring form the marina. The boat in the book was around 21 tons and did not miss the mast's absence nearly as much as the little vessel we were on, whihc was now penduleming around and trying to catapult people off the deck, let alone having someone aloft (Trying to free-climb a lower shroud, no less!).

As you said, he got an IDEA to cling to, it wasn't a good one, and it didn't suit the situation, but it was there and he was bellowing it.
I got him to stop. Got him to realise that we were not in much danger, just lots of discomfort form the new hull motion...And LYING WITH AN UNCONCERNED SMILE ON MY FACE I got him convinced that I knew what to do and was willing ot take responsibility for making it all better again.

I had no clue, but I knew that it was still better then his alternative. I looked at the problem objectively and then loosed the outhaul ont he main and popped the shackle. This allowed me to just pull the sail forward to the mast. I got the foredecky that was having a religeous experience at being "saved" from having to climb the mast to cut the foot of the headsail (too tight on the shackle to realease). This flopped the headsail to the mast in similar fashoin to the main. I then got some rope handed up and began lashing it in a spiral to the mast (this involved throwing the rope up and around the mast. This also bound the broken and hanging down section of mast to the still standing bit. The  Headsail sheets was also used to thsi end, though it may have been overkill by then. We ended up with a fat bound up mess where the mast used to be, but the boat's motion improved marekdly and not having the slammin of the mast and the flapping of the sails was a vast improvment. we triple idiot-checked for lines in the water and such, started the motor and calmly puttered into the marina. everyone was all smiles and no-sh*t-there-I-was stories by the time we cleared the seawall.

The best part was that when the owner rang it in to his insurance company they just declared the entire rig a dead loss, sight unseen and cut the check. The nearly new main had a couple of small cuts at the point where the ragged mast end chewed it, but was otherwise intact. The headsail was less ten $50 to reapair, and the boom was intact and perfect. One of those times when coming out of a dismast actually puts you ahead.
The owner thinks somewhat highly of me.

I am not holding myself up as any kind of example, but for me, the difference between gibbering and actually THINKING my way out of a problem was a matter of two combined factors. One, I refused to get captivated by the DISASTER of it all and just worked my way through the hundred or so very small mundane problems that comprised it. The other factor, was that someone else was spouting stuff that I could tell was worse and more dangerous. I really hate just saying "no" without offering a workable alternative or solution. I had to say no, so I HAD TO come up with a solution.

This is the same skipper that a year or so later had the flex-coupling on his prop shaft lose its bolts and had his prop slide back to colide with and tangle his rudder.

sailing with him taught me a lot of nifty tricks for getting out of trouble...because it had to.

Oh yeah, in terms of admirable problem solving. My favourite has to be the guy that got seriously dismasted while single handing the north atlantic. 3am, bad seas, pitch dark, he has the presence of mind to not only dump the clevis pins and stop the mast form holing the hull, but he actually tead on a very long rope (one of the halyards) to the mast and to one of the bow cleats. The mast sank and worked as some sort of sea anchor while he went below and got soe sleep. In the morning he waited for the seas to calm and prepped the deck...then he used a sheet winch to begin pulling the rig back to the surface, where he was able to salvage useful bits for creating a jury rig. It took him three days, he woul;d remove the boom one day, let the rest of the rig re-sink, get that fitted, think about what he needed next..and so on. In the end he hoisted the rig to the surface, cut lose the headsail and then let it go for the last time and fitted up his sail and continued the journey. He says that according to his GPS the submerged rig and sails had kept him from drifting much beyond 6miles in three days. Now that guy has my respect and admiration!

Alex.

[saxon]

In 2006 I was off the coast of Spain and was able to help a Dutch yacht that had suffered rigging failure. This was "no life or death" type rescue I might add. A hot sunny day, light breeze but a very big swell running and we were within 8 miles of shore. His mast had gone over the Port side, snapped off about 5 feet above deck level (wooden mast), the standing rigging that had not snapped was in a tangle and his stantions were bent where the mast had fallen across the guard rail wires.

He was unable to release the rigging because the weight of the mast as it snatched at the tangled rigging when the boat rolled in the swell, stopped him from simply pulling out split pins(cotter) pins and at least one of the rigging screws (Turnbuckles) was bent and twisted. I was able to get  close enough for him to take a light line with my old commercial bolt cutters bent on the end and he cut the wires, and safely made Cartagena under power, (towing his mast.) :D  I would just caution against relying on being able to simply 'pull pins' to release your rig in an emergency.

[CapnK]

Alex -

Good thoughts and philosophy, and a neat story about sinking the rig - that one gets filed away in the "keep for future reference" part of my brain! ;D

Saxon - good point, too.

As in, well, everything, it seems, compromise is key, there is always more than one way to skin a cat, and different situations can call for different solutions.

If you can/could pull pins, then having your standing rigging complete with the end terminals available would help when jury rigging.

OTOH, if it worked out that pulling pins was impossible or otherwise not the best solution, being able to cut wire quickly might become necessary, too.

I still think that a set of the hydraulic cutters would be a handy addition to the toolbox. :)

[saxon]

I totally agree Capt K, if you can save any part of the rig without cutting it then it gives you a fighting chance to re-use it for jury rigging. On a lighter note..amongst cruising folk anyone one with a set of hydraulic cutters on board is always going to be popular and in line for a few beers in return for the odd wire snip... ;D ;D