Following the dismasting of Dee Caffari's Aviva, on the single handed Ecover B2B transatlantic race, not to mention Veolia Environment losing her rig in the Barcelona two-handed round the world race, and numerous other recent high profile rig failures, the question of how to deal with losing the mast has come in for a great deal of comment.
The general view is that for anything except standard 1 x 19 wire on relatively small boats, bolt croppers are not much use. They will not deal with the larger diameter rigging wire on larger boats, never mind rod rigging.
Hacksaws are effective (on wire, not rod) but slow - in a situation where time may be of the essence. Hydraulic cutters are effective but expensive. Another expensive but effective solution is the Shootit explosive cutter - which operates with cartridges that fire a piston into the wire. But this will not help on very big boats. It is said to deal with rod rigging only up to 9mm, or wire to 12mm. And it costs about £360.
In last year's ARC, a Canadian-flagged 25m C&N sloop Mustang lost its rig above the first spreaders 1,500 miles from the finish.
A crew member reports that the hydraulic cutters carried by the boat “barely opened due to rust” and the blades shattered (also apparently due to rust) as soon as the pressure went on. At this point the skipper, concerned that the yacht would be holed by the wreckage of the mast, called for a deep sea rescue and a ship diverted.
However, the rig was cut free with the use of a 220v 4 inch angle grinder carried on board and another small hydraulic cutter, lent by another ARC competitor, Petite Lune, which also diverted to the rescue. It was then possible to create a jury rig, complete the race - and save the yacht.
There's no doubt that a mains-powered angle grinder will do the job quickly (provided there are enough discs. In Mustang's case the additional hydraulic cutter was needed because the only disc was damaged, apparently).
And many boats are equipped with inverters or generators which would provide the necessary power. But using a mains-powered angle grinder on a wet, unstable deck is a recipe for disaster. If you don't slip and cut your leg off by accident, you stand a fair chance of being electrocuted.
Richard Matthews, the chairman of Oyster Marine, has personal experience of this highly dangerous situation.
“We carried a 220v angle grinder on my 72ft Oystercatcher XXV which we used when dismasted during the ARC Transatlantic in 2005. We powered it from the ship's 220v generator and ended up with an extension cable on deck whose plug we wrapped in a bin liner to keep water out,” he told Scuttlebutt.
“Thank God, it was relatively dry on deck since rolling around at 3 a.m., with a deck by this time soaked in hydraulic fluid, getting electrocuted was certainly on the agenda. Time was of the essence and at least it cut through rods easily and that time we thankfully got away with it.”
However, it is not an experience he wants to repeat.
He says: “Bolt cutters in their various forms - you get what you pay for - are OK for smaller yachts, but when you get into larger sizes, especially rod rigging, they are 'No way Jose'. Trying to cut large size standing rigging in a seaway by hacksaw is a joke.
“Over the 30+ yachts I have owned and the 1,200-odd we have built for other people we have tried all sorts of options. On my 12m Crusader, in which we did five Fastnets with her original America's Cup rig, we carried a petrol-driven angle grinder. Thankfully we never had to use it in anger as you would have needed to be Rambo to do so.
“Since then I have discovered that Dewalt make an 18v battery-operated cordless angle grinder which retails for less than a crew meal and comes in a neat plastic box with a charger and spare battery.
“For me one of these gizmos is now standard equipment and apart from being the final solution to cutting away rigging of almost any size, unlike bolt cutters etc, its also a useful tool to have on board.”
Mr Matthews stresses that he has no connection with Dewalt. But such an authoritative endorsement should certainly help to promote sales of the product.
It costs about £230. The Oyster chief apparently spends rather more on crew meals than some of us!
