Make your hands hurt indeed. I worked on a tugboat in the ICW one summer in
high school. One day the captain came and got me. Didn't tell me what for,
so I didn't have my gloves with me. We were coming into a lock and I had to
stop the barges with a rope like that. I actually lassoed the cleat on the
shore, and tried to get the requisite wraps on the barge cleat. Didn't quite
get it in time and the rope sang right through my hands, removing most of
the outer layer of skin. Ouch.

"Glenn Ashmore" wrote in message
news:93Wpb.1035$62.142@lakeread04...
The recent threads on bottom cleaning reminded me of something we tried
on a charter in the BVIs last summer. We had picked up a Beneteau 41 at
Nanny Cay. Nanny Cay marina has very poor circulation and it was
August, late in the season. We soon found that the bottom was fast
becoming a marine wildlife perserve. One of the crew found about 40' of
old ragged 1" hemp hauser in the dry storage yard. The kind that makes
your hands hurt just looking at it. The first night we stopped on the
back side of Peter Island. It was out near the point at White bay where
there was a fair westward current.

We looped the hauser under the bow and worked it back past the keel
pulling it back and forth from side to side. Then we did the same from
the prop forward and again from the prop back to the transom. Produced
a great cloud of green slime and blue ablative bottom paint. It took
about half hour of hard work but except for a small triangle over the
keel and a strip above the prop shaft the bottom was spotless. The
rudder and keel were a different matter but what the heck. It was an
off season rental. At least we got some decent speed out of the boat
after that.


--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com