$10.00 insurance, and other useful tips

yak2you2

2008-08-13 16:01:44

Sooner or later we all are going to experience the dreaded snug up. A moments worth of not paying attention can and eventually will leave you attached to the bottom, what you do there after is very important. First, respect your wire. For those of us fishing in little boats, even hand crank wire is plenty strong enough to pull a rail under. Always use break aways on your leads. But, you also always have to prepare for the unforseen. There's lots of places you can fish that the current, and or the swell will leave you with very little time for reaction. I'm small enough where I can usually throw it into reverse, get right up and down over the hang up, and jiggle myself lose, but beware of where your wires are, ALL of them. Getting a wire in your wheel now will compound your trouble exponentially. Make sure you've shortened up your free side so your sure it won't touch bottom too,or bring it in entirely if you have the time. AGAIN, respect your wire. A friend of mine told me once about a snag up incident in which the boat was straight up and down over the hook up trying to get free. A young crewman was holding on to the wire, when the boat came down on a swell. The wire threw a loop around his hand, the boat came up on the next swell, and cut off all of his fingers on one hand. Another friend fishing out of a skiff told me about hanging up, he was using halibut ganion for a break-away, Somehow his wire got rapped around his insulator and he wound up broad side in the current hanging off of the end of his pole hooked to the bottom.It pulled his rail under and had him about half full of water when his wooden pole snapped, He managed to get straight into the current, and without the extra leverage he was finally able to bust off, But not before soiling himself. Don't use halibut ganion for breakways by the way.

The $10.00 insurance policy. Go buy yourself a brand new pair of dikes, grease them up good, put them in a ziplock, and keep them somewhere within arms' reach back at the buissness end of your boat. It still may not save you, but it might at least give you a fighting chance.

yak2you2

2008-08-13 16:40:18

I know a woman who to this day wears a wig because when she was a little girl she got her long hair caught up in a power gurdie. It effectively scalped her on the spot. Be mindful of your long hair, jewelry, loose clothing, and especially things hanging from around your neck around power gurdies.

Safety glasses are something that none of us are likely to ever wear, but we all should when hauling gear. I was wrestling a big coho once, he gave a big head shake, the hook flew out of him and straight at me. I turned my head but it got me anyway. I got 4 stitches in my eyebrow and eyelid out of that one. 1 inch south of the mark, and I'd be shooting my rifle with the other hand.

Leader material of any kind will cut your hands up so bad,,,, always wear gloves. I've gotten to take a trip or two to the clinic over that one before too over the years. I know, it's hard to feel what your doing, but trust me, it's alot harder to feel what your doing with a giant bandage on your a hand.

yak2you2

2008-08-13 20:20:53

How do you avoid snagging up if the first place? Make sure you have a direction to go out to deeper water away from what ever your rubbing. If it looks like your going to hit bottom, increase your speed until your leads rise up and trail behind you and turn out. You should go through your gear after this, as it will probably have most of your hooks wrapped around the wire.

I knew a guy who used swear by dragging an upside down funnel around over the top of his leads. He swore that it made it almost impossible for his leads to catch anything that way. I know another guy who runs about a three foot, 30 lb, dingle bar on each of his hand gurdie wires. He swears that he can bang around the rockpiles all day and not get caught, except by lots and lots of Lingcod I bet. I've not tried either of these.

Always keep your knife and your dikes handy though. There's crab pots, long line gear, kelp beds, logs,etc., you'll run into all of them sooner or later.

yak2you2

2008-10-21 09:53:17

I'm not sure when or why it happens, but in all of our careers as fisherman, we somehow reach a point where after enough knife cuts, knuckle abrasions, hook pokes, lingcod scratches, ect., ect., we feel like we're somehow indestructible. What is fish poisioning anyway? "ARRGGG !! pour a little rum on it matey, you'll be fine".

I was just reading about a guy who had to get evacted off of a tuna troller 500 miles off of Oregon. He very nearly died of blood poisoning as a side effect of fish poisoning. It took an amazing array of equipment, money, and guts on the part of his rescuers to save him. The threat is very real, and it can kill you,or at the very least put you out of action for a while.

It doesn't have to be like that. Just srubbing and soaking your wounds with hot soapy water and or an antiseptic, then dressing them to reduce further infection will cut your odds down tremedously. Serious punctures, or cuts should be watched closely for tell tale signs of infection, and looked at by a health care professional immediately.The old guy who'd ought to have a parrot on his shoulder down at the end of the bar does not qualify, and never, ever, pour rum on anything, except ice, that's just a wasteful sacrilage.

yak2you2

2008-10-22 10:02:53

Whilst i'm ranting on about safety issues, I can't stress enough the importantence of a carbon monoxide detector/alarm. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas which on a boat could come from a leak in your engine's exhaust sytem, or from a stove or heater. When inhaled it can cause dizziness, paralysis, and death, and it has killed many, many fishermen. Out on the market there are many inexpensive cures for this problem. You can install a detector that can run directly from your electrical system when it's on, and will monitor from a rechargable power supply when you power is off. In light of all the little placards, bells, and whistles the Coast Guard makes a vessel owner have, I'm really surprised they don't make it a law that all enclosed cabin vessels have a CO2 detector. They really are one of the most important safety devises you can have.

Speaking of the Coast Guard, getting a dockside exam isn't really as painful as it sounds, there's not even any rubber gloves involved. They will simply look over your safety equipment, and advise you of any thing your lacking, no tickets. It can help you be prepared for an actual boarding and avoid costly citations and or lost fishing time, but most importantly, it can help you be properly equipted for the worst case scenarios.

In 40 years of fishing, I've lost a lot of friends to fishing accidents, it's an extremely dangerous occupation. If any of my thoughts written down helps to keep someone out of trouble, then it's worth it. Be safe.

yak2you2

2008-11-05 17:19:00

One of the, if not THE best safety item a fisherman can have on a boat, especially an old boat, is an emergency pump. The very best for this is a small portable gas powered Honda pump. The real beauty is their independently powered so your main engine, and/or batteries, can be out of service and you still have the ability to pump a lot of water fast. The other real advantage is their portability, giving you the ability to pump in hard to reach places, i.e.- the lazarette. The down side to these little portables is they take up space, which on a lot of boats is at a premium, and their a little spendy.

As a substitute idea for those who are unable, or unwilling, to carry a porta-pump, I offer up the excellent system that my friend has rigged up on his boat. Most wash down pumps take their water from a through hull fitting which circulates through the pump and out the deck hose. My friend skipped the through hull fitting, and has an extremely long hose with a weight on the end of it for his intake. He has a pretty beefy pump with 1.5 inch diameter in and out hoses, and when he raps it up, he's got a regular fire hose in hand. When he wants water he simply drapes the intake hose over the side. The real neat advantage to his system is, his hose is long enough to suck water from anywhere on his boat in the event of an emergency, i.e.-the lazarette. He has the ability to pump himself out with his own wash down pump. At least 4 times i've seen him pull along side other boats that have flooded and pump them out with this simple system.

If someone were just now rigging up, it might be an option to consider. An exsisting system could even be modified with the cost of a check valve and 40 ft. of hose spliced in after your through hull, giving you the option of closing outside water supply and using your deck pump for an emergency.

Salty

2008-11-05 17:46:05

For all you reading this I heartily agree. When I plumbed my slush tank system years ago we plumbed an intake into the bilge with a non reversible ball so I could pump out my engine room with my 2" pacer pump directly. I have never used it but it is there. I also plumbed an extra intake hose so I could pump each slush tank from both the bottom and through the long hose. This hose is just long enough to reach into my rudder lazarrette under my cockpit ( I have used this one a couple of time when my rule there failed). In the Co-op we are also required to have a manual pump for our bilge.

I have one of those carbon monoxide sensors. What I have and use all the time is a watch alarm. I turn mine on whenever we are running anywhere and have even started to turn it on when I am trolling on long tacks in the afternoon when I am a bit sleepy.

yak2you2

2008-12-05 15:00:44

One of the best insurance policies you can give yourself, is also one of the simplest to do. It is widely practiced by most professional fisherman in all types of fisheries,(myself included). Halving a knife somewhere near by will do you no good, if you can't reach it, i.e.- a line rapped around your leg, or a hook in your hand. You need a knife on your person, within easy reach.

Get yourself a Victronox knife with a hard plastic sheath. Tape the sheath to your raingear strap opposite your dominant hand, insert the knife, and your ready to go. They cost about $5.95, which will be money well spent if you ever need it.

yak2you2

2009-02-03 15:55:25

An old guy I worked for once, told me a trick he was fond of for towing a vessel in a heavy sea. He said that if you rap the tow line completely around the house and tie it, instead of just tying it off to the bow somewhere, it will help keep the line from snapping. His reasoning was that it let the vessel being towed pivot up and down as she rides, rather than snapping.

I've never tried it, so I can't speak for it, but the theory sounds good to me. Might be a handy trick to know when the chips are down.

Salty

2009-02-03 18:07:14

On some boats the only way to keep a tow rope attached to anything solid enough not to tear out was to rap it around the house. We did that one time in 1966 on the Jeanette to tow a guy from Thistle Cove in Dixon Harbor to Elfin Cove. I can't remember the name of the boat we towed. I do remember that the tow line parted off of Spencer and we had quite a time getting everything reattached.

John Murray

2009-02-04 03:20:21

Yak to you,man what kinda coffee you drinking up there?I like the topic, some of those little things can save ones fingers,etc .etc.

One or two to add to the list :double hose clamping ,nothing like a 1/2.5in. Jabsco filling up your bilgh,oh man I guess the high water alarm wasn't working after all,TEA tree oil for your deck hands or for your fish poisoning,a decent first aid kit and a book and/or training so you know what you do when the deck hand slices her finger out on the Grounds,those stove shut offs and alarm sensor which saved a couple guys boats/lives over the years,a decent tow line with a pre made bridle which fits your boat,oh yeah some paper charts .Computers are great till it goes out in that tight spot.

One thing that's really cool is all the help out there when you ask.We are our own little community on the grounds.One never knows when you need that tow,hydro fitting or first aid advice.

yak2you2

2009-02-04 16:37:35

LOL, look closer, I've been building this one a little at a time. I've actually really been hoping some other folks would jump in with some good tips.

Here's today's tips. Hydraulic hoses go bad from time to time. It's a good idea to have spares pre-made for areas of high use like around your gurdies, coiler, block, etc., but the best Idea I've seen is what I like to call the master hose. let's say you wipe out an uncommon hose and none of your spares are long enough, what now? Start pulling by hand. For the money it costs why not go measure out the longest hose on your boat, then add a couple of fathoms, and stow for later. It doesn't matter if it's to long, but it DOES matter if it's to short. Now you have a master spare that will work on any thing. Getting a coffee can full of different sized adapters and reducers is a good compliment for this one.

Speaking of pulling by hand. What do you do if your gurdy takes a dump somehow, and your left with 20 fathoms of wire out with a cannonball on the end of it? Pulling wire by hand if you've never done it is an extreme exercise in futility. A crew hand would pay in spades right about now, but I don't usually have one so....The wire wants to slip through your hands and is hard to hold on to with both hands, and then you have to let go with one and try to spool the wire back on to the drum with the other. I'm sure lots of guys have good ideas about this one, here's what I did. I snapped a gurdy handle off one time and didn't have a spare. so, I took my gaff hook and twisted my wire around it so I had a rap right in the middle of the gaff. Then I had a T handle to heave the wire in with. I could pinch the wire and hold the T with one hand, and rap the slack I'd gained back on my drum with the other hand. Then, I simply slid the gaff down the wire as far as I could reach and started the process over again. I was able to gain about a fathom at a time, and it worked slick. Sure beat the alternative.

JYDPDX

2009-02-04 22:08:30

I've heard some guys pre drill some holes on the end of their gurdie shafts so that when the inevitable time comes they can attach some sort of hand crank to the power gurdie.

Pulling wire by hand is sketchy. A guy I know had a hydraulic line burst in his engine room and an ensuing rage of inferno. Had to completely redo everything engine room to pilot house. Missed almost an entire season. Said the worst part of the whole ordeal was pulling the wire by hand.

yak2you2

2010-04-25 13:17:35

Five eyes on the guys, remember it. Here's a sad story to help you do so. A number of years back a husband/wife team were on their way into port. Husband went out to pull in the stabbies and the poles, and after a while wife thought it odd that he hadn't come back in yet. Couldn't have been 15 minutes gone by but it doesn't take that long to secure the poles where was he she thought? A search of the deck to her horror proved that he was no longer on board the boat. She put out a frantic distress call, and a valiant search effort insued, but sadly he could not be found.

Every five minutes, no matter how busy you are, make it part of your duty to visually check anyone on deck, and at all times when in rough seas. If your fishing alone a simple safety line secured about your waste when doing anything risky is a good idea. Feel stupid tying a rope around yourself? not as stupid as you'd feel watching your boat drive off I imagine. Assume nothing.

sean_h_5

2010-04-25 18:17:03

I hand troll out of a 24 ft skagit orca. I troll 25lb leads with the extended davit set up. I currently use halibut ganion but after reading this thread I'm re-thinking my set up. What should I use for breakaways?

Thanks.

Sean Hovik

grinder

2010-04-25 19:14:18

When working in your engine room one should always make sure there is no way to turn on your engine while you are working. Sometimes people don't communicate and the engine might start while your hands are in the engine. Someone could lose a finger or even worse a hand. Also when working with diesel or hydraulic oil you should always wear gloves it will protect you from all of the cancer causing chemicals.

Summer Break

2010-04-25 19:31:08

Watch out for loose clothes, belts, shoelaces, and drawstrings (hooded sweatshirs) whenever working near moving belts, hydraulics, shafts, pot pullers, etc.

yak2you2

2010-04-26 03:44:05

Sean, Don't let me scare you. I still am using a halibut ganion for a break away on my cannon balls, single not doubled, but one thing I HIGHLY recommend is something light like hanging twine between your insulator and your mainline. This way if you hang up the wire is now at the side of the boat and not hanging off of the end of the pole with all the leverage. Halibut ganion is some tough stuff and you'll still scare yourself trying to break it in a little boat, but lead isn't cheap either, so it's a catch 22. Leather straps have proven to be ridiculous for me but some guys still use them. In all but the worst scenarios I've usually been able quickly shorten up my free side and back up over the hang up and get my ball back, but every situation is different. That's what the wire cutters are for, in my mind.

Grinder is absolutely right about being cautious around chemicals. Something as seemingly harmless as used engine oil is loaded with heavy metals,,, cancer causing heavy metals, there is no machismo in needlessly exposing yourself to it. Wear rubber gloves.

Good to see other guys getting in on this thread, important stuff it is.

yak2you2

2010-04-26 03:54:28

Here's another one. Vaseline around the rims of your hatch covers before you seal them shut, everytime. This will help keep them from leaking water into places you don't want it, and makes it far easier to remove the hatch at a later date. Lots of boats have sunk from something as simple as a leaking hatch.

mydona

2010-04-26 15:33:38

This hatch tip reminds me of 1 more thing to seal up. Don't forget to lube the O ring of your flush deck fuel tank caps. I find that extra grease in the hollow of the underside of the cap is handy and reminds to inspect it each time I top off. Nothing is worse than dead in the water, in the trough,with your gear still down, in the engine room changing fuel filters. And don't forget to have at least 2 sets of filters on board. The first set seams to only lasts long enough to get the tangle of gear on board. The second set is for the run to a safe anchorage.

Salty

2010-04-26 17:29:52

Here is a quick tip on lubing your fuel tank caps. Since you already have your latex disposable gloves on for fueling just go back to your gurdies and dip a finger in the grease build-up around the spools, rub that grease on the threads and inside of the cap. Quick way to remember to grease those caps so they are easier to remove and helps seal them up.

yak2you2

2010-08-15 02:55:15

Don't forget to grease your pulleys once in a while, especially those of us cranking by hand,. Makes life a lot easier. Seems like one of the things that is easily forgotten about.

yak2you2

2014-05-14 06:07:15

Fellow fishermen; It's a new era, please save this number in your cell phone. 1-800-478-5555. This is the Alaska emergency number to the U.S. Coast Guard. Calling it is the equivalent of putting out a mayday on channel 16. There's a number of reasons why channel 16 might not be an option for you, and it's good anywhere with cell service. Be safe this summer!