Scott,

Crossing the Atlantic last summer, Bluewater picked up a long
polypropylene line on her starboard stabilizer.  It was about 75
feet long by 3/8 inch in diameter and had been at sea for a long
time--it was covered with tiny shellfish and seemed to have created
its own small ecosystem. We were able to easily remove it with a
long boathook.

The following may or may not be helpful to you, but when we are
cruising in Maine among hundreds of thousands of lobster pots, I've
found this to be very helpful in avoiding snagging lobster pot warps,
the sometimes 100+ foot lines leading to the floats:

--A "kelp cutter" for each stabilizer fin.  This is simply a triangular-
shaped fiberglass guard on the hull directly ahead of the stabilizer
fin which prevents line from going between the hull and the fin.  Some
kelp cutters, like the ones on Bruce Kessler's Spirit of Zopilote, are
made of stainless steel and are sharpened to cut lines.

--Keeping the stabilizer fins centered when cruising in pot-infested
waters.  That, of course, is because the kelp cutters cover the gap
between the fin and the hull only when the fins are centered.

Of course, we also have Spurs on the main shaft for the occasional pot
warp that gets tangled in the propeller.  As much as we try to avoid
pot warps by steering around the floats, we typically cut three or
four warps with our Spurs during a summer of cruising in Maine.

I'm enjoying your posts . . . keep 'em coming!

--Milt Baker, Nordhavn 47 Bluewater, Barcelona

Scott wrote:

It's worth noting
that last night at sunset we were about 25 or 30 miles south of Puerto
Madero when we started to encounter long lines.  We navigated around the
first one after the panga skipper freed up a line from one of the boats
stabilizers, but about an hour later I picked up a line in complete
darkness.

Milt, thanks for the suggestion, Alanui does have the sharp stainless Kelp
Cutters, I'm not sure how the line hung, but probably because the fins were
active at the time and not lined up behind the cutter.  We could have turned
the stabilizers off, but I typically run with them on, so it was the luck of
the draw to pick up the line.  These are horizontal floating lines with
plastic milk jugs every 75 or 100 feet.  Usually they have a black flag at
one end and a panga at the other.  In our case it was night, I saw the panga
both visually and with radar, but he never moved to warn us away from his
working line.  Most of the time if your approaching a line the panga driver
will come over and show you how to get around it.  Perhaps he couldn't tell
which of the approaching lights was closest to him and got confused?
Another reason I'd line the boats up next time.  I also have spurs, but I
don't know if they have ever cut anything?

We will be in Maine this Fall.  I don't know if the lobster pots will be
better, the same, or worse than the crab pots of the Pacific Northwest.  If
they are the same I'll be ok, if worse than I'll probably run a few down.
Thanks again for the comments Milt, always great to hear from the experts!!!

Scott Bulger, Alanui, N40II, Seattle WA