In a message dated 4/10/02 10:30:28 PM Pacific Daylight Time, wy6k@yahoo.com
writes:
> On sailboats we use giant cable cutters - NOT bolt cutters. The shears
> overlap on bolt cutters and for cable you need shears that come
> together flush. When dismasted it is critical to be able to cut the
> rigging quickly and jettison it before the mess of tangled rigging,
> sails, mast, and boom causes you to lose control of the boat. No
> serious offshore cruiser would be caught without cable cutters
> (although a bunch of 'em have bolt cutters and are in for a terrible
> surprise). I bought one pair at West Marine and another I found in a
> tool store. The ones I have are about 2.5 feet long with a rachet and
> make short work of 3/4" stainless cable.
Great for SS sailboat rigging but not suitable for EHS (Extra High
Strength) guy wires. EHS is real tough, real hard and a bear to cut. It'll
generally damage cutters unless they're specifically for EHS.
Some guys use bolt cutters; I prefer using a hand grinder. An aggregate
metal cutting blade on a SkilSaw works too and it's only a couple of bucks.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services
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