Tangled catch just the limit

The tangle of wire rope around the prop of “Take it to the Limit” in dry dock at Tauranga. (photo supplied)

A fishing trip off Waihi Beach hauled in an unexpected and unwanted catch when a large tangle of wire rope became caught in the propeller of the boat.

'We were between Steeles Reef and the Taupo wreck in about 30 metres, retrieving a long line, when the boat started to vibrate,” says Robin Porter, owner of the 15 metre (50 foot) Maritimo vessel named ‘Take it to the Limit'.

'I put the motor in reverse and it stalled twice. We had dive masks on board so one of the crew Sam Morton dived in to have a look and said it appeared some rope was around the prop.”

Robin decided to return from his Saturday trip, using one motor, to the boat's mooring at Tanners Point.

'We arranged for scuba diver Bazza Dilimore to have a look at high tide on Sunday but when he got down there he said he couldn't cut it free because it was wire rope.”

This rope is consistent with the type of wire used by all ships.

Robin then arranged for ‘Take it to the Limit' to go into dry dock at Tauranga and nursed the boat, again on one motor, down the coast to the facility on Monday.

When the boat came out of the water a large tangle of steel wire rope, 25mm in diameter and so heavy it took two men to lift, was found hanging from one propeller.

'I guess it weighs around 80 to 100 kg. The people at the Bridge Marina said they had never seen anything like it. There was some minor damage to the prop but it could have been a lot worse.”

Robin thinks part of the rope may have been floating and that's what became tangled in the propeller, pulling the rest of the wire rope off the sea floor.

'I think some of that kind of steel rope has a hemp rope in its core, so that would float and maybe that's how the prop picked it up,” says Robin who is grateful no serious damage was done to the boat or the props.

A Ministry for Primary Industries spokesperson says the steel wire rope in photos sent to the ministry by SunLive appears consistent with the type of wire used by all ships, not just commercial fishermen.

'If the steel wire was lost by a commercial fisherman (or any other person) then there is no legislation that is managed by MPI that requires the person to mark and report it or attempt to recover it.”

'Take it to the Limit' on the mooring at Tanners Point.

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1 comment

A boaties nightmare

Posted on 30-11-2017 10:15 | By Border Patrol

What a beautiful boat. Lucky he had two motors which enabled him to keep the boat moving. It could have done a lot more damage, so very lucky. Going by what we've seen over the years, there must be a lot of rubbish on the sea floor and in the water. We once had a mooring at bridge marina and we would get multiple bags of rubbish tangled on our mooring rope, most of it fishing line, hooks, sinkers, plastic bait wrapping etc. It's quite disturbing to see, because it gives you an idea of the amount of rubbish that we must have in our beautiful waters.


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