Rant: People who don't clear their lines before starting the cutterhead

Was working a job on the Mississippi River last Tuesday, and this new guy on the barge next to me fires up his cutterhead with a line wrapped around it. Snapped it in about 10 seconds. I've seen this happen at least 5 times in my 8 years doing this. It's not hard, just walk the perimeter and check for snags or debris before you hit the throttle. Costs everyone time and money when you have to dive down and cut the damn thing off. Why do so many guys skip this step?

3 comments

3 Comments

theac6329d ago

You guys are making it sound like a nuclear meltdown every time a line gets snagged. I've been around boats for 15 years and honestly, snapping a line on the cutterhead is annoying but not the end of the world. Half the time it's a cheap piece of rope that was gonna get replaced anyway. And that whole "shaft seal damage" thing is rare unless you let it sit there grinding for 5 minutes. Most guys I work with just reverse the cutterhead, unwind the mess, and get back to work in 15 minutes. Feels like you're blowing this way out of proportion to make the new guy feel worse than he already does.

mark_price1mo ago

The worst part is that snapping the line is just the start of the mess. That broken rope wraps tighter around the shaft and can damage the seals or bearings. Then you're looking at a bigger repair bill and a full day of downtime instead of just taking two minutes to walk around first.

cameronf8829d ago

Was you me a few years ago, but yeah I totally get why checking first saves all that hassle.