This photo better shows the four blade edges of the stainless steel Hooknife. As a hooked line is pulled into the angle between the blades, it is sliced through from both sides. As you pull back, the taut line is easily cut, as we found in tests with lines over a half-inch in diameter.
Depending on how entangled the line is, one cut may free the boat. If it has one or more wraps around the prop or shaft, however, the boat may be free but the prop still unable to turn. First, try running the engine in reverse to unwrap the line. If that doesn’t work, if you can position yourself to reach the prop with a longer handle on the knife, you can likely cut the line in one or more additional places to free the prop. On our test boat, we found that by standing on the bottom rung of the stern swim ladder, we could fish around under the boat with the hook and cut loose a piece of line still caught on the shaft.
The Hooknife is available from Sailor’s Solutions. It’s a valuable piece of equipment to have aboard in any area where you may encounter rope or line in the water – and greatly preferable to having to dive beneath the boat.
Remember to respect lobster and crab fishermen and always attempt to free their equipment before choosing to cut the line. If you can, secure a pot warp on both sides of the entanglement before cutting, and then tie the two pieces back together.
For more information, see this article on what to do if your prop gets tangled.
