Ropes and Propellers

At this point, it helps to explain a little bit about ropes and propellers. They don’t mix well. I you put a piece of loose line in the water, anywhere in the vicinity of a spinning prop, the prop will immediately do its best to eat the line.

• If you are lucky, the line will merely wrap itself around the propeller, rending it useless. But only if you are lucky.
• As often as not, nylon line loves to work its way into a small gap between the propeller hub and the cutlass bearing on the strut. Here the friction of the spinning prop melts the nylon, forming a little nylon washer. As soon as the prop stops spinning, the nylon solidifies. From this point on, your prop isn’t going to be spinning any more.

If your prop is merely fouled, you can always unwrap the line or, in a worst-case situation, cut it off. If it gets caught between the propeller hub and the cutlass bearing, however, you are royally screwed.

It typically takes about two hours with a hammer and chisel to get the newly formed nylon washer out from between the hub and bearing. This is why I told the dentist to not let go of the rope under any circumstances. I knew that, if he did, the prop would get fouled and I’d be forced to have to pick up the remaining divers with just one working prop and limp home on one engine.

As soon as we were clear of the wall, I put the props in neutral and walked back to see if Idiot Diver had survived the emergency backing. My biggest fear was that, instead of the diver, I’d find a huge red stain in the water. Fortunately, Idiot Diver was still where I’d left him, clinging to the ladder for dear life. I then turned to the dentist, who was standing there, empty handed. “Where’s the rope?” I asked.

“I… I… I…” he stammered. (Oh…shit.)

Captain Harry catches a break »

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