[Rhodes22-list] Tools and Supplies

[brad haslett]

Robert,

You never know where inspiration will come from.  This
discussion about snatch blocks gave me an idea to
solve a problem on the coast.  We hired a new driver
and operator, a gentleman in his sixties with a bum
knee.  He's a bit slow getting in and out of the truck
and equipment but that's a minor fault.  The larger
issue is, he can't raise the ramps on the big
equipment trailer by himself.  My brother and I
discussed it this morning on the phone and we are
devising some combo of winch and snatch block to allow
him to do this solo.  Thanks List!

Brad

--- Robert Skinner <robert at squirrelhaven.com> wrote:

> Bill Effros wrote:
> > Slim,
> > I like to have a snatch block on board, too.
> > I don't know how I would use it, but I like the
> sound of it.
> > Bill Effros
>
-----------------------------------------------------------
> Bill, of all people, I would have thought you'd 
> have a grip (so to speak) on this one:
> 
> "snatch block    NOUN: Nautical A block that can be 
> opened on one side to receive the looped part of a
> rope."
> 
> >From The American Heritage® Dictionary of the
> English 
> Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.	
>  	
> As to practical uses:
> 
> When deploying an anchor, 
> 
> 1.  I do not want to disconnect the bitter end of
> the rode 
> from its fastening.  Just bad policy, and further,
> there is 
> usually a shackle and thimble the bitter end
> (depending on 
> the anchor I choose), so it cannot be threaded
> through a pulley.
> A snatch block can be attached at any place and time
> to the 
> center of a line under stress.
> 
> 2.  I do want the main strain on the rode to be
> taken by the 
> forward cleat, and I want the line to pass through
> the guide
> on the side I want to windward, depending on chop
> and tide.
> But I also want to deploy and retrieve the anchor
> from the 
> cockpit.  When single-handing, as I do most of the
> time, that's 
> the place to be.  It's also easier to wash down the
> anchor from 
> there.  A snatch block allows me to pull the rode
> back to the 
> cockpit from its fastening on the bow deck to manage
> the anchor.
> 
> 4.  I do want to be able to rig a bridle so that the
> boat does 
> not "hunt" back and forth while at anchor, and to
> position it 
> properly to minimize the effect of swells and chop. 
> While a 
> rolling hitch would accomplish that, it is slower to
> rig and 
> more difficult to tune at oh-dark-thirty.  A snatch
> block can be 
> added or adjusted at any time with minimal effect on
> the set of
> the anchor.
> 
> 5.  Having the ability to put a lateral strain on a
> line easily
> is valuable.  With a snatch block, it is so much
> faster and easier 
> than having to (disconnect and) pass a portion thru
> a sheave that
> I regard this gear as very important to have, and it
> is on the top 
> of my main anchor bucket.
> 
> Brad, I do have to be careful when explaining this
> piece of 
> gear's name and use when passengers of a delicate
> nature are on 
> board.  It once resulted in a huff that had just
> that effect, as
> my definition was not believed.
> 
> One source:
> 
>
http://store.catsailor.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&grp=416
> 
> Usage :
> 
> Google "snatch block" usage
> 
> /Robert Skinner
> __________________________________________________
> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help?
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> 


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