Are cable cutters worth their three- or four-figure price tag if you dismast and need to cut away your rigging, or will a £40 set of boltcroppers slice through shrouds just as efficiently?
Losing a rig is one of the most devastating incidents to befall a yacht. Sinking is the ultimate disaster and unless a rig can be cut away quickly following a dismasting, a yacht can be holed if a broker spar punches through the hull, especially in a seaway.
This means that the ability to cut through wire, rod and fibre cable to seperate a broker mast completely from the hull is an essential part of a yacht’s inventory.
So can you make do with a £40 set of boltcroppers? The answer is no. Whilst a pair of cheap boltcroppers will satisfy regulations, they just won’t work when you need them to because they can only squash stainless steel rather than cut through it.
Watch David Glenn test four cable cutters in the video below: