Help - I cant shift the damn thing!

[Jak]

It was bound to happen one day. And today is the day. Matress!!  Its totally wrapped round the prop.  Springs, material, siezed solid. Ive pulled out a handful of wire and material but its still wrapped solid. I just cant shift it.

 

If I ever needed some help its now. The chance of someone being in Leighton Buzzard this afternoon is remote. So any tips gratefully recieved!

 

 

 

 

 

[Mike Tee]

I'm afraid its bolt cutters, a bit at a time. Will seem endless, but every bit, however small, will be less to do.

[Jak]

I dont have bolt cutters, but can see I need them. My wire cutters are not man enough. 

[matty40s]

Just get a new one, these deliver.

 

[MtB]

Yes, I too was wandering what the OP was going to have to sleep on tonight...

 

 

[dave moore]

I had one once, luckily only a couple of hundred yards from the boatyard mooring. We craned the stern out of the water by the slipway and I set to work with bolt crops. 20 mins later and it was gone, I fear you may not be so lucky. Might Wyvern Shipping be able to help? Just a thought.

 

[Graham_Robinson]

You'll probably  need to get in unfortunately, to really get to grips with it. Complete bastards to remove, seems to take for ever.
Have you got a junior hacksaw and a supply of spare blades? Better than nothing.
When shit like this happens, I'm just resigned to going in rather trying lean over the counter.
Best of luck. Been there, done that.

[Jak]

9 minutes ago, dave moore said:

I had one once, luckily only a couple of hundred yards from the boatyard mooring. We craned the stern out of the water by the slipway and I set to work with bolt crops. 20 mins later and it was gone, I fear you may not be so lucky. Might Wyvern Shipping be able to help? Just a thought.

 

Thanks Dave. I called Wyvern and am waiting for a call back. Homebase doesnt do bolt cutters would you belive?!

[M_JG]

1 minute ago, Jak said:

Thanks Dave. I called Wyvern and am waiting for a call back. Homebase doesnt do bolt cutters would you belive?!

 

Can you get some from Amazon? Sent to a local locker or other drop off point close by?

[jonesthenuke]

Are there any boaters nearby willing to help? I have seen a mattress successfully removed by tying a rope to it and pulling with another boat.

[LadyG]

40 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

I'm afraid its bolt cutters, a bit at a time. Will seem endless, but every bit, however small, will be less to do.

Four days, and that was a duvet, welded to the propshaft.

[zimzim]

Worst thing I've ever had to remove was an old rucksack - loads of tightly wrapped nylon webbing and straps, much of it with steel reinforcement wires running through.

Sometimes, rather than just cutting, it works better to grab some of the offending material with some grips and then manually rotate the prop to unwind stuff.

Ditto previous suggestion of junior hacksaw, but a regular hacksaw blade wrapped with a bit of rag to improvise a handle makes a pretty useful tool.

 

[alan_fincher]

13 minutes ago, Jak said:

 Homebase doesnt do bolt cutters would you belive?!

 

But it looks like Screwfix in Leighton Buzzard have them in stock.

[Jak]

Thanks all. Wyvern shipping are sending a boat down to tow me to their yard. Yup. Screwfix do have them in stock too.

 

[sueb]

Do crt remove mattresses now? They always used to.

[Jak]

Its’ well stuck. Wyvern pulled a huge load of springs and stuff out. But no joy. We are docking the boat in the morning as it seems to be the best bet!

 

Thanks guys. 

[M_JG]

I wonder if the total idiot who dumped that in the canal realised how much aggro they were going to cause?

 

 

[Lily Rose]

49 minutes ago, M_JG said:

I wonder if the total idiot who dumped that in the canal realised how much aggro they were going to cause?

 

 

 

Quite possibly, I reckon some scumbags dump stuff in the canal precisely because it may cause a whole load of trouble to someone. 

[Tracy D'arth]

CRT are responsible for what is in the canal. Get them to come and sort it.

[Jak]

9 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:

CRT are responsible for what is in the canal. Get them to come and sort it.

Its too late for that now. But seriously. You think if I had called CRT they would have taken responsibility and come out to sort it?  Noticed no one else suggested that?

[Tracy D'arth]

2 minutes ago, Jak said:

Its too late for that now. But seriously. You think if I had called CRT they would have taken responsibility and come out to sort it?  Noticed no one else suggested that?

I have known BW back in the day turn out to sort similar problems. I think the responsibility to maintain navigation has something to do with it.

[Tacet]

17 hours ago, matty40s said:

Just get a new one, these deliver.

 

Do they take away your old mattress?  If so, it's tempting to try them!

[Jak]

Holy sh*t!!

[ditchcrawler]

Is it an insurance job?

[Puffling]

I'm wondering this for myself: could RCR have assisted with any of this?