What is this?

[Nicholson58]

Saw this on the bow of a boat in the yard. I'm guessing it could be useful against dinghy's & kayaks. I can visualize the Charles Adams cartoon of Gomez sharpening the spikes on his fence.

[Ocean Girl]

Steel hull. Can't tell much from the pic, could it just be a breast plate that is grossly corroded?

[RoseofWight]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Steel hull. Can't tell much from the pic, could it just be a breast plate that is grossly corroded?

Close up might help. No idea myself.


Edit: High altitude ice cube cutter?

[44'cruisingcat]

That's not corrosion! That's been made like that. I guess it might be to cut lobster/crab pot lines. Nasty looking though.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

That's not corrosion! That's been made like that. I guess it might be to cut lobster/crab pot lines. Nasty looking though.

No lobster pots - this is Muskegon Michigan - Great Lakes.

[MarkJ]

Ice cutter?

[Ocean Girl]

Yes, markj has got it the best idea so far..Saws through ice??

[SteelCruiser]

Attachment point(s) for possible / future bobstay

( my boat has similar, only one hole tho, & not the Jagged edges )



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[UNCIVILIZED]

Odds are it is a line cutter, to include floats on crab pots & such. But that the boat's not originally a Great Lakes design, but rather, an oceanic transplant.

[Sea Dreaming]

Seriously this thingy-ma-bob could do wild life damage!

Oh gawd.....you knew it had to happen right? You knew eventually someone would post.....
"Save the whales!"

[Franziska]

Ice cutter looks logical.
Can't see that it has a sharp knife edge to cut lines.

Great for catching lines though.

Maybe a single handed invention to catch mooring lines ;-) (not serious!)


www.ladyrover.jimdo.com

[paulajayne]

Line cutter or catcher.


Google produces this RE U Boats.


The serrated part was named Netzsäge, i.e. net saw. Apparently these saws were a holdover from WW I and were abolished in the later years of WW II as not being much use.

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[hpeer]

Ice cutter, holes can't be for bob stay, too low.

Great Lakes, fresh water ice, it's hard.

Is that a steel hull or aluminum? I'm thinking aluminum. Soft.

Look how the top sides overhang the below water keel.

[svHannabel]

I think I know that boat, and if so, she isn't originally from the Great Lakes. In any case, I'm going with "ice cutter". I'm guessing that jagged edge would only work on really thin ice.

FYI - I believe the icebreaker here on the Great Lakes (USCG's Mackinaw) use mass rather than a sharp, jagged edge to "cut" the ice in most instances. Sorry for the off-topic diversion, but I found her ice breaking characteristics interesting:

Continuous Mode
3 knots ahead in 32" solid level ice
10 knots ahead in 14" solid level ice

2 knots astern in 30" solid level ice

3 knots ahead and 2 knots astern in 8' brash ice

Ramming Mode
Average .5 knots ahead, backing and ramming in 42"solid level ice Average 0.5 knots ahead, backing and ramming in 5' refrozen brash ice Average 0.5 knots ahead, backing and ramming a 12' pressure ridge Fully penetrate a 10' pressure ridge in 4 rams or less within 30 minutes

[rognvald]

They are called "Fish With Mouth Agape" sculpted by Pablo Picasso during his Cubist Period. In addition to their haunting visage, they became quite popular as good luck charms with Spanish and Portuguese fishermen who plied the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador in search of Cod. Please refer to the following article:
"Fish With Mouth Agape," a treatise on luck and Cod fishing by professor
Gran Mentiroso, University of Bacalao, Spain