Eyoyo 15M fishing camera and monitor set
Stuart Johnston recommends this miniature waterproof camera and monitor set for untangling a fouled prop without getting wet
Alot has been written about the pot buoy issue and other propeller foulings, but there is kit out there that can help you free yourself from entanglement. This summer on my single-handed cruise to Ireland, my propeller was fouled three times and I found the Eyoyo fishing camera and monitor set to be really helpful.
The first was off Helvick Head when the engine revs suddenly dropped. I limped into the anchorage and dropped the hook. I’d already modified the camera so it clips to the end of the boathook and it revealed a mass of blue plastic sheet around the prop. Working from the dinghy tied alongside, with the help of the camera to see what I was doing, I freed the prop.
The second off Ballycotton, the engine complained somewhat more, but I limped into the visitor moorings and got the camera out, hoping for a repeat performance with the boathook. It was the blue plastic again but I could not free it, so I tried a serrated knife attached to the boathook, with no luck. The weather was calm, I had an old wetsuit, so I swam underneath and freed the prop – not ideal as I get older.
The third was off Saltee Island, heading back to the UK about two miles offshore. I was puzzling why the chartplotter showed the tide in the opposite direction from the tidal stream predicted, when the engine stopped. I admit I probably wasn’t keeping a good enough watch, though the marker buoy was some 15m away with the rope floating on the surface. Anyway out came the camera and the rope was around one of the prop blades and twisted around on itself. There was a bit of tide running, I was on my own and I felt uncomfortable trying to work from the dinghy in this situation offshore, so I talked to Rosslare Radio and the very kind Kilmore Quay lifeboat crew turned up to help. With a clear video picture and their help, the rope was untwisted and the prop freed.
So I’ve found the video fishing camera to be a useful bit of kit – I got mine for about £80 on ebay. And it has other uses such as checking anodes etc.