11-05-2018, 12:45 AM
I took some photos of my throw rope. The photos were taken today on bare ground, sorry no ice was available without driving 2345 miles north.
The set-up consists of 100 feet of polypropylene rope, 3/8" in diameter. The boat bumper is about 18 inches long and it's 6 inches in diameter. It weighs a little over a pound but it's heavy enough to throw at least 30 yards with very little effort.
The "D" ring is 3 inches long. I made a loop at the end of the rope so the rescuer has something to hang on to when the rope is deployed. The "D" ring is attached with a piece of nylon rope tied through a simple loop in the main rope. The "D" ring allows the person in the water to wrap the rope around their chest and secure it. The very cold water may render the person in the water unable to hold on to the rope long enough to be pulled out.
Polypropylene rope floats and it doesn't absorb water so it won't get overly stiff when cold.
I strongly urge everyone who plans to venture on the ice this season to consider making a throw rope set-up to allow for the recovery of anyone who goes through the ice. I've seen three friends go through the ice at Flaming Gorge while on a snowmobile and we didn't have a rope with us. It was just the will of God they were able to get themselves out of the water and they all survived. This near tragedy happened in January of 1979! I have NEVER gone on the ice since then without a throw rope readily at hand.
Mike
[signature]
The set-up consists of 100 feet of polypropylene rope, 3/8" in diameter. The boat bumper is about 18 inches long and it's 6 inches in diameter. It weighs a little over a pound but it's heavy enough to throw at least 30 yards with very little effort.
The "D" ring is 3 inches long. I made a loop at the end of the rope so the rescuer has something to hang on to when the rope is deployed. The "D" ring is attached with a piece of nylon rope tied through a simple loop in the main rope. The "D" ring allows the person in the water to wrap the rope around their chest and secure it. The very cold water may render the person in the water unable to hold on to the rope long enough to be pulled out.
Polypropylene rope floats and it doesn't absorb water so it won't get overly stiff when cold.
I strongly urge everyone who plans to venture on the ice this season to consider making a throw rope set-up to allow for the recovery of anyone who goes through the ice. I've seen three friends go through the ice at Flaming Gorge while on a snowmobile and we didn't have a rope with us. It was just the will of God they were able to get themselves out of the water and they all survived. This near tragedy happened in January of 1979! I have NEVER gone on the ice since then without a throw rope readily at hand.
Mike
[signature]