by Bob Dill - September 1989 (Revised January 1991)
Most people who iceboat for a number of years find themselves in the water sooner or
later. If you ever find yourself in the drink one thing you will really WANT to have is a
pair of Ice Claws. They are also called Bear claws, ice awe, ice picks and other things.
Being able to get out quickly is key to surviving immersion in 32 degree water. Ice Claws make getting out a very easy. Many of the people who die on ice do so because they don't have ice claws and can't figure out how to get out without them. Getting out without ice claws is possible if you know how, but it is much less reliable. (see Self Rescue, 1987 spring newsletter and the next article in this section). Anyone who is on the ice should ALWAYS have a pair of ice claws with them. In Vermont we have had two problems with them. First, they tend to reside in tool boxes rather than with sailors. We have had more than one solo sailor go for a swim with their ice claws launch site. So far they have been able to extricate themselves. The other problem we used to have is that many sailors didn't take the little time it takes to make themselves a pair. To address that we mass produced about 50 pair of crude ones. These have been given to everybody and anybody. No one seems to object to their rough finish when they are given a pair. The basic materials are 3/4" by 1 " hardwood strips, 20 penny common nails, Velcro and 3/16"" nylon rope. The drawing shows one of many designs and a minimum investment construction method. Make a lot of them. A batch of 50 won't last very long if you are reasonably diligent about giving them away. One person can make about 10 in an hour of working time. Once you have made plenty of them, give a pair to everyone you know who spends time on the ice. A brief account of the difficulty of getting out without them will help assure that they don't get left at home. Put a couple in your pockets and a few more in your tool box to give to people on the ice. Sooner or later you will save somebody's life. There are several styles and ways of making them. The method shown and described here is for making a bunch with a minimum investment of time and money.
The safest way to wear them it to put the lanyard over your head and under one arm. The lanyard is designed to be short enough so they won't flop around. It's length can be adjusted with a slip knot stopper knot. If you have questions or suggestions give me a call. |