Making a Throw Rope

The unfortunate death of the two young anglers on Red Lake has me thinking more about ice safety. I have never carried a throw rope. Only spikes and a chisel.

How do IDO folks fashion their throw rope?
What sort of rope is best?
Does anyone add a weight to the end that’s meant to be thrown?

I was thinking of using a length of limber, plastic-coated clothes line material. ACE Hardware has some. It won’t be balled up in a knot if I need it.

I would add a small pouch or sock filled with a couple ounces of lead sinkers to help me toss it 10-15′ away from the hole so my partner doesn’t end up treading water beside me.

Any tips or examples would be appreciated.

Thanks, Joe

When I was younger and thinner, I took along a 25 ft electric power cord in my bucket,ifyou had to, you could sling that thing a mile. DK.

Keep in mind when most people go through the ice, the biggest problem they have is they do not resurface at the hole. They come back up off to the side of the hole and usually cannot find it.

The guy is walking across thin ice or first ice, The best scenario is to have the rope tied to them and dragging along.

We use lots of throw bags for whitewater kayaking – they come in all sorts of sizes and lengths. I have one that is small and designed to be worn in my vest and others that can be used for repelling or releasing pinned boats.

There are lots of cheap ones for recreational purposes too under $20. Hard to beat a product specifically designed to do what you want and is weighted properly.

Just google “throw bag”.

The most important thing is to pack it properly or it wont work – tuck tiny lengths of the rope in the bag until it’s full, dont wrap it around your hand a bunch and stuff a wad in that will knot up on release. Good idea to try a few practice throws too.

https://www.nrs.com/boating_tips/rescue_bag.asp

Randy Wieland wrote:

Keep in mind when most people go through the ice, the biggest problem they have is they do not resurface at the hole. They come back up off to the side of the hole and usually cannot find it.

The guy is walking across thin ice or first ice, The best scenario is to have the rope tied to them and dragging along.

That’s a good point. I would be willing to bet that wearing a float suit would help that. It would keep you from plummeting as deep if you were to fall through. Don’t you think?

Nylon flat cord like electricians use for pulling heavy wire. Strong and stores well. Tie this to a normal throwable boat seat cushion. If they can get it under their chest andcabdomen will float a fat man and shouldnt be too hard to pull up and out of hole in the ice. It’s what i carry with.

We carry these in our cars at work. They work well.
DT

Attachments:

1. 

   FRD-100.jpg
   

I carry one of these with me every time I am on the ice. Clam emergency throw rope