“This machine is pure genius. It went like a dream and the surprise was how quickly it was all done,” said skipper Friðleifur Einarsson of Brim’s fresher trawler Helga María, referring to Hampiðjan’s new mobile wire tensioning unit which is used to spool warps onto winch drums under constant tension.
Fishing gear supplier Hampiðjan has set up warp spooling systems on solid foundations at its facilities in Iceland, in Reykjavík, the Westman Islands, Akureyri and Neskaupstaður. This ensures that as new warp is loaded onto a trawler’s winch drums, the tension remains constant, the wire spools evenly onto the drums and Friðleifur Einarsson said that prior to this being an option, warp was spooled on board as tightly as possible. But to tension the wire, the only option was to shoot the gear away in deep water, run off as much wire as possible, and to haul it back.
Since the warp spooling system arrived, increasing numbers of trawlers have opted to spool wire on board under tension, so new warps are ready to be used right away.
The usual procedure has been to moor the trawler with the stern to the quayside, with the new wire leading directly to the vessel from the tensioning machine which is located on a solid foundation on the dock. This has been shown to be the most effective method of tensioning warps and has provided excellent result for the trawlers that have taken advantage of it.
The problem is that it’s not always convenient to steam to these locations to spool new warps on board under tension, so Hampiðjan has added a wire truck to the list of services it offers customers. This low-loader has a cradle for a drum of warp, and the wire passes through the spooling tensioner on the trailer to the trawler, and this mobile tensioning unit can be used at more remote locations.
To test the new mobile tensioning unit for the first time, warps were spooled on board Brim’s fresher trawler Helga María as it lay with its starboard side to the Skarfabakki quayside in Reykjavík’s Sund harbour. The tensioning truck was positioned to one side of the trawler’s stern.
“This makes it possible to deliver wire where it is needed if direct spooling isn’t possible. This provides us with opportunities to make Hampiðjan’s service offering to fishing companies and fishing vessels even more widely available,” said Hampiðjan Ísland’s managing director Jón Oddur Davíðsson, who watched the new wire truck being put through its paces for the first time.
The new warp spooled onto Helga María´s winch drums is 32mm in diameter. The weight is deceptive, and each reel is no less than nine tonnes, so a crane is needed to lift each reel of wire into place on Hampiðjan’s wire truck. Helga María took 2103 metres (1100 fathoms) of wire on each drum.
“It works better than I could have hoped. You feel the difference right away,” said Friðleifur Einarsson, who headed for the area of fishing grounds off the south-west of Iceland known as the Mountains to start making use of the new 32mm warps.
“Having the warps tensioned means you can shoot the gear whenever you want to, on deep or shallow grounds. The warps are always tensioned and ready on the winches. This service is a real bonus,” Friðleifur Einarsson said.
