I'm still obsessed with building long, ultralight, two-handed, baitcasting rods using repurposed 1950's tobacco (Trevano) fiberglass blanks. It has sort of gotten out of hand but the last one I'll ever buy is in the mail now. I mean it this time. In this first generation of tubular fiberglass fishing rods there were a bunch of players. Notable are the NARMCO Conolon, California Tackle's Cal-Royal, Phillipson, Silaflex, Wright-McGill, St. Croix, and Kennedy Fisher. California Tackle and St. Croix are my favorites. Phillipson, Kennedy Fisher and Silaflex are what the fiberglass fly fishermen seem to look for so I can only afford spinning rods of those brands and they tend to be a foot shorter. NARMCO Conolon are the most common. Wright-McGill may have been the worst of the lot. More about Trevano rods can be found here but I learned a bit since then:
http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=24775.0
In looking for a basic 1950's baitcasting reel to go with the rods I came across a Langley Target and fell in love. They were only made for a few years in the late 1950's but were popular for both fishing and tournament casting. It was one of the few small, non-levelwind, freespool baitcasting reels. It has a simple design with no drag or AR. The freespool clutch is the type where the handle, sleeve and main gear is pulled outward to separate the main gear from the pinion.
This clutch design had been around since at least the late 1930's. I'm still looking for the original patent so we can give this clutch a name. Unlike the Penn and Shakespeare versions of this clutch, the Langley version is simple and foolproof. The tension on the mechanism can be easily adjusted by using a screwdriver or pliers to massage a split collar. It never wears out. The pinion is attached to the spool spindle so when the main gear is pulled away from the pinion the reel has complete freespool. The only points of contact are the left and right spindles riding inside the two brass bushings. It does not have the friction of the spindle riding inside the pinion while the pinion loosely attached to a yoke.
]http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0a.jpg] (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0a.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0a.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0a.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0b.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0b.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0c.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0c.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0d.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0d.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0e.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0e.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0f.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET0f.jpg)
Perhaps the important innovation in the Target is the wiffel spool. The spool is very light weight aluminum. A light spool makes for high start-up speed and long casts. They consistently cast very well both in free spool and as direct drive. The distance is just shy of what I would get out of a modern reel. You only loose one or two yards casting them without putting the reel in freespool. It sort of defies what I thought I knew about baitcaster physics.
The side plates, posts and frame are also aluminum making the reel very light overall. Aluminum and I do not get along very well so I bought a few extra Targets to have a supply of parts if needed. Cheap ones are not always available at auction but if you wait a while you can find one for thirty to fifty bucks with shipping.
The ergonomics part..... When the wind cooperates I spend five to ten hours a week repetitive casting from a one-man outrigger canoe (an OC-1 they're called) while drifting over flats. It's like kayak fishing, but the OC-1 is faster and tracks better into the wind. Also, a canoe paddle is quieter than a kayak paddle because of the angle that the paddle enters and leaves the water. Less splashing and flailing. The canoe is about twenty-two feet long with a cockpit in the center. You are sitting with your behind a few inches above the water level and cannot get out of the cockpit except to step or fall into the water. With a fish on, or with the jig snagged on the bottom while the wind is pushing the boat along, it is important to be able to reach the bow or stern with the rod tip. Having the fish or snag on one side of the boat and the rod tip on the other can lead to a broken rod as is it bent over the gunwale. Holding the rod by the butt cap, I can stretch and reach the bow or stern with the tip of a rod that is nine feet or more.
Old fiberglass rods nine or ten feet long tend to be very tip heavy, even though it is a light rig overall. When holding the rod at the reel seat, the tip will want to sag down and you will have to use small muscles in your hand, wrist and forearm to support the weight. Small muscles fatigue quickly. Holding the rod at the balance point (like you would when carrying it down the dock or beach) is much easier. The balance point is usually well in front of the reel and sometimes well in front of the foregrip. When holding the rod at the balance point you will be supporting the weight with large muscles in the arm and back. Large muscles do not fatigue quickly.
When the rod is tip-heavy, you'll be tempted to hold the rod at the foregrip during the retrieve. This will put more weight below your hand and provide better balance thereby reducing wrist strain. Long conventional surf rigs become manageable when they have a long handle for counterweight and are held by the foregrip. You will likely use your thumb and index finger to lay line from in front of the reel. The wide and heavier reel (compared to a small baitcaster) will not have much lateral stability so you will need to keep a tight hold on that foregrip. But, with small baitcasters there are advantages and comfort in palming the reel; that is, holding it at the reel seat with the tail plate cupped in your hand. This is especially true with non-levelwind reels because you can use your thumb to easily lay the line from above. Palming gives the rig solid lateral stability with very little effort but it moves the fulcrum, your hand, back several inches from the foregrip so the rod will become more tip heavy. Ideally, the fulcrum would also be the balance point so the rig is not tip-heavy and does not need to be supported with wrist and hand muscles.
The easiest way to make the rod balance at the fulcrum (your hand) is to lengthen the handle and/or add weight at the butt cap. The farther the counterweight is from the fulcrum (that is, the longer the handle) the smaller the required counterweight will be at the butt cap. I only use two-handed rods but lengthening the handle has its limits for me. If the handle is too long I'll accidentally bump it on the side of the boat and spook fish. Sixteen inches is fine, eighteen inches is usually OK, twenty inches or more is asking for a mistake. It usually takes three to four ounces of counterweight on an eighteen inch handle to balance a nine foot Trevano fiberglass rod. A graphite blank requires an ounce or two less. But still, it's a lot compared to the weight of the bare rod blank. A 10' 6" graphite blank may only weight 3.5 ounces but require almost three ounce of counterweight.
The number and size of the guides, wrappings and finish can have a substantial impact on the amount of counterweight required. One gram of extra weight out at the tip of a nine foot rod requires and extra five grams of counterweight in the butt of an eighteen inch handle. Likewise, you want to put all the counterweight as close to the butt as possible. In the old days, they put oak hardwood handles on rods to make them less tip-heavy. But to minimize the overall weight of the rod, it is better to use butt-through construction, minimal handle weight, with a dense lead counterweight as close to the butt cap as possible. You can start with a rod-shaped piece of lead that fits inside the blank. Then, incorporate sheet lead (roofing lead) into the lower grip. You can put it under cork, eva foam or cord.
I was told years ago that if I tried a balanced rod (without tip weight) I would never go back. That has been true so far. Actually, I get sort of obsessive about it... as you can see. A balanced rod is heavier owing to the counterweight, but it feels lighter and will not tire you out. But, all of this is just the background to what I really want to talk about. Balance in three dimensions.
Removing the tip weight balances the rod front to back, or tip to butt. But, there is also a lateral balance. Even though the rod is balanced and naturally sits level front to back, it will still roll over to one side. It is your grasp on the rod and reel that prevents it from flipping completely upside down. What if it would sit upright in your hand without having to control the tendency to roll over? We see many designs that, at least in part, are intended to lower the center of gravity and provide more lateral stability. Think about the bent butt on a trolling rod, a cradle reel, the Hurd Supercaster, the common drop-down reel seat on one-handed baitcasters, or the drop-down gear box on a modern low profile baitcaster. There were some two-handed Wonderrods in the 1960's that had a drop-down reel seat and the cork portion of the handle angled downward a few degrees. Both the drop-down reel seat and angled handle lowered the center of gravity. So, the rod would almost sit upright in your hand on its own. I think they were calling them popping rods, but today "popping rod" means something very different. Anyway, the Wonderods were not balanced front to back so it was difficult to appreciate their low center of gravity.
This was my first shot at building something with lateral balance.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1a.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1a.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1b.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1b.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1c.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1c.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1d.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET1d.jpg)
The rod blank is an eight foot NARMCO Conolon. The reel seat and handle section are a piece of calcutta bamboo that extends the overall length to about 9'2". The bamboo was heated with hot air and bent several inches. It was then fiberglassed and some lead was embedded in the butt. The lead counterweight put the balance point under the reel and the bend lowered the center of gravity enough to make the reel sit upright. The handle bends down and a little to the left. Having it bend slightly to the left offsets the weight difference between the heavier head plate and the lighter tail plate.
The Target was modified by removing the top post and then using what was the top post to replace the front post so it could be screwed to both side plates. With the top post removed, the tail plate could be shaved down to reduce its height and make the reel easier to palm. Magnets were glued to the inside of the tail plate.
Dang, it worked out pretty good. The rod feels great and the reel casts like a bat out of a cave. It will reach out forty-five yards with a three-eighths ounce jig. I've put a lot of hours on it.
The second in the series is a bit weird and best described in pictures.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2a.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2a.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2b.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2b.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2c.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2c.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2d.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2d.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2e.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2e.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2f.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2f.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2g.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2g.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2h.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2h.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2i.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2i.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2j.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2j.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2k.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2k.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2l.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2l.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ETme.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ETme.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2n.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2n.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2o.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2o.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2p.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2p.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2q.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2q.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2r.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2r.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2s.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2s.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2t.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2t.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2u.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET2u.jpg)
The rod used to be a nine foot Conolon fly rod that was stripped down and then extended to 10'6" with the handle. It is a big lumbering thing. The long rod required a lot of counterweight and the total weight is much more than what I'm used to. It cast OK, but is not very snappy. I used it once and put it back in the rack. Not my favorite. It was lot of work for nothing so trial number two was a failure,
The third try started with a piece of rolled lead, an old piece of plastic tubing and a stick. I was starting with an 8'6" blank and the length extended by only about eight inches.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3a.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3a.jpg)
Building up the piece with fiberglass cloth and polyester resin is tedious because is has to be done in numerous thin layers. After wetting out the fiberglass with resin, I was vacuum bagging the piece while the resin gelled. This allowed more fiberglass to be wound on before impregnation and reduced the amount of sanding needed between wet lay-ups.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3c.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3c.jpg)
After building it up with fiberglass most of the plastic tubing was drilled out so the butt of the blank could be inserted four inches.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3b.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3b.jpg)
The donor rod is a St. Croix Trevano fiberglass that had been previously refinished. The model number was obliterated in refinishing, but Dave Fischer at St. Croix says it is from about 1957 and gave me the specs on several models that it could be. It's a really sweet rod and my new favorite. I had been on the look-out for these but it took a long time for one of these to come up at auction. Then there were three in just a few months
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/StCroixTrevano1.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/StCroixTrevano1.jpg)
The reel was modified as before. This isn't a good photo, but it attempts to show how the end of the bridge has to be thinned and the edge of the head plate ground down a bit to make room for the screw and washer that attaches the frame to the forward post. That fat forward post (which used to be the top post) needs to be drilled and tapped so it can be screwed into place on both ends.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3dd.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3dd.jpg)
Also, there is a machine screw and rounded nut that secures the side plate cup to the frame at the spot where the top post used to be.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3h.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3h.jpg)
I didn't like gluing magnets inside the tail plate where there is barely enough room so the magnets were moved to the head plate. The magnets are stuck to a small steel plate that floats on springs. Screws on the outside raise or lower the plate to adjust the clearance between magnets and the spool. It works fine but the steel plate is going to rust and I need to make some stainless thumb screws so the magnets can be adjusted without using a screw driver. I would also like the reel to have a stop latch eventually. This outfit too throws a three-eighths ounce jig about forty five yards.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3e.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3e.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3f.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3f.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3g.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3g.jpg)
The bent butt is more dramatic in this one but I like it better. The sharper bend lowers the center of gravity more so the reel sits more firming in the hand and does not teeter. I was afraid that holding the bent part when casting would be a distraction but I hardly notice it. That bulbous thing below the reel is where the pad at the base of my hand (that part just past the wrist) rests. It further improves stability without any effort and prevents the rod from sliding forward when lightly held.
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3i.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3i.jpg)
http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3j.jpg (http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3j.jpg)
I haven't been using any type of cord or cork or foam on the rod to make it easier to hold. I've about decided that the main purpose of grip material is to be able to control lateral movement. If there is inherent lateral stability then you seldom have to grasp the rod firmly. It really is more comfortable. But, fishing had been dismal despite my best efforts so I have nothing to show you as living proof.
OK, it looks really strange and may not be something you would want to take to the public pier. My poor fiberglassing skills and the funky pigments make them even worse. But, I'm happy with the outcome and this is how all my baitcasting rods are going to look going forward.
-steve
Very nice Steve! Man, you put some serious work in those babies. Great job!
................Lou
Steve: You are amazing! :o ;D...........................Joe
Great work, Steve!
Best,
Fred
Steve your commitment to detail regarding old equipment always amazes me. Nice work. Dominick
Thanks.
I forgot to mention that all have little home-made side mount wire guides. They bend easily, but I just bend them back in place so they end up taking a lot of abuse. If one broke, another one could be made and wrapped in about twenty minutes.
After everything is sanded, wrapped, the reel lashed down and tested it all (including the reel foot) gets a light coat of spar varnish thinned with a splash of japan dryer. The finish will need to be renewed after about a year of use, but varnish is easy to remove and spruce up. It is almost a temporary finish compared to epoxy but gives you a lot of latitude when it comes to making modifications
-steve
I love the way you work outside the box Steve. You sent me scurrying through my old Langleys looking for a Target...all I have are Streamlites and Cast-Rites. Great work! 8)
Thanks for the write up and pictures, fascinating.Really next level engineering.
I fish with heavier gear but used an old silaflex and a roddy on my last trip. There's something about the way the old glass loads up. I like the feel of the old silaflex glass the best too.
Fascinating stuff Steve, you've put a lot of thought into those trial designs and a lot of patience building them. The second one, the custom cradle reel, looks interesting - it's a pity it didn't meet your objectives.
Mike
Sheradin, Silaflex may be a special case when it comes to the first generation 1950's tubular rod makers. A few days ago there was a 1954 Silaflex catalog for sale at the auction. The last page described their high-tech manufacturing and included a photo and description saying, Although most rod factories buy cloth already impregnated SILA FLEX does this most important cloth dipping (impregnating) in their own plant. The picture has twenty-foot sheets of what may be fiberglass cloth hanging from the ceiling with lots of machinery around. The others rod factories they refer to were buying Hexcell/Travano pre-impregnated fiberglass cloth from NARMCO. The thing that easily distinguishes Hexcell/Travano is the weave pattern of the fiberglass cloth showing through the brown phenolic resin. However, NARMCO was only making the resin and they bought their fiberglass cloth from Corning. I don't know if Corning made a proprietary cloth exclusively for NARMCO of if anyone could buy the same cloth. If anyone could buy it, and SilaFlex was dipping their own, then some rods that look like Hexcell/Travano may not technically be trademarked Hexcell/Travano, but something made by the ex-Narmco technician(s) that started SilaFlex. Coincidentally, there is now a SilaFlex fly rod at auction that I would have erroneously called a Hexcell/Travano rod.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silaflex-Model-F75-Fishing-2-piece-Rod-cloth-and-container/292718942719?hash=item44276899ff:g:L1MAAOSw~jpbMv3k (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silaflex-Model-F75-Fishing-2-piece-Rod-cloth-and-container/292718942719?hash=item44276899ff:g:L1MAAOSw~jpbMv3k)
I'm going to look more closely at my only SilaFlex tomorrow.
Thanks Mike and Mike.
-steve
Amazing the lengths you go to, Steve, to come up with something unique! Great work, and patience!
Tommy, I was going to add that having a low center of gravity was the last reason good reason to use spinning tackle ;) :)
-steve
Steve great work, thanks for the details & pics, I said it before, that brain of your must work overtime, even when your sleeping, keep well, cheers Don.
You cant stop. These threads of yours are very entertaining. In a good way... Jeff
Quote from: oc1 on September 09, 2018, 08:01:58 PM
Tommy, I was going to add that having a low center of gravity was the last reason good reason to use spinning tackle ;) :)
-steve
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap! :-* ;D
You would be a good person to ask Tommy.... The first rod above is/was a pre-Garcia, NARMCO Conolon model Cardinal 408 fly rod. All I know about the date is sometime in the 1950's. When did ABU start using the name "Cardinal"? It seems too much of a coincidence that they would both use the same name and then later Garcia would buy out Conolon from NARMCO. Thanks.
-steve
Fascinating read Steve, with exceptional attention to detail.
I just saw this, wow.
Steve, you are very talented, we are lucky to have you here.
It looks as you could make anything you want, if you set your mind to it.
Amazing stuff.
Sal
Amazing Steve! :o
OK, it looks really strange and may not be something you would want to take to the public pier. My poor fiberglassing skills and the funky pigments make them even worse. But, I'm happy with the outcome and this is how all my baitcasting rods are going to look going forward.
Steve ... Really That handle looks gorgeous..... I`ll take ten of them.. Nice write up always enjoy reading your posts.
Steve,
I'm not well versed the ABU rod side of their merchandise. About all I really know is that many of their rods were of the Garcia Conolon era in conjunction with Garcia's distribution of the ABU Record & Ambassadeur 5000 casting reels. The ABU/Garcia relationship started in 1956. ABU used the Cardinal designation on their spinning reels starting in 1965.
It was the Cardinal reels I was curious about Tommy; wondering if they went back into the 1950's and could have been contemporary with the Cardinal rods.
NARMCO also had Falcon rods and another bird name that escapes me right now.
I have never really understood the ABU Garcia or Garcia Mitchell relationship, or even what the Garcia company is all about or how they operate.
In the last few days Alan Barraco on ORCA posted that the narrow wiffle spool first appeared on the Langley Lurecast which pre-dated the Target by a couple of years. So, it was not a Target innovation. I do not have a Lurecast but suspect it may be like a Target in many ways except it also has levelwind. The Target is model 340 while the Lurecast is model 330 and they had several others in that 300 series.
Also, I called it a whiffle spool but the spelling was incorrect (it's wiffle) and Langley called it the Anti-Inertia spool. The Wham O Wiffle Ball was invented in 1953 but I doubt that "wiffle" entered the fishing reel jargon until decades later.
Thank you for the kind words gentlemen. But, I know who you guys are and what you can do so it's all taken with a grain of salt :) :)
-steve
Quote from: oc1 on September 10, 2018, 08:42:40 PM
I have never really understood the ABU Garcia or Garcia Mitchell relationship, or even what the Garcia company is all about or how they operate.
Garcia was a giant American distributor of sporting goods. All kinds of things-- skis, tennis rackets, snowshoes... and fishing tackle. Lots of it. They were for example the importer and distributor of the French Mitchell reels for decades. They were also the importers and distributors of ABU products, most notably Ambassadeur reels. This is why many of the reels of the period carried both names. After a drastic economic downturn in the late '70s, the company was nearly bankrupt. Mitchell severed ties with Garcia and was distributed by someone else. ABU meanwhile, seized the opportunity to buy the Garcia Corporation, and renamed themselves Abu-Garcia around 1980.
So as told to me by Lennart Borgström several years ago. There is a chapter about it in his book with a lot more info iirc.
Edit:
Love your project. Cool! Great job!
.
Steve,
Here's a little film clip that sheds some light on the ABU & Garcia connection. It's pretty interesting if you haven't already seen it.
https://youtu.be/aSVjYBSrL68
Thank you gentlemen. You have to wonder what the situation would be today if Garcia had never existed. Did Garcia make or break ABU and Mitchell? Would the American market have found and embraced ABU and Mitchell without Garcia as an intermediary?
Anyway, this one was about twenty-three inches, probably male, and unusually feisty..... or maybe it's just been so dam long that I forgot what it is like to catch something. Thank you ex-hurricane Norman.
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/ET3m.jpg)
-steve
Nice fish,,,,on very cool gear 8) ,,,,, ;D
Better yet think of the people the could have did great things and never put there talents to use. :(....................Joe
Steve,
I thoroughly enjoy your posts on your rod/reel projects - from inception to a final product that works best for your specific needs. I can almost see the hamster running on the wheel inside your mind...
Would love to see a photo of the outrigger canoe you fish from.
Smols
Some pictures of your set up would be great. Did you make it yourself?
That's nucking futs! Beautiful work of art!
That is amazing Steve.
Quote from: Swami805 on September 13, 2018, 04:28:10 PM
Some pictures of your set up would be great. Did you make it yourself?
I've shown this boat here before and it gets more embarrassing each time. Now there's filamentous algae growing in the cockpit.
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/drogueA.jpg)
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/drogueB.jpg)
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/drogueG.jpg)
About 22 feet long and about 17 inches wide in the middle. It weighed about 50 to 55 pounds when new but now it is about 65 pounds with all the fishing stuff and repairs. It was built just a few miles from here and intended for recreational paddling and the races. I think it is about 35 to 40 years old now. Canoe racing is a big deal here and the sport has evolved a lot since then. New boats are about the same dimensions but made of carbon fiber with extreme measures to squeeze out as much resin as possible. The new ones weight just over 30 pounds, can be carried with one hand and are much, much faster.
At least once or twice a year a wave will sneak up on me and capsize the boat. So, the rigging is designed with that inevitability. When everything is battened down like it should be a capsize is just a minor inconvenience. The cockpit design is easy to flip back over. But, if stuff is not secured it's going to the bottom..
A lot of the lines and mess is for the drogue, or drift anchor, or sea anchor, or whatever you want to call it. The drogue is essential because the trade winds are relentless here. Without a drogue the wind will blow you past a prime fish hang-out before you have time to make a few casts. I tried the manufactured drogues but they are all either too small, or too bulky. I finally stitched one up by hand from thin rip-stop sail material and some strap. The mouth is about twenty four inches and, when furled, it's about one-third the bulk of factory ones that size.
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/drogueC.jpg)
The drogue is on a very short tow line so it does not get caught on the rudder. The long yellow strap is a trip line to dump the water and haul it in backward. It can be deployed or retrieved with one hand while you hold the rod or paddle in the other hand.
The drogue is secured like this to get it out of the way quickly...
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/drogueD.jpg)
or like this when I'm through for the day.
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/drogueE.jpg)
My wife and two kids have all raced canoes for about fifteen years and we are boat-poor. I think there are four OC1's, two V1's which are like an OC1 but without a rudder, a couple of surf skis which are like an OC1 but without an outrigger, a couple of three-man canoes, some roto-molded stuff and a bunch of project boats. I used to fish from a normal skiff and paddled a canoe for exercise and health. Paddling for the sake of health got boring fast so I started fishing from the canoe. It is usually a 20 to 50 minute work-out to get where I want to fish and then I just drift and meander my way back home.
Thank you all for your comments.
-steve
Thanks Steve, I have a 2 man kayak we use in Big Sur and have taken gas in the shore pound a few times, it's not fun. The drift sock is a good idea,have to try that. We usually tie off to some kelp.
Steve,
A lot of guys fish from kayaks made for fishing, and where I fish, many guys fish from skipjacks and Parkers with the latest and greatest in state of the art gear by avet, shimano etc. But you may be the only guy on the planet fishing from a 40 year old outrigger canoe with custom, vintage rods and reels designed specifically for your application. From the custom drogue to the modified bait casters and rods, your ingenuity is evident.
Do you launch from the beach, or from a boat launch? I assume from your posts that you are fishing open ocean, paddling out and drifting back to the beach with the current/trade winds.
Smols
I launch from the beach by our house and have a little cart to haul the boat up.
-steve
Quote from: Smols on September 16, 2018, 03:52:12 PM
Steve,
. But you may be the only guy on the planet fishing from a 40 year old outrigger canoe with custom, vintage rods and reels designed specifically for your application. From the custom drogue to the modified bait casters and rods, your ingenuity is evident.
Smols
Isn't that great !! ... Jeff
another good thread from Steve that I missed (dang work)
compadre, you never stop to amazing me, love the canoe, with the most population of sharks living in this part of Baja Kayak or canoe fishing is not my thing
Steve,
An awesome rod build, your constantly expanding my thoughts on what is possable, makes me kinda wish I had never left Hawaii.
If you decide you need more blanks check out vintage Herters, many were auctually produced by st Croix and a few by Phillipson, often they were sold as kit rods.
Another affordable source would be fly rods with tip breaks, Phillipson produced rods for Leonard, Orvis, Abercrombie& Fitch and many other companies.
WOW! You have opened up a whole new area for me when it comes to customizing reels. For the record, the Target was introduced in 1946 and discontinued after 1951. I have fished with several Langleys including the Target. I owned four Targets at one time but as most of my fishing is topwater Bass in shallow natural lakes in Michigan, there are a lot of what I call "impulse strikes" where the lure hits the water and there is an instant blowup. I always found that I had trouble re-engaging the handle with a fish on the other end. This may be my own shortcoming. I seldom use a Langley anymore but I have found them to be great when it comes to teaching a youngster to cast with older baitcasting tackle. This is mainly due to the light spool and easily adjusted and effective anti-backlash feature on the Streamlight and the Lurecast. I would mention in my many conversations with older tournament casters they often mention that the Langley's were a favored reel with one major fault. The bearings wore out quickly.
Hi Bill. I have never had much in the way of bearing problems and I abuse them in the worst possible way. The reel is drenched in saltwater at every use, left sitting on the boat and is not even washed unless it is rained on. I do squirt a very light oil onto the gears and bearings with almost every use. The light oil has a lot of solvent that washes out the sludge so they never have to be opened for cleaning. It as close to maintenance-free as I have ever come.
Being almost all aluminum construction there are problems with aluminum corrosion, but it is not nearly as bad I would have anticipated. Aluminum and I do not usually get along very well. The weak links seem to be where aluminum comes into contact with stainless steel. It may be because of the dissimilar metal galvanic corrosion thing. This includes the stainless shaft running through the green aluminum handle knobs and the aluminum rivet attaching the aluminum cross bars to the stainless reel foot.
In hundreds of (maybe approaching a thousand) short outings, I have only had two serious breakdowns. With a fish on, the reel will suddenly break off the foot and I'm left holding a reel in one hand and a rod in the other. Reattaching the foot with 4-40 stainless nuts and bolts is fairly easy, but I lost both fish because of it.
(http://www.raingarden.us/snap/langleystand.jpg)
I don't get impulse strikes but sometimes the slit sleeve on the freespool mechanism needs some adjustment. You can gently pry the slit sleeve open or mash it closed to adjust the amount of tension.
-steve
WOW! Now that's what I call corrosion. In general, I am not a fan of aluminum reels either. They do tend to be noisy. Your story of the reel popping off the foot reminds me of a friend who was fishing with a Bronson Coronet 25N and had the reel pop off the foot while playing a large bass. A mad scramble ensued around the boat trying to catch up to the runaway, bouncing reel - LOL. I use the pre-1951 25 N's as the are german silver and put together well and can be very quiet compared to the aluminum-framed Coronets.
Wow, this is cool stuff. I have been away from the site for some time, and this popped up.
Since 1962 I have owned Targets. I own 8 at this time. I also own 30 some Streamlites, and Lurecasts.
The rods used with them are mostly flyrod blanks. My favorite is a Fenwick that I got out of the seconds bin at Bartons, it cost $2.00. I use a couple of Silaflex rods for freshwater. Most of my Silaflex rods are saltwater,
PT60's, 70's, and 90's. Anyway back to Targets, mostly I fish 4 lb. line with a Target. I have found that the very old Streamlites cast just as well as Targets. The one which have a flat handle nut, not the later versions with a Acorn nut. The flat nut reels (like Targets) have the main gear and shaft as one piece. They also have handle knobs that are aluminum, not plastic. After removing the level wind from these reels they cast like a dream. These reels are wider than a Target and are heavier. This makes them balance longer rods better.
Sure great to see these posts, you just never know what you will find here.
Hi Alan if you see this.
Quote from: Normslanding on June 18, 2022, 01:41:27 AMWow, this is cool stuff. I have been away from the site for some time, and this popped up.
Since 1962 I have owned Targets. I own 8 at this time. I also own 30 some Streamlites, and Lurecasts.
The rods used with them are mostly flyrod blanks. My favorite is a Fenwick that I got out of the seconds bin at Bartons, it cost $2.00. I use a couple of Silaflex rods for freshwater. Most of my Silaflex rods are saltwater,
PT60's, 70's, and 90's. Anyway back to Targets, mostly I fish 4 lb. line with a Target. I have found that the very old Streamlites cast just as well as Targets. The one which have a flat handle nut, not the later versions with a Acorn nut. The flat nut reels (like Targets) have the main gear and shaft as one piece. They also have handle knobs that are aluminum, not plastic. After removing the level wind from these reels they cast like a dream. These reels are wider than a Target and are heavier. This makes them balance longer rods better.
Sure great to see these posts, you just never know what you will find here.
Hi Alan if you see this.
Yeah, but Bill, the Target has freespool. I have a bunch of them too and fish them in saltwater with 20# braid. I've quit with the glass fly rods though. At my age, I shouldn't have to use something that heavy. My current favorite is a Lamiglas blank HS1352L 11'3" 2PC 4-8lb 1/8-3/8oz. They call it a centerpin blank but I don't know what distinguishes centerpin or mooching rods. I just know it casts really well with the Target and a 3/8 ounce jig.
I have found the Target unsuitable for me as far as fishing goes. I am almost exclusively top water bass fishing with vintage equipment. I get a lot of "impulse strikes" the same instant the plug hits the water at which point I find myself fumbling to get the handle in to reengage the reel. The past three years I have fished almost exclusively with the Coxe 25N and the Langley Plugcast.
I will post some pictures of some old bait castors I have. The all silver colored ones with the Scrimshaw lettering