16/0 SHARK TANK...

[Alto Mare]

A new member has asked me to work on his 16/0

He has requested the works and the double dogs. I wasn't crazy about doing the double dogs on the 16/0, I don't mind the 14/0's, but the 16/0 are hard to come by.
Still, I decided to do it.
Parts for the upgrade are on the right side of the wrench

I also decided to repack the bearings with fresh grease

the old grease squeezes right out with very little effort, using these bearing packers from Alan


and here are the double dogs

the grinded 16/0 plate for the second dog

the bridge set in place

and a look at the dogs from the front side

gear and custom insert going in

and setting in the custom washers

The best layout on these reels is to set 3 keyed washers at the very top of the last carbon fiber washer, followed by the thick 3mm washer on top.
Adam should offer (2) 3mm washers for the 14/0 and 16/0, unless he could come up with a 6mm washer.
By the way Adam, a few of the washers needed to be filed, they're too tight. I'm not sure you're aware of this already. Tight washers won't work properly, they need to slide up and down with no force

I then placed the heat shield on top

a delrin washer of the same size as the tension spring

tension spring on top of it and the star


here is the finished reel

loaded it up with 600yds of 130# dacron for testing

starting from 10lbs, moving one point on the star added 10 additional pounds at a time, it was pretty consistant up to 40lbs, but then jumped higher from there.
I was only able to pull 68lbs and it wasn't easy. This was done by pulling on the reel while the line was tied with the scale

getting it to 68lbs, I was able to move the star using one finger, this was pretty amazing to me.
I believe the large delrin washer on top of the heat shield is helping with this.
Drags feel amazing on this reel, the shark tank is up to the task!

For the newer members that are interested in some of the parts used for this upgrade, here is where you could get them from:
Delrin crank and bearing packer................................Reels, Parts and Tools from Alan Tani
SS arm and drag kit insert.......................................Motive Fabrication
SS dogs ................................................................Keta's Kustom Parts by Lee Putnam
SS gear sleeve........................................................Custom Parts by Tom Hryniuk


Enjoy!

Sal

[Ron Jones]

I don't know that there is a rod that wouldn't shatter under that much drag! Holy smokes! I can only imagine what the numbers will be with a full spool. Talk about needing a backiotimy.
That is a beautiful reel. Nice job Sal. The owner must be proud.
Ron

[STRIPER LOU]

Very nice internal work Sal! Looks great outside too!
......Lou

[steelhead_killer]

Must be fun at that scale.  Someday!  Those dogs are huge, like the rest I guess!

Andy

[swill88]

Wow, Sal, Wow! Awsome!

[mo65]

  She looks ready fer the task...

[Maxed Out]

Otto and his best engineers would be very proud of you Sal. Cheers !!

[coastal_dan]

Holy cow Sal...you've raised the bar again...not sure it gets much higher 

[Dominick]

68lbs...Anyone want to arm wrestle Sal.  We will give odds.    Dominick

[Tightlines667]

Looking good Sal!

I remember (not too long ago) when this stuff was just a dream.  It is great to see it become a reality.  The double dogs turned out great, and those extra teeth are nice.

I have done my larger reels with 2 fitted SS washers, and a thicker delron on top before the heat shield and wavy spring washer.  I have ideas about using 2 cupped/bellevilles from an International to flatten out the uppermost drag curve a bit.  I can't wait to get the opportunity to test these big boys on a good fish someday.  

Has anyone provided reports on reel world performance on spool-emptying specimens in the 'real world' on these upgraded 'big boy' Senators yet?

Nice work!

John

[PacRat]

Sal,
This winch looks like you could bolt it to the front bumper of a Jeep!

[Shark Hunter]

I am still Tiny Grasshoppa.
Excellent work my Man!

[Alto Mare]

Thanks guys!

The reel was in pretty rough shape on the inside, I used half of roll of paper towels before soaking the parts.
Most of the screws were frozen, I got lucky none snapped.
One on the left plate wouldn't budge, so I let it go.

Dominick, don't take any bets on me, I'm all beat up .

John, I wouldn't change the tension spring on these, I believe it's one of the best design. Of course the delrin waser helped it
The reel start very soft, I actually get no movement with the spool when the star is backed all the way.
The drags feel great to me, up to 40lbs takes very little effort pulling on the reel.
Pulling 40lbs of force with this reel feels like riding a cadillac, doing the same on some others, feel as riding a dump truck.
This reel still had more to give, but I didn't want to go there.

I'm hoping he gives it a good workout, he should have no problems with anything that wants to challenge him.

Sal

[reel man]

Sweet 16, and ready for anything.

[mley1]

WOW!! That reel is massive! I've held a few 9/0's and one 12/0, but I've never had a 16 close enough to hold it. With the work you did on it it's ready for anything the ocean can throw at it.