Beastmasters

Started by yockman, March 24, 2014, 09:15:08 AM

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yockman

Hi folks,

It's fair to say I'm a fan of Shimano. I like the old school stuff in the way some like old cars. The engineering, the design, the look, the feel, the reliability. No Shimano has ever let me down.

I'd planned to go fishing on the weekend but it wasn't to be. Instead, it became an opportunity to restore a reel that's been on the shelf for a couple of years - a Beastmaster 20/50 I bought waaaay back in the very early 90s. This is one of the models of Beasties that didn't have the silicone plate drag, which was a problem.

After another 20+ years of work on my boat, it had slowly developed the dreaded 'coffee grinder' effect when the drag was ramped up. We all know the main cause of that. The local bearing shop supplied the replacement and the other three bearings in the reel for $40.

I cleaned, oiled, and greased everything in there and an hour's work later, it's as good as new. The drag is silky smooth with no peaking, and the handle turns effortlessly.  Should do another 25 years, and that's a maintenance rate of about $1.50 a year.  By then I'll be well into my 80s and might not use it so often.

I can't think of one other thing I've ever owned that's given me better service than my Shimano overheads - the TSSs, the Beastmasters, the TLDs, the Tekota, the Speedmaster (until it fell overboard in January). Alan himself even serviced one himself right before my eyes.

Here's the Beast, aged about 24. It'll be re spooled with about 700 metres of Shogun next week, and will be back at work the following weekend.
.............

On the fishing front, it's been mad down here lately. The waters off my home port of Eaglehawk Neck have been tuna soup, with good albacore and bluefin going hard 15 minutes from the boat ramp. We got a shipload a few weeks back with many good fish caught less than a hundred metres from shore. It gets deep quick here.
I'll do another full pictorial on this sometime.

Well tight lines folks, hope your reels scream at you.

alantani

beautiful work, steve, and good to hear from you again.  my parents still ask about you on occasion!
send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!

josa1

Hi Steve,

I like the Shimano reels also.  I'm looking forward to your post of the repairs you accomplished.  Must be tough to run a short way offshore and have the kind of fishing you do!  josa1

Joe Mc


Great reel! I look forward to seeing some pics from that fishing trip. Sounds epic!

yockman

Thanks Men.

Alan, I recall another thread of yours about the Beasts where you compared them with a more recent model, saying the Beastmasters were something the engineers would like to see, as opposed to the newer models which have the heavy stamp of the marketing dept on them. I definitely put the 20/50s in with the former.

I didn't do the whole photo and write up thing with this as I was a bit short of time. Maybe next time, about 2040.

But I will do a pictorial on a trip soon. The weekend saw bluefin to about 125kg, and the usual pattern is for the fish (barrels, as the big ones are called locally) to just get bigger and more common though April, May and sometimes June and beyond. Soon it will be 24 & 37kg territory only.

That Puerto Vallarta trip looked good!