MickD

Sounds right, but most boats have a breaker than has to be reset after firing. Check if you have a circuit breaker in line right at the batteries and if it does not have to be reset after firing this could be it. But most likely it will be a manual reset breaker, and since you have not been resetting it, that is not the problem. Regarding your tester, Harbor Freight gives good digital ones away now and then, so to buy one should cost almost nothing. Nice to have one on board and one in the garage. The compelling data to me are the readings at the motor plug in point. As I understand it you are getting good voltage at each individual battery but getting 1 volt at the plug in, which I think is after the malfunction. I suggest you do this: 1. Measure the voltage at the plug before using the motor. If you don't have 24 something in the plugin or wiring to the batteries is bad. 2. Measure the voltage across both batteries right at the batteries (batteries in series-it has to be about 24, UNLESS the wires connecting the batteries in series are bad). These measurements prove you have good voltage BEFORE the malf. Now repeat after the malfunction. If the voltage across the batteries is not 24 the wiring between them is bad. If the batteries have 24 but the plugin is 1V you most likely have a wiring problem either at the plugin or between it and the batteries. If that is the case you have to find the bad wiring, which might be a corrosion issue that under high current goes open. I have found those plugins to be unreliable. I hard wired my last boat, which is easy to do. You can temporarily hard wire it to test the system.

Rezetti traveller 2300 vise is very versatile. I don't tie flies smaller than about 8's, but the vise is supposed to go much smaller OK. Specs say it goes up to 4/0, but I have not tried it. I's sure for the size hooks used for bass jigs one could go cheaper, but the recommendation for having a rotating vise is very sound.

Spence, I think part of the problem is that CCS uses the whole rod to measure its power and action, and when you cut any rod off, either end, it will "change" to a slower, more powerful rod. According to that specific objective test. But what people feel when they cut the tip off is different than that since they hold the rod in the same place they did before. So it's different than CCS. And what people "feel" when they compare the two rods of different lengths is just a "feeling," and is whatever it is. I've broken tips off rods that were not restrained properly when travelling and the tips got jammed, breaking a little off. I've never liked the "feel" of those rods again. They just don't seem to have the same "livelyness" in the tip any more. It doesn't take much. Someone else may think that the rod an inch or two shorter "feels" better. Next time I have a rod in my CCS fixture I'll test it the twice, once with the tiptop hanging the weight, and then with the first guide from the tiptop hanging the weight, keeping the butt support unchanged.

What is fun is to take a good pic of the fisherman and his "lunker." I have one of a friend, taken about 10 years ago, that he still treasures. Sitting in the boat seat, cigar in mouth, looking over the shoulder, big smile, with a 5 inch perch displayed.

One can easily and accurately evaluate power and action of blanks and rods using the CCS method. It doesn't matter whose blanks or rods they are. Or where in the country they came from . Numbers are numbers. It is purely objective. With experience you will be able to translate what the numbers mean with respect to your preferences and requirements. If you had the CCS numbers for these three blanks you could easily distinguish the differences. http://www.common-cents.info/ There is a way that works well that uses a pedestal instead of the big sheet of "plywood." Less of a storage issue for the equipment. Rods could be bought and the ones whose numbers didn't fit the requirement could be returned undamaged in any way.

Shortening rods from either end makes the action slower (under defintion of the CCS system)and more power. Pool cues have powerful, but slow actions. While shortening from the butt often works quite well, shortening from the tip has always resulted in a poor performing rod by my perception. If you need to shorten a blank to make the rod you want, do not shorten from the tip. To evaluate what will happen tape guides and reel seats in the new positions and try it out. It's easy to slide a reel seat up the blank and tape it into position. Not perfect, but works fairly well. I would NEVER shorten a blank or rod from the tip. In the case of doing a repair, there are ways to do repairs that work quite well. Repairs that I've done when within a foot or so of the tip have all worked well using the method in the link below. It sounds like you have a repair done with different tip section from the original. I'd say all bets for success are off on that. How does the spacing increase unless you are in fact using a piece from a different rod? Please clarify. Here is the right way to repair a rod, and it works. https://www.rodbuilding.org/library/repair-oquinn.html

I've been paying more attention to line diameter recently, all types, and I'm not finding a direct correlation between diameter and pound test (at least advertised pound test). I prefer to label showing the brand and year plus the pound test and type. There is a very big difference in performance between brands of FC, for example.

Since one priority is "durable," consider the mid-range graphite rods, like RX6 and 7 rather than the top of the line stuff. In general, the lighter/higher modulus/higher sensitivity blanks are less durable than the mid-range blanks. I assure you, you can find some very good blanks in the RX6 and 7 lineups. Rainshadow is a great line with all kinds of blanks in both materials. Revelations are very high performance in RX7, and have a big variety. The RX6 3 piece travel blanks are very good. One of my favorites is the SB841. Don't be misled by its ML power. It has a light tip over a very stiff, long, butt section so it is very versatile for casting light stuff while at the same time handling powerful fish. I have built two for spinning for bonefish with jigs as light as 1/16. I would start looking at the lengths you want, then the action you want (probably fast or Xfast), the lure range, then the line test, and finally power description. The power descriptions are the least accurate designators, IMHO. Usually the lure weights and line test tell the power story. Getbitoutdoors.com is a very good source for Rainshadow blanks.

Who would have thought this string would go so far? Regarding color affecting fish-catching, there have been allegations that white is too visible and can adversely affect the frequency of strikes. On clear water salt flats some argue that glossy finishes cause the same problems, but I've never noticed a bonefish flare from the rod, always the line when I screw up. Maybe up really close?

AS RECOMMENDED ABOVE, DO NOT TURN THE ENGINE OVER! The fuel in the engine, in the hoses, in the tank, is all contaminated, full of solids, probably water. You do not want to introduce any more of it into the engine. You have to get the whole system cleaned out before running the engine or even turning it over. The exposed hoses most likely should just be replaced. I'm not sure how to flush the engine, but an expert at a shop can tell you. The fuel in the tank and the hoses from the tank to the engine has to be expertly flushed and dealt with, which is not inexpensive. Gas disposal charges are many dollars per gallon, but it has to be done. Using the gas is much more expensive I do think that since the boat has no wooden structure, it can be cleaned up and made serviceable. Does that engine have an oil injection system? With a little tank for the oil? If yes, and the pump is what I once had, a diaphragm pump, that pump will either have to be replaced or rebuilt. The hoses also should be replaced. The diaphragm pump was a crappy design to begin with, and it most likely has been damaged by the ethanol/water/old gas. Do not trust it. If it fails your engine will fail. If your engine is running when it fails, your cylinders will be scored. There is no warning. I know this from experience. As others on the forum have said, I appreciate your service and hope you pursue getting your dream back on the water. I think it can be done, and if you do it, you will really be proud of what you have accomplished. I wish you well.

Not cheap. But if it yellowed in less than a season, the manufacturer was not using good wrap epoxy. You really cannot tell with factory rods much about how they are built.

Won't damage the guide, just an inconvenience. Keep in mind that all micros are not equal. Different ring materials, different diameters, different frame materials, different foot designs/lengths, different ring to blank angles and shapes. Some are very tough, and others are not. Being lower to the rod they don't get "hit" as often. Like regular guides. Braid doesn't eat micros any more than it eats any other type of guide. Grooving depends mostly on the hardness of the ring. Since the reasons for micros are casting distance and sensitivity and they have the disadvantages of clogging and are more easily damaged (at least some are, and the ones with tiny feet tend to slip out of the wrap if a locking loop is not used, and I don't think factory rods use locking loops) they don't make sense on a slop rod. The casting distance advantage is minor at best. Go with the regular guides. For this application you have a much higher probability of seeing the disadvantages of micros rather than the advantages.

The yellowing usually takes a lot longer to develop than what you mention, based on my experience. I'll bet the white rod you mention was a cheap rod? Maybe the manufacturer used inferior epoxy. Some of the products available to custom builders are pretty good for quite a while. But I wouldn't leave any rods, especially white, exposed to sun any more than that required to fish them.

While looks are important to me, more important is that the rod be what I want it to be. I'm not big for the flash, either, preferring a more traditional, classy, look. For beauty, it's hard to beat the Quickline blank series from Pac Bay, a smooth, glossy black finish. It will go with any wrap colors. Black wraps with fine gold or silver metallic trim is really classy. After that the charcoals (natural graphite) are very nice, again very versatile for wrap colors. In gloss with no paint the beautiful color of the graphite weave is seen and is very attractive to me. I do prefer glossy blanks, but glossy does mean that an extra coat of finish is required to get that gloss, and while the weight of it is minimal, if you want the most sensitive rod, then matte finish with the lightest guides that will do the job is the way to go. White is very popular now, but has the disadvantage of showing any discoloration of epoxy due to sun exposure. Like at the end of wraps or decal areas where the blank shows through the design. Or over signatures. To see some very capable blanks in all kinds of colors check out Rodgeeks.com.

There seems to be a lot of interest from new builders asking for help on another forum, so in a couple days I'll close this down and offer it there. Seems everyone is in pretty good shape here.

I did not state that. Helpful? Not in my opinion. I stand by my post.

Replica fish are the way to go now, I believe. Take pics and measurements and a nice replica can be made. I could be wrong, but I think most "real mounts" are painted anyway. So a replica will be as good and you can keep the warm feeling that comes from releasing that special fish.

The sarcastic and un-helpful statement about selling more rods falls apart when one looks into the history of micro guides and finds out they started in the rod guide industry, not the finished rod industry. They have only gotten onto non-custom rods in the last few years. If the statement were "in order to sell more guides (we are in business to make a profit, just as everyone is) we are offering these new guides called micros which have some definite advantages over our old stuff," then it would be accurate. The advantage of micros, and be careful about defining a micro because there is no "official" criteria for micros, is twofold: 1. They are lighter and therefore make the rod more sensitive. This is in-arguable. It is basic science-lighter means more sensitive, all else being equal. 2. They cast longer distances. I think it is true, but I have a lot of rods built without micros that cast like crazy. They were initially, as I remember it, sold based on casting distance. The introduction of so many great braid lines make them practical for most fishing techniques. They simply don't work well with the higher test monos and FC's. They work fine with monos and FC's up to about 8 pound test. I'm sure I'll get a disagreement with that statement, but it's true, or very close. They make the most sense where sensitivity is a prime objective, like finesse. They have disadvantages in the area of icing and knot passage. I have settled on 4.5mm "micros" on spin, 5 on cast. I see no significant advantage in going smaller.

I have a Batson Hand Wrapper that needs a "thread carrier" piece (the piece that goes into the groove and allows the thread to go from the spool to the blank) cobbled new that I will offer to a new builder (please, don't respond unless you are a newbie) for just the shipping cost. First one to respond to my email will get it. Better than a box.

Thanks for the endorsement. Mudhole won't meet his timing req't, but the MN builder might.

I find that the FC (and mono) designed for leader to be tougher, less fragile, than those designed to be line. Leader is stiffer, which one would think might make it more sensitive to bending problems, but I think in the formulation the stiffer/harder stuff is less fragile. Nope, no data, just my impression.

It's not just the brand, match the model number exactly and make sure the gap is right. Exactly.

That's a piece of cake. Consider the search I mentioned above. If you plan on doing it yourself, tape (masking tape) the area of the cut to prevent splintering and use something like a Dremel. You want high speed of the tool coupled with very slow progression through the blank. A Dremel with an abrasive disc will work. Other types of saws can be made to work, but take more skill and experience. Dremel is pretty reliable for not splintering the blank. The probability of someone having that particular piece is stock is very low, but there are similar pieces available.

I miss why you want to replace it, but you probably can get it off with persistent gentle heat and twisting. To do this most effectively you probably need to cut the part, not the blank, to get closer to the blank when you apply the heat. If you screw it up, you will sacrifice the lower approx two inches of rod length. Which would be undesirable to me, but not a show stopper. To explain further, most knobs are held on with structural epoxy, which cures from a chemical reaction, so heating it weakens it, but does not melt it. And the temperature that damages the epoxy is about the same as that which damages the blank, which is why heating in cases like this is not very effective. But it sometimes can be done. Another way to handle this would be to find a rodbuilder with a lathe and turn most of the knob off, then ream the new knob to that new OD of the blank, and glue it on. A custom builder may have the part in stock. Search for Lake Lady Rods in Breezy Point, MN. Most but knobs come with a smaller diameter than most rod blanks and you ream them to fit your blank. Not much chance of getting it by next Fri from any source I know.

If the heat (thermal) conductivity is higher for one material than another, ANY heat will leave the area quicker. What has higher thermal conductivity, copper or steel? Copper. If you heat two samples the heat will be conducted away from the source faster with higher conductivity material, copper ,faster. If FC actually has a lower thermal conductivity than mono then heat will be conducted away from the source slower than with mono. I'm not talking about what material when deformed or stretched or tied will generate more or less heat, but when the thermal conductivity of a material is higher than another, heat will be conducted away from the source faster in that material. What all of this means to knot strength is, in my opinion, insignificant. What is significant is that FC, as you say, is fragile when bent. Anyone who has tried to get a backlash out of a baitcaster knows this. I am not a fan of FC for anything other than leader material. And I even doubt that it's coefficient of refraction advantage is significant. Having said all of this, one fact is indisputable: millions of fish have been caught with both FC and mono using many different knots.