I am building a standup rod using Calstar 760L
What is better, in terms of weight ,strength and the right way,
using a unibutt or slip on reel seat and gimball.

Thanks

Either or...

If you like uni-butts and need it for trolling then use it. Downside is you have to cut the blank to fit.

Or you can use slick butts, with slip over reels and an aluminum gimbal.

With the Aftco slip over reels seats you get some neat colors which make the rod stand out.

The slick butts work well, but some don't like them due to "slippery-ness".

I tend to use the uni-butts for heavier rods and slick butts for lighter ones, but that is just my preference.

Volume 5 #6 (I think) rodmaker magazine has an in-depth article on building stand ups.

Ernie

For strength and "the right way" use the unibutt. On heavy trolling rods weight should not be an issue since the rods, after all, are fished from a rod holder.

I agree with Ernie - use the slick butt on lighter stuff if the customer (or you) wishes.

Lou

The only reason I can see for using a Uni-butt, is if you need to detach the handle so you can more easily store or transport the rod. Otherwise, you're better off building "straight-thru." It will cost you less money and give you the same thing as the Uni-butt, albeit you can't break it down for storage. Then again, most stand-up rods are short enough that you don't need to break them down.


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Both ways are the right way. I prefer to use grips and a reel seat unless I want t curved but for some reason. I worry about the aluminum butts slipping out of my slimey hands. I agree weight is not an issue after you stick a 50 wide filled with 100# on something, who knows what the rod weighted. A disadvantage to the Foam type grip is that it might be harder to get out of a rod holder if you are in a hurry and a fish is hanging.

If you build the "straight-thru" type, you'd almost surely want to use a tuff-butt (hard plastic) to facilitate getting the rod out of the rod holder when fish hits.

...........

My vote for stand up - slick butt rear cut to proper length to match up with chosen harnass - larger than normal EVA or Hypalon foregrip shaped and properly placed - short slick butt section rail extension in front of reel seat for big fish or wimps. If you do not have a copy of the Rodmaker referenced above it might be best to try and locate a copy.

Gon Fishn

Thanks for all the useful info, have purchased a copy of V5#6

I would avoid the Uni-butt option if possible.

The real pulling power of that blank is in the bottom 3 feet of composite.
You would have to cut that part off to fit the Uni-butt and therefore kill the blank.

My preference is always for the hypalon grip slip-on reel seat.

If you think pulling the rod out of the holder with a fish on is a problem then consider the slick-butt.
Problem is slick butts and baity hands don't mix well with running fish.

Given the choice, I would use the Uni-Butt every time. If I'm making the rod, a slick butt is not going to be much cheaper... Why? Because the uni-butt is soooooo much easier to mount. I would argue that if you charge properly for your time, you might find that the cost is not that different in the long run. I would allow at least two hours to 1) fit and glue up the shims for the slick butt, 2) mount the slickbutt, 3) glue up the shims for the reel seat, 4) mount the reel seat, and 5) mount the gimbal. This vs. 20 minutes to cut the blank, shim it, and mount it in the unibutt. A Stuart Unibutt at Merrick is $65. The shims, gimbal, real seat, and slick butt is going to set you back at least $30. How much cheaper is it, really, given the extra hour plus it takes?

I've caught big tuna on both butt types. I see no functional downside to a unibutt. The slickness is a tossup, and irrelevant as you don't ever hold any weight with this part. Both aluminum and a slickbutt are plenty easy to get in and out of a rod holder. The weight is a non issue for most. Both are plenty tough, with the edge of course going to the unibutt. Size of these rods makes the take-down advantage a mute point. I've never seen a unibutt actually disassebled, come to think of it. One big advantage for the unibutt, though few take advantage of it, is that you could have 20 or 30 different blanks built, each with its own collet, and you could have just 6 or 8 unibutts. You could swap blanks as needed as you switch from chunking to standup, and from bluefins to yellowfins to billfish. That would save a captain a LOT of money.

Having made the above argument, I made a matched set of 4 Graphiter 760's for a charter captain who is crazy about getting everything as light as possible. I used the following components. Note the use of TNSG Fuji guides. Sounds crazy on these powerful blanks, but they have hauled in tuna in excess of 100 lbs for two full charter seasons without a single break. I wrapped them conventionally, because inexperience anglers would kill them on the boat gunnels were they spiral wrapped. I used a double wrap of A thread, and 9 coats of permagloss. The guide is in love with the rods, and they are probably 1/3 the weight that they would be if I'd made them with a uni-butt.

blank CALGF760L
guides TNSG16 (1), 12 (4), 10 (1)
tip UST 10-9
slick butt SBT21063
foregrip T101-1211
Fuji reel seat BPS22C
The gimball I used is no longer made- make sure to get one that fits seamlessly with the slick butt.

And I am from the camp of..."if I never have to use a uni-butt again (save for a bent butt) I will be one happy man."

I DO NOT like unitutts for my stand-up fishing. I find them a little too long for my liking. I prefer for my reel to be closer to my own center of gravity. Because of this I find an 8" slick butt to be a much better option. My harness is a Braid bucket-type unit that works well with the reel placed so low on my body. No kidney harness (and SURELY no shoulder harnesses) for me please.

As for charging properly for your time...I am among those that don't charge for their time at all. Instead, I charge for my work. The more rods you build the faster you will be able to build them. Personally I charge the same price for installing a thru-the-butt setup as I do for a uni-butt setup...it is simply built into my price scale.

To me, weight is an issue even on 'heavy' rods. I always like seeing people pick up one of my big offshore rods and hear them say, "wow, that's light."

Best of luck with your build.

Jay

There are some short-butted stand-up specific uni-butts available. At least from Aftco, and perhaps from others as well.

Still, when you consider the wide range of fighting belts and harnesses used, building straight-thru allows you to really fine tune the reel location to your liking.

Uni-butts are proven components that work well. I think your only remaining question is what will it do for you in this situation - make the rod quicker to build? Allow you to break the rod down for easier transport and storage? Save you money, or time? Make the customer happier?

In the end, rods built either way will be equally good for fighting fish. You just have to decide if you really need any of the things the uni-butt offers you.


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Anytime I mention stand-up fishing and unitbutts in the same conversation I assume everyone takes for granted I am refering to the short unitbutts designed for stand-up fishing. The standard unibutts should never be considered for stand-up fishing. To me the short unibutts are a couple inches too long. Again, this is for me and my comfort level only.

Jay