Thanks for the help. Yeah, it'll be a surf rod - I can occasionally see king mackrel free jumping out my bedroom window. Are there any changes to standard procedure when building on such a large blank? Are double wraps necessary? I assume size "D" thread is indicated. Have you any tips for selecting a reel seat?
I have a vintage ST. Croix "Ben Doerr " 10foot spinstick which has served me well. It has only four guides and a tip-top. What do the distance casters use for guides, and how many? I don't want to cast beyond the three-mile limit, but I wouldn't mind making them nervous out there.

Four guides on just about any 10 foot surf rod are too few. With a very stout surf rod, you can usually end up with a good deal less than you can on just about any other type of rod in the same length, but don't go with too few. That's nearly as bad as too many, but for different reasons.

How heavy is this rod? What is the lure weight range for casting? Don't go overboard on the wraps - size A thread will hold them fine, but if you expect some bumps and bangs and other assorted rough handling then D isn't going to hurt you at all and will provide a little extra measure of abrasion resistance. Underwraps aren't needed, but you won't hurt anything if this is a very stout rod and you decide to use them. In that case I'd go A on the bottom and D on the top.

Spinning reels aren't necessarily that great for tossing heavy sinkers and bait. A casting set up would be better, but if you stick with spinning gear I'd probably wind up with about 8 guides plus a tiptop on that particular rod. It's sounds stout enough that you can get by with a few less.

Any of the graphite/nylon seats would be great, but you'd need a big one. Might be better off with a cork tape butt and Fuji plate seat or... just tape the reel on.



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Whatever you do , dont go by the "Vintage" Ben Doerr 4 guide set up.....I broke a couple and that got me into rodbuilding. LOL...have you chosen a blank?