I am building a saltwater trolling rod, I would like to build my own custom unibutt as i do not like the gimbles used on standard unibutts I was thinking of a strong hardwood for the handle/rear grip anyone see a problem with this? I will probably use a removable sleeve on the butt as to not scratch up the wood when taking it in and out of the rod holder.. what I need to know is what ferrules are compatiable with which reelseats. The blank will be a Seeker IGFA 80# blank. Anyone know where I can find this info?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2009 08:41PM by David Teague.

I don't have an answer to your question. What I am curious about is what don't you like about the unibutt gimbles? Do you not want a gimble at all? Do you want a wood gimble? I don't understand.
What I do understand is a heavy (i.e. 80#) trolling rod is going to need a gimble. 80# setups make me think atleast 25 pounds of drag and 130# line. You could have a standard, non-gimbled butt in the fighting belt plate, but why wouldn't you want the gimble to help prevent the butt from moving around or the rod twisting. And with that sort of pressure wood is not going to last more than a few seconds. Graphite can explode too and aluminum can even bend after a while.
My 50 size trolling setup bent the solid stainless steel pin slightly in my fighting plate when I was testing the rod and reel at max drag, 60#. Not that you would ever fish at that setting but to give an idea of the stresses involved.

I think you're going to have to visit the various manufacturer websites and compare the uni-butt ferrules to their mating uni-butts and then compare to the stand alone seats. It shouldn't be hard to do.

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Tom,
Sorry to confuse you...of course I will be using a gimble...I prefer ball type gimbles as they are much easier on the belly when not using a belt which I often do...and so far I've never seen a standard unibutt with one i.e....aftco...stuart...as far as a wood butt goes...cocobolo would have been my choice as it is the 2nd most dense wood on the planet...if those are your thoughts on this...maybe I need to re think my build...Ive never built a trolling rod before, atleast not with rollers and such, so I'm not sure as the pound rating..I assumed that a 80# rod was for the top end line rating so if I was using 40-60# mono I'd be in the middle like all of the other rods I've built..am I wrong in this??? mainly the rods I build are spiral wrapped live bait/jig sticks for grouper and other bottom species such as big jacks...and the occasional offshore spinning setup for flylining kings...so this build is quite different...so i'm trying to get all the info I can before I start ordering parts and a blank....this trolling rod will be for blankfin tuna and the occassional wahoo...If that helps




Dave

There is another way to do this - build the rod in a straight-thru design so the blank provides most of the strength there on the butt. You can make your own gimball, buy one or whatever. Then make your own butt from wood or whatever and install the same seat that normally is part of the uni-butt.


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Gotcha Dave.
Purchase an aluminum ball style gimbal.
Make a nice pretty wood butt handle or grip.
Purchase a heavy duty saltwater reel seat and ferrule. (I like Aftco products)
You could use the "other" Tom's idea and make it a blank through rod. It would be plenty strong enough, but you will not be able to detach the butt/reel seat from the rest of the rod. If you don't think the wood butt would be strong enough on its own you could get the full length blank, cut the butt section and use it to reinforce the wood butt. Then the top section could still be ferruled and you would be able to have the rod in two pieces.
I don't have extensive experience with IGFA rated rods so others would be better to give advice. I think the ratings are based on the rules so an 80# blank is designed for max 80# IGFA line. Using the 25-33% drag rule that means 20-27 pounds of drag. That seems like just the right amount for a plate stand up. I am sure you could get away with the 40-60# line as well just with lesser drag on that rod.

David, will this rod be for you or a customer? I ask because neither blackfin or wahoo require an 80# IFGA rod.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2009 05:08PM by Russell Brunt.