I was given a couple of rods that have been underwater for at least six months and asked if I could repair them. These are G Loomis rods and because of that my friend would like me to see what I can do for him.

Rebuilding to me isn't the problem as I know I can do that with no problem. My question is.....does being underwater ruin the blank or not ? There is no sense in fixing if the blank is going to fail.

I have posted a photo of the rod in my photos and tried to upload two more but not having any luck in doing that. There are even barnacles on the blank !

Thanks for any suggestions in advance.

Tom

My first guess is that the blank themselves should be ok. Lots of FRP type material spends their entire lives underwater (think boat hulls). Maybe someone more experienced than I can tell you for sure.

How/why were they underwater? Curious.

He accidentally knocked them overboard and tried for hours to retrieve to no avail.. Then six months later while fishing the same area his partner hooked them both with a crankbait by chance, and got them to the boat !

Tom

Tom,
Rebuild as needed. The blanks should be a non issue.

Thanks Roger. That's what I told him but I was checking with you guys with a lot more experience to be sure. Much appreciated.

Tom

Flex test the rods under their rated maximum suggested load and a little more, if they don't break, they will be OK.

I'm not aware that those rods would have any sort of maximum suggested load rating. However, a good flex would be in order not so much to see if the water has damaged them (it hasn't) but to make sure they are in otherwise good shape. There could be other damage that was done during their lifetime that would make restoration a waste of time. Just make sure they're worth the time and trouble.

...............

Tom,
I will state the obvious. Be sure that you have drilled out the butt cap and made sure that all water has been drained out of the blank.

I have done a couple of these long underwater rebuilds as well. Just another thing, be sure to use a rod or rifle cleaning brush to be sure that the inside of the blank is clean. It is surprising how little creatures can start growing on the inside of the blank.
Perhaps you will be lucky and have had the blank remain 100% sealed - but that is not always the case.

Good luck on the rebuild.

Roger

Great suggestions on flexing the blank. Once I get the old reel off I am going to put one of mine on it , even if I have to tape it in place and do the flex before I remove the guides.

Roger, I am going to strip the cork and butt cap off and see what's in there. I like your idea on the rife cleaning brush and will give that a go.

I have nine rods to build in front of this project but I will try to get a few pics in my library if the blanks hold up.

Thanks for all the good suggestions.

Tom

After using the rifle cleaning brush be sure to thoroughly clean everything, including your hands. Lots of oil around those things.