I have an old Harnell surf rod that I am trying to bring back to life. The chocker guide is 43 1/2" from the tip. If I use six guides at 7" I will come up short, or can I just go to 7 1/4" which will bring me closer to what I want or should I just go to seven guides? The space between the butt guide and the next guide is 21". Is that too much space? I am using 3 guides: a 40, a 25, and a 16. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Choker guide location from the tip is of no concern - it is the distance from the reel that matters. The left over distance to the tip can be made up however works best for you, provided you have adequate stress distribution there. I'd say an extra 1/4 inch on each spacing is of no practical concern. Tape it up and try it. I think it'll be just fine.

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Bill I have an old Harnell rod dating from 1961. It is 134inches in length. The front of my reel seat spool is in the middle of reel seat.
I used a butt guide (1.5 inches outside diameter) (two footed Fuji Guide) and two single foot transition guides beyond the butt guide.

The butt guide is 26.5 inches from center of reel seat.
Center of reel seat to choke guide is 68.5 inches.
Choke guide to tip top is 41 inches. In addition to the butt guide I have two single foot transition guides and seven running guides in that interval including the choke guide. These are all single foot Fuji guides. I did this rebuild about 3 years ago. The first build had been "Cone of Flight" guide distributions with a butt guide of nearly 3.5 inch diameter.

I hope this helps.
Sincerely,

Mike Blomme

Tom,
I measured the front of the reel spool and multiplied it by 27 and came up with 69 1/2" which left me with 43" I just thought that if I went over 7", I would be pushing it.

Michael,
This rod is practically the same as yours. It is 140" long and my butt guide is 25 1/2" from the center of the reel. The chocker guide is 69 1/2" from the center of the reel. This rod belonged to my brother, who passed away in 1970.
By the way, does anyone know where I can get a white rubber foregrip?

I take it you are doing it spinning so read this
[www.rodbuilding.org]

Bill - willierods.com

I don't think 7 inches between running guides is too much on a surf rod. And remember, you can always shift to a progressive spacing there as well. Load it up and see what it looks like.

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What about the Static Test ?????

Bill - willierods.com

Hi Bill, You might go to Angler's Workshop or Mudhole who are both sponsors and have carried Hypalon grips in the past. Whether that carry white I'm not sure of. I wanted something different when I rebuilt the rod and put a cord grip both fore and aft. Good luck with the white Hypalon. Are you going to use the red and yellow thread colors?

Mike Blomme

Tom and Bill,
I did read the article in the library and as soon as the three guides arrive, I'm going to do a static test.

Michael,
The yellow and red thread was toast 45 years ago. I do not build surf rods, believe it or not, I have 11 surf blanks in my stock. I'll be using a white eva foregrip, since I can't get a rubber one. Thank you all for your advice.