I know most any switch rod blank can be used overhead but most are gear towards spey type cast. Are there any available blanks geared towards overhand blanks? Looking for an 8wt. Beulah make a complete rod in their Onyx series but I don't think they sell blanks for that series. I also have a R Meiser 5/6/7 "S" 11'1" blank but I don't have enough time on it to know if it is idea for overhead casting. I also just finished up a 9wt Deer Creek but have not cast it yet.

Thoughts?

Quin,
A friend from the UK (Mike O.) and I spend many $ over 5 years experimenting with custom one-off CTS blanks for just that - a rod we could use on the outer beaches of Cape Cod with the wind at 20 mph in your face..
I started short - 11'0". Mike started long - 14'0"
Mike stumbled on the design first. A 12'9" blank that had the same action as a fast single hander. It may sound simple to extrapolate a 9'0" blank out to 12'9" - but it is not.
Anyway - Mike likes this blank with 530 grains. I like it with 600-650 grains.

There are about 8-10 customers fishing this rod now. One of my customers gets an honest 125' into a stiff wind with 600 rains of a sinking head.
Contact me via email if interested in pricing.
Regards,
Herb
U.S. Distributor Rod Blanks

Herb,
Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately the person I'm building the rod for is not an expert caster like yourself (and Mike) and the thought of him managing a 12'6" rod puts a smile on my face but it will not do the same for him! He is a trout guy and a small stream trout guy at that. I have not doubt he will learn but for now the money is better spent elsewhere. Like casting lessons perhaps.
So my quest continues. Right now I am leaning towards a fast action 10' rod in a 8 or 9wt since I can't seem to find exactly what I want for a reasonable cost. I asked him to give me a final "max" so perhaps I will have more to work with then I think.

Quinn

Quinn,
Now I understand fully.
10'0", however, will provide no advantage in 2 handed overhead casting vs a simple double haul - even if you extend it 5-6" at the butt. He will actually get less distance and certainly less line speed.
12'0" is about the length needed to exceed the advantage of a haul. But what I think I am hearing is that even the double haul may be foreign to him. So I would suggest a 11'0" blank.

My focus those years were on 11'0" blanks so I built a few on Switch blanks that I use overhead. You are correct - they don't cut it. So I sent the butt sections (4pc blanks) back to CTS and had them max-out the upper 3 sections to match the butts.
I ended up with pretty good overhead rods. Actually two for one - because I still could use them as switch rods and more powerful OH rods.

I think I have both an 8 and 9wt if you want to have him test them.
CTS is not a "price-point" blank. But at least he would be testing something that exists.
Let me know,
Herb