Building up a seeker 775-8 shark rod. I have a 9/0 penn to put on it which has the rod brace. I dont want this brace to dig into my EVA and tear it up. I have read a few post's about a sleeve to put on the blank but I'm not sure where to find them. Also does this sleeve slide over the eva or is it mounted to the bear blank above the reel seat?

There's several ways to handle this. On a uni-butt, you'll have an area forward of the seat where the rod butt ferrule installs. The clamp will fit nicely there.

If you're not using a uni-butt, you can consider mounting the reel seat in reverse, and allowing the clamp to set on the threads just forward of the locking nuts.

If positioning the seat that way is not an option for you, then it's a simple matter to buy or make a "tuna block." This is just a short section of aluminum that is mounted to the rod blank immediately forward of the reel seat. The clamp seats on that. If you can't find one commercially available, any short section of anodized aluminum tubing will work as well.

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Hello Jeremy.

Angler's Workshop has them listed in the 2011 se catalog, on the bottom of pg. 144. 4-5 bucks depending on ID.

Happy Building.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.