Maybe my rods will float! Just don’t have the guts to throw them over board to find out.
Norm

Norman Miller Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe my rods will float! Just don’t have the
> guts to throw them over board to find out.
> Norm



Floating rods are overrated imo Norm , sure, a floating rod is very desirable but i think the key here and the more important part that is being overlooked is to find a way to somehow keep the rods on board the boat . If you can come up with a plan to maintain control of the rod instead of always having to pull anchor to go look for them the need for a floating rod becomes less of an issue.

Shocked at meeting me? Me too. I've never been to the IRCBE.

The facts about a floating rod and reel outfit are that the weight of the water displaced by the whole outfit must be heavier than the weight of the outfit. It the weight of the water displaced is less than the weight of the outfit, the outfit will sink. Like a boat. While a light blank is part of the "equation," it is not the controlling factor. The outfit could weigh 5 pounds, and if it displaced more than 5 pounds of water, it would float. So how does one design a fishing outfit that will float? Use a light blank (but consider that the difference between light blanks (like Point Blank) and other quality blanks of the same action and power is a few tenths of an ounce. Use a light reel and components, and lots of cork, and it will float. It will float if the weight of the water it displaces is more than the weight of the outfit. Keep adding cork until it floats.

Having said all this, Point Blanks are right now my favorite blanks. I don't mean to diminish their qualities

Yep, my boat weighs over a 1000 pounds and floats like a boat. Has something to do with water displacement. Many years ago I dropped a rod over board and it sank like a rock, I have also dredged a number of rods off the bottom while fishing, so not all rods float. Again has something to do with water displacement and not weight. LOL Point Blanks are also my favorite blank. I now own 8 personal Point Blank Rods, 3 spinning and 5 casting. I have also made a number more for friends and friends of friends and they all love them. I tried my first one several years ago based on Jim Ising’s recommendation. He was spot on, they are great blanks.
Norm

We covered all this in an article in RodMaker a couple or so years back, and showed how to make nearly any rod float by reducing weight and maximizing displacement. Most well made bass rods will float - it is the addition of a reel, which in nearly no case will displace enough water to overcome its weight, that creates the larger problem.

I'm hoping guys are joking when they talk about putting helium inside the rod blank. That won't increase displacement and therefore wouldn't aid floatation.

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

If helium replaces something heavier than helium it will make the outfit lighter (infinitesimally so in the case of its replacing air) and therefore it will take less water to be displaced in order to float the rod. In effect the density, therefore the weight, of the outfit becomes less. Think of using something like lead to put inside the rod. It won't affect the displacement, but it will affect the density/weight and therefore the bouyancy. Of course I agree that filling the rod with helium will have no practical effect, but in principal, in theory, there is a difference between a fill of helium and a fill of air.

Tom, you just spoiled my idea..i was going to pack cork-dust dust up my rod-butt to get more floatation..lol.

A little serious lightness is good.
Norm

As Norm and others have said if an object displaces more water, in weight, than it weighs, it floats. Think I saw a Seeker React bass rod video some years ago where they were showing their rods were so light, with a casting reel attached, that they would float.

LOL! it took me a minute Norm..

Yes there is a difference, but in this case due to the amount we're talking about, there is no practical difference. This is all covered in the article, which was quite extensive.

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

Hello Tom.

Do you mean "Rod Floatation It's About Displacement"?

It's in Volume-17, Issue-1, Pages- 22 thru 27.

Interesting.


Tight Wraps & Tighter Lines.

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Yes.

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

If i ever obtain a boat i will certainly be purchasing a floating rod but not right away. The reason is because at this point i have been able to contain my rods inside the boat which is not easy as we all know , i mean sure iv'e had a few rods attempt to break loose and float but none have been able to make it over the side completely.

If you have a rod or rod's that enjoy floating i would sit down with the violators and make it very clear that there is no escape and future attempts at floating may result in serious injury up to and including death. Well at least thats what i do and i can proudly say that i have no floating rod issues..

Sorry Michael Danek, I thought you were Another Mike from the NERBS Just a little more info. There is no extra cork on the rod. They are the standard Anglers Resource cork grips. BGKS17C, BGK485, andRGSK1617RC. I didn't try to build the rod to float. I just build the Rods as lite as possible. There ability to float is just an added bonus or pure luck...

The lighter the outfit, the less displacement is needed to make it float. Some careful thought, as outlined in the article, can be employed to float most freshwater outfits without creating a rod with overly large grips, etc.

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

Ernest Horvath Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I thought you were Another Mike from the NERBS

SurfisherMike?

Yes, Billy Surfisher Mike. He is a very knowledgeable person. I enjoyed talking with him.

Maybe I shouldn't have put the word "seriously" in the title of this post. lol

Ernest, I didn't mean the rod had "extra cork," or any judgment on the design of the rod, only that the rods I build, for lighter duty fresh water fishing, have much less cork. Therefore they displaces less water. And would, therefore be less likely to float. In spite of being very light. This string has really been interesting, a mix of jest, facts, physics, myth, and NIH. I'm sure you, Jim Ising , have enjoyed seeing it unfold.

Maybe someday I'll get to the show and we'll meet, Ernest.