floatline difficulties

[ruftitufti]

Just read the article "floatline capers" and still having trouble getting the 400lb mono threaded through the pvc tubing. Tried the technique where water was used in an attempt to take a lighter thread through first but this failed. Anyone with ideas that really work? Rufti

[Pastor]

There's a real good thread on this in the diy section over at spearfishing.com pictures and all

[pangullo]

you could tie a nail to a thread and use a really strong magnet to guide the nail through.

even better, tie a q-tip to some thread and suck it through with a vacuum.

for both techniques, make sure the tubing is as straight as possible.

[Adon]

Hello,
I did the vacuum thing and also the magnet, both did not work. Eventually, the water and gravity worked but it was a real pain. I honestly think that the mono is more trouble than it is worth and the dyneema is the way to go.
I did find this helpful. I hope it is OK to link this!
Deluxe float line

Hope this helps. If you do find an easy way to get the mono through I would appreciate it if you could let me know!

[scrounger]

dry lube the inside of the tube that will make thinds a bunch easier if you try it again.

[Rossicus]

Use kite line first to get something to pull the mono through.
with the kite line or somethin else like builders line get abit of teflon tape and wrap it around the end of the line till its almost as big as the inside diameter of the vinyl or what ever ur using. then just put a vacuum cleaner on the other end. works a treat. just did it about 5min ago and it took no more than 30seconds. where as it took me almost 3 hours trying to think of a way to get it through. hah

[Newbie_spearo]

I used sewing cotton and a needle. Tied it to my ployethylene cord and then used the vaccum to suck it through. I think if i had a 20m piece of tube this would have proven a lot more difficult but i used 4 X 5m tube and just connect them with a bigger piece of tube. Then used some heat shrink to seel the connections.

[Rossicus]

yer i got mine through the whole way through 20m of vinyl. heat shrink is good stuff to make it look narly. but yer just teflon tape around the end of the line n it fly's through. i ended up having like 5m of the line wound up in the vacum cleaner coz i didnt realise how fast it went through

[Newbie_spearo]

P.S. I'm laughing with you Rossicus, Not at you. LOL

[T2K]

use an air compressor to blow a small piece of cotton ball with thread attached.

[Rossicus]

yer but not everyone has an aircompressor lying around do they. most people have vacuum cleaners tho.

[blaiz]

When I did my line I used a 12lb mono with a piece of plastic bag tied to one end and sucked it through using a shop-vac. I had alot of trouble (80ft line) until I lubed the tubbing with baby powder (talcom powder) then It flew right through. I then tied the 12lb mono to the 250lb (which was the size I used) and pulled it through.

Make sure to pull the tubbing over a little extra line to enable it to stretch a bit. AND BE SURE TO SEAL YOUR ENDS WITH SILICONE!!!

I made that mistake with the first line I made and ended up with a "sink line" It was a disaster!!

[Rossicus]

silicone doesnt work. i used it n it doesnt dry inside and gets all grose n slimy with the salt water. i used some liquid nails n that dries almost instantly and seals really well

[blaiz]

thats strange because the silicone that I used worked great. Maybe it was a mix of some sort. It was a while ago. I would be carefule with liquid nails as it is alot stiffer than silicone and might crack over time. if not maybe ill try it next time.