New RA reel

[miles]

Hiya

Just recieved my new 1200 Carbon RA with RA's new reel.

The reel is made of stainless steel, so its much thinner than my Omer Pelagic 100. Very simple design, that works well!!! I've just spooled over 30m of 3mm line onto it and will be giving it a thorough test soon!!! I simply prefer the thicker 3mm line as its so much easier to grip.

Regards
miles

[Memo]

Oo miles, your stuff is always heavy duty!!

[strangelove]

This looks like a very good reel , does the gun still floats (without the shaft). Also where can I get a reel like that ?

[Bill McIntyre]

Thanks for the good news. I've seen that reel on the RA website and wondered when it would finally be available. I hope they get to the US soon.

Your reel is obviously mounted on a RA tube barrel. Do you know whether they also provide a mount for a wood stock gun like those commonly used in the US? I hope they do, as I think it would widen the potential market quite a bit. I'm just afraid that with the dismal value of the dollar against the Rand, they will be quite expensive here. RA guns had a huge price advantage a few years ago when the dollar was strong against the Rand, but it has disappeared at least for now.

I think I have about 35 meters of 3 mm Spectra line on my new-version Riffe reel, so it sounds like the capacity must be approximately the same. If its not too much trouble, I would appreciate the diameter of the spool and the width from outside one side plate to the other. And please keep us posted on how it works after you get to try it.

[x-frog]

The new RA reel is available at http://flfreedivers.com/ for $139.18 (very extrange price). The new RA speargun should be in USA, lot of people waiting for better prices of the old (green handle).

[Bill McIntyre]

Originally Posted by x-frog

The new RA reel is available at http://flfreedivers.com/ for $139.18 (very extrange price). The new RA speargun should be in USA, lot of people waiting for better prices of the old (green handle).

I see the reel on the home page, but I can't find an individual link for it and its not in the "shop" area. Am I missing something?

[ajwaverider]

Bill. Its probaly not updated on there site .I recieved a price list for Feb with an order I placed and it's not updated .It has alot of RA gear but no reels.Mikes wife told they are in the process of getting the site updated with all there products and prices.

Reel looks nice Miles . You must have about 20 guns now, What kind of line did you put on the reel?

[Bill McIntyre]

I just emailed them for more information on capacity and availability of a mount for wood guns.

[miles]

Hiya

The only downside is that the reel is mounted with two screws into the barrel. RA did it for me, so DIY enthusiasts might have hassles with the barrel leaking.

Fits EXACTLY the same way to a wooden gun. Tommy is actually busy mounting my second RA reel to a smaller two banded wooden gun. Simply screw the two screws in. Sure it'll fit ANY wooden gun.

AJ, i use 3mm parachute cord. Cheap and very easy to grip. I've tried 2mm dyneema, buts its just too thin and slippery to grip properly. The abrasion resistance is undoubtedly better with the dyneema, but we hardly spear in area's so foul that high abrasion lines are required. You'll also find that if you shoot a largish fish, the longer fight makes you hands cramp with the thinner diameter line. I dive mostly in 10-30m of water depth. (NOTE: the water is 30m deep, NOT me diving to 30m!!!) so 30m of line is just about all i need to land almost all fish that we shoot.

Regards
miles

[x-frog]

About 4 weeks ago Mike wrote at spearfishing.com forum, that the first consignment of RA reels and some new RA speargun were sitting in Miami waiting customs clearance.here is his last post:

Yes, we have brought in a small quantity of the new handled guns in the same consignment as the reels.
However most of the dealers, myself included, still have stocks of the old style guns to move out.
Thats why there should be some good buys out there right now for the old RA's.
I might even eventually have to unload some on Ebay, as everyone will be wanting the new version :>(
Regards,
Mike.

[Bill McIntyre]

I emailed Mike Damms at Florida Freedivers asking for information and got the following reply:

Hi Bill,
Sorry that I cannot give you much information on the new reels.
There is not much I can actually tell you above:-

1. There are both a 50M & 70M (Meter) line capacity models available. I
believe this capacity is based on the standard RA 2mm Dyneema.

2. The reel is basically designed to be mounted on the RA gun but the
bracket is such that it could be mounted on a wooden gun. To do a good job
on a wooden gun, it may need a small thin rectangular piece of
wood/composite to be mounted between the bracket and the gun. (I will
actually source this and offer them gratis with the reel)

3. The reel looks beautiful.

4. I only have a limited number available in the USA. Accordingly I have
asked my webmaster not to put it yet into our on-line shopping section yet.
I am offering them wholesale to the RA dealers first so that they get more
coverage than my just retailing them here from Florida Freedivers.

To answer your question on capacity, I will, when I can get the time, key in
the two spool dimensions into a little spreadsheet I have, and see what the
theoretical line capacity is, both for 2 and 3mm lines.

I have stripped one and the construction looks really good. The drag is
simple but positive. There are several in use in Florida already. So far no
returns or complaints but it is early days.

I took various reels up to the local Post office and they obliged me by
weighing them. The reels were in similar plastic bags together with their
mounting hardware. So, these are not absolute weights but are comparitive:

Small Rob Allen (50M)= 5.8oz
Big Rob Allen (70M) = 6.2oz
Riffe Reel = 8.5oz
Pelagic (100) Reel = 10.5 oz

Regards,
Mike Damms.

FLORIDA FREEDIVERS
804 US HWY 1, SUITE #6,
LAKE PARK, FL. 33403
PHONE561) 848-0678
FAX: (561) 848-0397
EMAIL: freediv1@bellsouth.net
Website: http://www.flfreedivers.com

[Bill McIntyre]

Here are some photos of a friend's new reel. It sure is pretty.

Note that the line guide is fixed rather than swiveling as on the Omer. I think I may like this better.

Also notice the raised ridges on each side of the mounting plate. To mount the reel on a wood gun, you need a wood or composite spacer to keep these from digging into the wood. Daryl Wong is cutting one from delrin for me. You might think that you could just grind them off, but I understand that the folks at RA recommend against it as these ridges lend strength.

[Bill McIntyre]

In case anyone cares, I have now loaded some line on the new RA reel. Its so hard to find out about capacities when a new reel comes out, so maybe you can profit from my experience.

I tried reeling some 3 mm spectra from another reel, and the RA took 98 feet but was way overfull. So I spooled some blue spot 2 mm like that on the Picasso web site, and it took about 170 feet. Based on that, I ordered 170 of yellow spectra from Masahiro Mori (morifish@aol.com). It arrived today, and it appears that this 2 mm is thinnner than the other 2 mm. It took all of the 170 feet and looks like it could take at least 200 feet, and maybe a bit more. The photos show how much room was left.

[ajwaverider]

Bill. What size reel is it?I have not had the oppertunity to put my hands on a reel so
how do they work?Does the drag work both ways or like a fly fishing reel ?

[Bill McIntyre]

Size- its the Rob Allen 70, which is apparently meant to indicate the capacity of 2 mm line. They also make a 50.

The drag works both directions. The Omer reels do the same, and the only reels I know of that only work when the line is going out are the Riffes. With the Riffe, you set the drag level with a socket wrench before going in the water, and then there is an on/off knob for use in the water. Its either drag or freespool.

With the RA and the Omer, you turn a knob, sort of like tightening a star drag on a fishing reel.

Don't be too concerned about the drag. Most people set it just tight enough toi keep the gun strung, and then use their hand to apply pressure to the fish as needed. A reel is really just a line storage device. You don't use it to fight fish as you do with rod and reel. And most people, at least in California kelp diving, don't even reel the fish up. They pull it hand over hand, and then later they reel the line back on after the fish is subdued.