• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Carbon wrapped shafts

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

Jay Styron

New Member
Aug 31, 2001
500
48
0
57
Anyone ever tried the Picasso carbon wrapped shafts? On paper they seem like they would work well but anyone actually shot fish w/ them? Also, on some other sites I read about a hollow shaft someone was making, I don't remember the details but it sounded interesting. Anybody else heard of them. Thanks.
Jay
 
carbon = stiffer

Hi Jay,
I can't imagine any reason for wrapping a shaft with carbon, other than hype or just to show you have one. Carbon is a very stiff reinforcement depending on the resin used to encapsulate it. It's also very delicate and doesn't go for a lot of flexing. It'll go so far and then ...SNAP!

It wouldn't allow for that much of a weight reduction by reducing the diameter of the stainless or whatever the core is, which might be what they're going for. Same with the hollow shafts- weight reduction. But the cost of replacing tweaked hollow shafts from the beating they get make me doubt their use...:duh
 
Thanks for the reply. I think they're attempt is to give you a lighter and yet stiffer shaft. I know one size is a 6.5mm shaft wrapped to 7mm. Like you I think a big fish will crack the coating off the stainless shaft. I still would like to hear if anyone has actually used the shaft or has the price kept everyone away. I was quoted about $80.00 for a shaft for a 110Cm gun. Thanks again.
Jay:)
 
stiffer shafts

jay,

do you think they're trying to compensate for "shaft whip" for the spear coming off the gun? i'd assume this would be a great idea for the euro/hybrid guns. at least for accuracy.

i'd only worry about "punch" at distance, but if your quarry is relatively close, then i think the $80 bucks might be worth it. then again, you're after "hole-ey" bastards which might tend to make your shaft into a crunchy, carbon pretzel. ;)

anyways, interested to see if anyone's ever used them too.

~ anderson
 
Help with physics

I am new to spearfishing but it seems to me that making a lighter shaft increases velocity at the point of release because the motive force has less mass to push but trades off on penetration as momentum is diminished by the loss of mass. If this is true one would want a lighter shaft for close in work with fast fish and a heavier shaft for when the target is further away and bigger. Is this true?
 
shaft size?

Hi Guys,
I shoot mostly euro style guns and on my bigger ones I use the 20mm bands(3/4"). I started out using the 6.5mm shafts but moved to the 7mm because of durability. The 6.5's would zing out there but I'm sure there was alot of whip also. I suck at math so I'm not sure if what you gain in speed makes up for what you lose in weight. It seemed that the lighter shafts didn't have a problem penatrating large fish, even at a distance, but I was almost garenteed a totally bent shaft if I didn't stone the fish. Even moderate pressure would bend the small dia. shaft. I think if you are going after truely large fish you should go for the heavy shaft for more retained energy. It's all a trade off. With the heavy shafts you generally run multiple bands, w/ the euro guns you usually only have the option of one. I think the 7mm shaft is a good compromise. After shooting these for a while it seems that most non euro guns shoot a much heaver shaft than needed for the majority of fish taken. I'd still like to hear some results for the carbon shafts though. Who knows, Christmas is right around the corner!!!!
Jay;)
 
Hello everyone,

My only concern with using the carbon wrapped shafts is the same with bow hunting with carbon arrows. If the coat were to crack in the fish, rule of thumb is to cut an 8 in. diameter around the entrance and throw it away. That's a lot of wasted meat.

I wonder how it would perform with a break-away tip?

shorty
 
a breakaway tip is about the only one I'd use on a carbon shaft, still again, for the cost vs benefits of a narrower shaft with carbon or a plain ol' stainless one, especially for the upcoming halibut season where they turn 3/8 shafts into pretzels, I've got to wonder about the brain trust at Picasso...:confused:

sven
 
Hi Sven,

What gear will you be using for halibut? Oddly enough our season closes very soon, Dec.31-Feb1. I live on a bay that was famous for them 100 years ago, and then they were fishes out, lately I have been finding halibut heads, which makes me think that the orcas must be finding some.

Best wishes,

Doug
 
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT