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Cayman HF

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Shorerider

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2008
17
0
86
Hi all, and Happy New Year!!!

I've just taken delivery of my new gun, an Omer Cayman HF 110cm. I'm yet to get it wet, but hope to soon enough.

I've noticed that when the spear slides in the rail (free from the mech), it sort of grinds/rubs against the anodized coating of the integrated rail.

I understand that this is normal, and in use it will get lubricated by the water. However I'm wondering if anyone has tried other forms of lubrication between the spear shaft and rail - like wax for example?

Many guns have a stick-on rail made of Polymer which I think would offer less resistance than the Anodized coating on the Cayman, as it seems to have more grip.

Also, I've replaced the S/Steel Articulated Bridle/Wishbone to a double Dynema Bridle - mainly for safety reasons. I had a Dynema Bridle on my last gun and found it worked well.

Any useful info would be appreciated,


Cheers - Shorerider.
 
Shorerider.

Great choice of gun! and perfect for melbourne water, feel sorry for the snapper population!

the "grip you talk of makes very little if any performance change and definetly not a noticable one in the water. they do make a bit of noise but far to late for teh chosen target fish by the time they here it.

dont know of too many people that have played with another lubiracnt but i guess you could tape up either side of the rail then give the rail a light sand and have it spread in a silicone compound or better yet a teflon style coating this should reduce both the sound and the "grip" issue.

regards

DD
 


Cheers Shorerider, The Omer cayman is a great all round reef gun. The barrel of your gun has a anodized barrel (electrolyic passivation process)
which increases the aluminum barrel's corrosion resistance.Anodizing also
helps limit galling at the shaft/barrel interface. Do not use harsh abrasives
ie steel wool, sand paper or rubbing compounds that will prematurely wear
this very thin coating from your gun. Plain fresh water is all that is needed
after use in the sea. Bronze wool can be used on stainless shafts to remove light surface oxidation if needed.

The coefficient of friction between the spearshaft and wet anodized barrel
is not a real concern.
If you shoot the gun with converted cord bridles make sure you center the bridle as best as possible. An uneven bridle setting will cause uneven tension from the power bands, rendering less accurate shaft placement on
that nice Snapper or Kingie.
Cheers mate,
Don Paul
 
Hi Shorerider,

To reduce the noise of the shaft against the barrel, I would suggest simply applying either boat stripping tape or regular duct tape on the rail. Both of these these tapes can be found in black, so it will be pretty invisible on your gun.

I used boat striping tape for two seasons on my Rob Allen aluminum rail. It worked well for me, though at the end of my last season the tape was beginning to show to show some nicks. I will try Gorilla brand duct tape for the next season to see if it lasts longer.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Claudio
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

This is my first 'Decent' gun. A mate of mine has one, and I loved the look and workmanship on it which is why I bought one.

I am not too worried about the 'grip' on the rail, or the noise it may cause. I was just curious to hear if anyone had tried any methods to make it more slippery. I'm sure if left alone, and after repeated firing, it will wear itself a little smoother sooner or later.

I am able to get hold of a tape which is made from actual Teflon. It is about 0.5mm thick, and as with normal 'non-stick' Teflon it has a slippery surface. I may give it a go after I have used the gun 'as is' to see if it makes it quieter etc...

Will keep you posted,


-Shorerider.
 

This is great advise, I am currently in Brazil, the first thing I did was to apply some transparent duct tape on may HF110 barrel, also rope wishbone, is a must. I am using the transparent duct from west marine.
 
strangelove said:
This is great advise, I am currently in Brazil, the first thing I did was to apply some transparent duct tape on may HF110 barrel, also rope wishbone, is a must. I am using the transparent duct from west marine.
Click to expand...

Are you applying tape at shaft/barrel interface?
Cheers. Don Paul
 
Hi Don Paul,

Strangelove will have more specific directions for you since he has the same gun as you, but on my RA, I apply the tape to the barrel, centered on centered to the rail and along its entire length. Just make sure to avoid any air bubbles between the rail and the tape as this will cause the shaft to sit uneven on the rail, which would compromise accuracy.

I also apply a shorter piece of tape to the bottom portion of the barrel close to the muzzle. This is where the metal swivel clips that connects my dyneema line to my mono shooting line lies. I do that to minimize any metal noises from the swivel clip hitting against the aluminum barrel as I swim. I am not sure if you would be able to do that on the HF since it has the recessed letters at the bottom.

Cheers,
Claudio
 
Last edited:
Reactions: Don Paul
Don

Yes I am apply on the entire rail, I don't have the gun with me at this point, I am tied up with family stuff all the way to Tuesday, I will post a picture then.

But what I did was very simple, I coated the entire rail with transparent duck tape, I cuted 5 inch pieces first glue on the rail with a pencil then on the sides. I am also using a rope wishbone.

Claudio the water in Rio is really warm and clear lots of Markel, the real diving should start next week when my wife leaves Rio back to AK.
 
strangelove said:
Don
Claudio the water in Rio is really warm and clear lots of Markel, the real diving should start next week when my wife leaves Rio back to AK.
Click to expand...

How I envy you Rafael !! Especially now the the blue water is closer to the coast. Good luck with the diving next week! Where are you planning to dive at? I will definitely dive in Arraial do Cabo next time I go to Rio. My old hunting grounds used to be Cabo Frio, where my family had a summer house.

Let me know if your friends will let you dive for snooks with the HF now that you have the rail taped.

Aguas roxas,
Claudio
 
Last edited:
I am normally dive south at Lage da Marambaia and Ilha do Jorge Grego, Ilha Grande is now forbiden for spear fishing, dam eco shiitas. For snooks I use a small gun since the fishing is inside sepetiba bay, I use a wooden yokooji 90 cm.
 

Thanks for the reply. My gun is OK as is, as I only use it for a backup kill gun when needed. I have used stick on Teflon tape on my old 1982 Hybrid
with good results. I suppose you guys don't have to worry about shaft to
barrel coefficient of friction, with the Camen's power band axis centered on the shaft. With the thin water film on a ideally powered gun there is most likely only a microsecond of contact.
Good hunting on ya guys!
Cheers Don Paul
 
Hey guys,

Due to work commitments, I'm still yet to get my Cayman in the water. But I hope to at some stage in the coming weeks.

Down here in Southern OZ, most of us run our guns attached to a float line and float. My concern with my Cayman is that I have a shark clip & swivel attached to the base of the gun handle via a stainless steel D-shackle. The shark clip then attaches to yet more s/steel hardware at the start of my float line.

Now all this stainless steel rattling at the base of the handle is sure to create some 'extra' unwanted noise. Especially as it will be noise before a shot is fired, which could lead to scaring off the target fish.

I'd appreciate any tips as to how I could make this area of my set-up less noisy. I've thought of incorporating some Dynema into the mix to reduce metal to metal contact, but I'm not exactly sure on how to go about it.


Cheers, Shorerider.
 

I don't know what you are targeting but I can tell you first hand pelagic fish are attracted to a little clicking and rattling noise mate.
Cheers, Don Paul
 
Don Paul said:
I don't know what you are targeting but I can tell you first hand pelagic fish are attracted to a little clicking and rattling noise mate.
Cheers, Don Paul
Click to expand...

Mostly reef fish Don Paul. We get most of our Pelagics up north where the water is a lot warmer.

I haven't known it to be a problem - yet - however I'd be interested to see if it did make a difference.



Cheers, Shorerider.
 
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