Cordage/Rigging

[Dogmatrix]

Interested if any one can give a little info on rigging 2 floats together and then to a 7mm shaft on my euro gun.

I have a nice euro gun that I am going to use for spearing pelagics off some deep coral drop offs. What type of cordage/line would people suggest using from the initial mono connected to the spear up to the float? and what would be reasonable to use between the two floats (big pelagics so 2 floats not 1). Just that there is so many different options available today such as bungies PVC ect.

Any info is greatly appreciated, I had a look for some info on this and saw a little directed a svens Island but not a lot I could use
Cheers

 

[SASpearo]

DUDE ....

I can't advise you too much ... I can however tell you what I normally use for pelagics.

I run a bungee from the spear mono to my first float - I've got about ten of the things, anything from a 10m/15m to the big daddy, a 30m/50m 16mm Latex monstrosity, packed with braided dacron line. I normally have a small float at the front, say in the 3 to 5l class, and then run either a single boogie board 50m behind it, or another two smallish 5l floats.

Typical shore dive for pelagics (Tunny, Big Yellowtail, Kob etc) would normally consist of the 10m/15m bungee, attached to 10m Mono and the spear at one end, and a 5l float on the other. This float I'd connect to another 5l float via PVC floatline. My second gun wuold be strapped to the second float, and water and energy bars to the first float. My board got stolen by my mate Schuster, he took it to Kenya (???????) for some BIG fish apparently. We'll see.

Boat dives I'd rig three to 5 floats, especially if there's big tunny around. It's also a lot easier to rig in the water, especially when compared to shoring .... such a mission to get 5 floats and line rigged properly for towing from shore.

Hope this helps!!
Rgrds,
Riaan

 

[Abriapnea]

Hi Dog ; Firstly I would recommend replacing your mono with dyneema . I also like to have a 10 cm. bungee that connects the dyneema to the gun for fixed line shooting or a similar bungee for maintaining tension on my breakaway .
Then a 1 m. bungee connecting the dyneema/mono to my first floatline (40 m.) Behind this a 3 l. foam buoy , another 30 m . of line and my big lifesaving buoy . My line is braided pvc

 

[icarus pacific]

Lose the mono and go with cable the first 6-7 Meters or so. Rig with a no bullshit swivel to a bungie 2-5 meters and then to a solid foam or filled float, attach that to a 2-3 meter float tail and another float. Daisy chain however many floats you want this way, then a 30m floater and a flagged and flared final bouy. Dyneema is nice, same as Spectra, and nice too is Kevlar. Braided poly will float but gets brittle after a while. Braided nylon is stretchy but cheap. Go with what your wallet permits but skip a meal if it means the difference between nylon and Spectra.

Good luck!


sven

 

[donmoore]

Spectra or Dyneema

If you choose Spectra or Dyneema here are some things to watch out for. Many manufactures are combining wax like substances in these lines to improve the knot tying ability. Stay away from these. The down side of the improved knot tying is the decrease in cut resistance. The reason why these lines were so abrasive résistance in the first place was their extreme slickness and fraying. The individual fibers are very small and flexible which makes them tend to bend around sharp objects rather than cut. If they do cut they are plenty fibers left (the definition of fraying).

It’s hard to find Spectra or Dyneema line in high lbs (500 or more) that you can order in small amounts for speargun use. Priratescuba.com has the right type of Dyneema line in 570lbs. They are the only place on the net I have found were you could order by the foot. Specifically stay away from the kite lines, because they have the coating for knot tying. In kiting they are only interested in strength to weight ratio and not abrasive résistance so they coat them for the knot tying ability.

If you are concerned about the knot slipping, put some put some underwater epoxy or similar material on it. Or for a nice professional look you can use shrink tubing over the knot and put in boiling water to shrink it.

You can find out for sure if you have non-coated line when you cut it with scissors. If it cuts easy, you have the wrong type. The right type will take several closing of the scissors to cut.
Don