Float making

[lutra]

 

plastikote clear from all good diy store's or get your partner to get some "hard as nails" (Sally Hansen brand) nail varnish ,its very tuff stuff , you will also find it on e-bay HERE.

Thanks for that Chavender.

 

Good advice, or use any marine quality varnish (I use that for my split-bamboo rods), but avoid the stuff sold as "Yacht Varnish" - it isn't even waterproof !

Cheers Dave.

 

I'm not much sure what "Yacht Varnish" is any good for, I once put it on some window frames and 12 months later i had to redo them with something else because it was peeling off. I certainly wouldn't fancy putting on my yacht, if i had one that is.

[bampah]

I've still got a couple my father-in-law made 50 years ago.

Instead of clipping the bottom flush he would cut it 80% through and cut the fillet off to leave a thin tail hanging down about 1" on one side. Turn this tail up and whip it to the body on the other side and he'd have a ready made eye.

I'll have to see if they still float.

 

Rob

[ridgeacre]

That Plasti- Kote is good stuff dries very fast

[lutra]

I think I'm smiling now.

Thanks chaps.

[chavender]

very nicely done .

[poledark]

Very nice Lutra, took me right back to my childhood

 

Den

[Guest tigger]

Very nice Lutra, took me right back to my childhood

 

Den

 

 

 

Bloody hell................. ..............prehistoric times

[Vagabond]

very nicely done .

 

Yep, I'll drink to that - they just need a varnished black whipping to cover the lower margin of the painted orange-red tip - looks good and the contrast helps visibility when loooonnnng trotting.

 

Must get to work on mine when I get back from Texas.

 

A tip for anyone else making such floats.

 

Write your moniker and the shot load along the stem in Indian ink (using a mapping pen) before varnishing.

 

To determine the shot loads you can play with your floats, a few packets of shot and a bucket of water in front of the tellie on cold winter nights

You need to load the float so it neither sticks out of the water like a lighthouse nor is shotted down so much you lose sight of it when trotting.

 

 

Along the side of the float I write a three figure number which saves space on the float.

 

First figure = number of swan shot (SSG)

Second = number of goose shot (AAA)

Third = number of duck shot (BB)

 

Thus 510 means 5 SSG and 1 AAA, no BB

201 means 2 SSG, no AAA and 1 BB

400 means just 4 SSG

Mathematicians will realise the AAA and BB figures will always be 1 or 0 as 2 X BB = AAA and 2 X AAA = SSG

 

Useful when you decide the swim needs (say) something around 4 SSG - you can pick out a suitable float from your box of hundreds more easily .

 

Any finer adjustment than the nearest BB is done at the waterside according to the conditions of the day. These are heavy floats for trotting, and anything smaller than a size 4 won't have much effect on the float itself. (The shot DISTRIBUTION and how it affects bait presentation is another matter entirely and we have a thread or two going on that already)

Edited December 27, 2008 by Vagabond

[Peter Waller]

Vagabond said: '"Yacht Varnish" - it isn't even waterproof !'

So thats why my boat sank then!

I use 'Penguin' Yacht Varnish on boats, rods and floats, good stuff too. There are yacht varnishes and there are real yacht varnishes. But the stuff sold as yacht varnish in many DIY stores tends to be expensive and no yachtsman would sensibly use the stuff. Re the nail varnish advice, good one, ideal for rod whippings too.

[Vagabond]

There are yacht varnishes and there are real yacht varnishes.

 

But the stuff sold as yacht varnish in many DIY stores tends to be expensive and no yachtsman would sensibly use the stuff.

 

 

Peter, is your 'Penguin' brand actually labelled 'yacht varnish', or is it called 'marine varnish' ?

 

Unfortunately, although no yactsman would buy yacht varnish from a DIY store, amateur float makers and wooden rod renovators might - hence the warning.