I has consulting to the late Patric Frain for a short time in the mid eighty's on blue water gun development for the West coast. This handle came to me unmachined,.My gun has a 7075 T6 core and fabricated rear mech from 17/4. along with line releases for each shaft.Boron/carbon side pods provide a barrel able to handle up 800 lbs of rubber.The pods contain champers and ports allowing the gun to be trimmed for 3/8, 9/32. and 5/16 shaft weights. My gun floats with the bottom shaft in
but is ballasted to sink nose down for safety.Patrick Frain's original Double was a freeshaft gun with twin front
mounted float tubes,top and bottem shafts seared in the handle/trigger assembly.
When I first pool tested it, one of the metal buoyancy tubes flooded and the
gun took on a heavy starboard list. The large tubes also made vertical tracking
of the gun very slow. The large buoyancy tubes would also point the speartips skyward as it sank butt down.
I designed a different approach which had a 66' 7075 T6 barrel, bonded and screwed lace wood sides, redesigned open muzzel with line cross over pin for
shaft retention of both shafts, a new clevis push rod 17/4 mech mounted at the very back to increase rubber pull.
I CNC milled a cast handle to include a clevis end Ti push rod and articulated
light wt trigger. All my components were weighed to the gram for a balanced launch platform.
The new gun was very powerful, with the wood side slabs the gun balanced well with a tip down trim angle. A small pad of 3M 5200 at the roof of the sear box and hi end planking made for a quieter shaft release.
At the end of the day my complete approach was not cost effective for Pat to produce, but may have led the way to his next generation of guns.
!. Pat Frain's lovey wife and dad at DEMA
2. Me and Ultimate Double with float tubes and handle sear assembly.
3.Double Trouble with Carbon pods, WSB head shot with 1/4'', 1 band under shaft.
4. One of my hero's Big Johnny Carrol, Don Paul with lacewood Double Trouble.
Big John is inventor of the first commercial over/under and father of the Sport Ways gun. He is also a Life member of the LA Fathomiers.