Speartek floatline??

I've never seen that float line, but you don't need it, just get a good polypropylene rope.

as a fan of/ user of tube style lines, I would say that it sounds very good on paper, but the price has to be really cheap to justify one IMO...I find that even the best fl is still vuleranble and short lived and if you make your own then it is more cost effective..I use uv treated plastic and 400 lb tuna mono, ss thimbles , SS 400 lb swivels and tuna clips as terminal tackles..they cost me about 25 bucks for 100ft.

What's the point of using 1400lb spectra and 1600lb swivels if your shooting line is 250lb :rolleyes1:

Quote from Dan

What's the point of using 1400lb spectra and 1600lb swivels if your shooting line is 250lb :rolleyes1:

mono gets changed out often ,a float line should last for years and every type of core line ever made will wear and degrade over time so the over kill in strength is really for longevity . i know guys that like to use hollow braid poly in baja and they bring a roll of the stuff down with them and make a new line every time it shows a little wear.
phil

I thought they start leaking and stop floating long before the core line would wear down.

that depends on where you dive and if you let fish wrap it around a wreck or coral . i still have the first float line i ever bought ,its a riffe floatline i bought when at least 15 years ago it is still dry inside and is the line that is in my loaner gear box ,i have since switched to neptonics gear but if hadn't i would still be using it . poly starts starts getting beat after a couple months of light use . if you spend $10 on poly every 4 months
you will spend the same as buying a real line every year and a half to 2 years
phil

I've had the one in this pic for 4 or 5 years, it's still good. Maybe I just don't use it enough. Truly I don't know what someone would do to make it deteriorate. Reminds of the the idea that a poly rope is prone to tangles as compared to the tube float line. I never got a tangle in it so I just don't get it.

Quote from Dan

What's the point of using 1400lb spectra and 1600lb swivels if your shooting line is 250lb :rolleyes1:

My thoughts exactly. However, I do like the "pro" style flotline; meaning a cored pvc tubing style floatline. it just feels better. It slide easier throught the hand. It doesn't kink, twist, or knot up as bad as poly.

Cored floatlines are pretty simple to make. The biggest cost is going to be the core line if you want "professional" grade material. At retail cost, it may cost as much as $1 a foot. That can get pretty pricey. My point is, that as easy as they are to make, one could easily change the core line every year if degradation was a concern. You might lose 2-4" of length everytime it was changed, but based on the previous posts, it seems one would still come out ahead, monitarily.

Quote from Dan

Truly I don't know what someone would do to make it deteriorate. Reminds of the the idea that a poly rope is prone to tangles as compared to the tube float line. I never got a tangle in it so I just don't get it.

Poly frays easier than a pvc tubing. Poly is softer and thus is more prone to tangles and knots. The pvc tubing is too thick to knot.

I made my first homemade float line last winter. It's certainly not the best, and i've had to make some changes to it over the months, but if I had to make a new one today, I would definitely know the best way of doing it. Its a learning process, but i'd def stick with my homemade float line.

Quote from Dan

What's the point of using 1400lb spectra and 1600lb swivels if your shooting line is 250lb :rolleyes1:

That's because if you shoot a big fish and it tangles on a deep reef or wreck or runs and sounds into oblivion you want a good heavy line holding onto your gun so if something fails it probably will be your shooting line so you get to keep your gun, unless you shoot a breakaway rig then it doesn't matter.

the way i see it is the line is like the gun...there are better ones for certain circumstances, but if you are gonna go with just one, use whatever feels the best to you..I will say that Dan's rig is the best way to keep the line managed, it is always out of the way and the perfect length for the depth. I have two because I found 100 ft too long so now I have a 60 and a 40 ft.

on beach dives they are still annoying in the surf but they are easier for me to manage in the water as they are stiffer....just aboiut what you like and what you are okay with putting up with.

There are different weaves of poly, some are tighter than others. The one I have doesn't fray and doesn't knot or tangle. You can almost see from the pic that it's stiff.

I'm using for a couple of years a modified braided poly line from home depot - inside the thicker line I inserted some pvc tube like a core for flotation. it doesn't play any role for strength, but the poly rope is already rated higher than what most of us need. The thin pvc tube is sealed so it will increase the flotation and add the stiffness to prevent knots.since the pvc is inside the braided line is less exposed to abrasion and punctures, and the to the stress from clips / pulls etc.

Dan,
Where did you get that rope from? The weave looks much tighter that the one I use and smaller in diameter which I like; not a huge deal but yours certainly looks better.

Also, I am using that lifeguard can I got from you (works great btw, thanks :thumbsup2:) but have 100' of line and as Judah pointed out is a bit much in the ~35' I typically dive in. I keep it that length because I don't want to carry multiple lines with me when out jumping from spot to spot where the length requirement may change. How is the drag in the water of the spool you have? I was thinking of making something similar.

Stefan, would you please post a pic of the floatline you described?

Shallowrunner, that line is old Rob Allen line. I say old because I think the one you'll find in the stores now is different albeit still orange. You'll have to examine it to see if the weave is still adequate. It's been my intention for a while now to source poly rope identical to this old Rob Allen stuff. The fact that you realize the difference encourages me to do it.

The spool and Rob Allen float combination has very little drag.

Stefan, please do show us, that sounds awesome.

what OD is the interior tubing?

I posted 2 pictures - one with the line package as it is sold by Home Depot, and in the other I pushed out through the braided line one end of the tube to show that the tube is not attached to anything, and it is sealed. With the tube the line is quite stiff and I don't have to deal with too many tangles. I'm using the line mostly to attach the jetski to myself when drifting, and in some spots I can do only one or 2 drops per drift - so I'm recovering the line many times with no real space to store it properly, and usually in a rush because at the end of the drift there are some very nasty rips so there is no time nor space to bring it in nicely.

I believe the tube is 1/4 used for water lines. It might be 19 cents per ft (not sure), and the line is like 12 cents per ft.

Thanks for the pics. I think I know that line from Home depot, it's a fairly loose weave. Still I'm amazed you can push the tube through it, and that the line completely covers it. How long is your final line and how long does it take to push the tube through?

Yes, the braid is very loose. I made a 100ft line and a 30ft line... it took less than half hour to push it through. I helps using some sort of rod on the front end of the tube.