Posts by Dan

  • not so mako

    Damn I knew we should've kept it. Would've been a funny pic putting it on a stringer with fish. You don't dispose of gifts from the sea lightly, there's always a reason..

  • RAT grip custom handle material

    The Herculiner may require touching up from time to time but I think it will stick well to aluminum. It's made for metal truck beds. Pep boys has the $30 smaller can. Yeah Steven, I saw you fondling my Herculiner hehehe

  • Nice shore dive today

    Kyle, if you're diving with a buddy that doesn't have a PH you can always give him one. A good place to carry it if you don't have a pouch is in your sleeve, wetsuit or rashguard. Having a buddy with a PH is sometimes better than you having one.

  • About Spearboard

    Spearfishing Planet is mostly a scuba spearfishing forum. I don't care for scuba spearfishing but if you gotta do it and want to communicate with people of like mind SP is the place to go rather than SB.

  • About Spearboard

    EDIT 2026 - As a final show of character Grogan deleted Spearboard. There's little evidence of its existence on the web. With the content gone all the sponsors and contributors lost their investments of time, effort and money. Businesses will lose revenue and legacies have disappeared.


    Things have changed with the rise of social media. The sense of community that drove tightly focused and well established forums has largely disappeared. Things that at the time felt important now seem irrelevant. Some people that contributed are no longer with us. Let this thread stand for those who care to remember this bit of history in our path.


    ____________________________________________________



    Some of you know the history of Spearboard forum, others may be oblivious and think it doesn't matter. I think anyone who takes spearfishing seriously in the US should be aware of what Spearboard represents. My thoughts on Spearboard are based on my "extensive" LOL experience posting there, personal contact with the owner Tony Grogan and information that was passed on to me by others who had dealings with him. So because I think it's important for the greater good of the spearfishing community here goes.


    The beginning of SB I've only been told about as I was a latecomer on the scene in 2006. It was created around 2002 by a scuba spearfisherman, I can't remember his name. Him and his friends were a group of guys communicating in a small sub-section of the Florida Sportsman forum. Apparently they weren't treated very well there so that prompted them get their own place on the web. Spearboard had steady growth until around 2006 when for some reason the original owner decided to sell it. In comes Tony Grogan, nowadays fondly referred to around here as "the Grogan", and scoops it up for a song.


    Under the Grogan's management over the next four years SB caught huge momentum and the number of registered users, lurkers looking to get information, and businesses trying to gain exposure through Spearboard increased dramatically. The grogan steadily and increasingly implemented "rules" that would limit member's input on issues that were important to them, so as to drive the board in the direction he wanted, which appeared to be marketing spearfishing to the masses in tune with his vision for the spearfishing community, catering to sponsors and and at the same time feeding his own megalomania.


    Rather than adhering to stated rules about business promotion, Spearboard moderation simply depends on how the grogan feels about a particular company. For example in the case of Speardiver, any mention of the name is grounds for the post to be deleted and the impartial member being threatened with banning. The same goes for divers who use Speardiver gear and post a fish pic where the Speardiver logo on their wetsuit or fins is visible. All links to Spearfishing World forum and the Spearfishing Store website are automatically censored. It would seem that's a normal way to run a business, it is a competitive world after all. But for various reasons as a spearo living in the US, and a small business owner, I find the Spearboard monopoly very disturbing. I hope to get more into the reasons for this as the discussion develops.


    I'm posting an email the grogan has been recently sending to various small spearfishing related business owners/hobbyists. In essence he's blackmailing them into giving him money. The ensuing email exchange with one particular well known speargun builder after he declines to sponsor, demonstrates even more clearly the grogan's devious nature. But I'm not at liberty to post it publicly at this time.


    Hi *****,


    I hope things are going well for you. We are ramping up the marketing power of Spearboard and signing up lots of new sponsors. We are tightening the rules on posting promotion by non-sponsors directly and indirectly. I hope you will consider becoming a sponsor this year.


    Here attached are the marketing program elements of the 2010 Spear Wars. I hope you will want to retain your existing advertising and/or expand your Internet marketing efforts which have become even more affordable. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]We realize the down economy is affecting most businesses and thus we have lowered our advertising and marketing rates accordingly from last year.


    In spite of the down economy, the website Spearboard.com has continued its record growth. Every month, we now have over 80,000 unique visitors, over 7 million page views, and over 25 million hits. Those are some staggering web traffic statistics that make Spearboard.com by far the largest spearfishing website in existence.
    [/SIZE]
    [SIZE=+1]For 2010, we have developed a creative concept called The Big Bang! Open Tournament with which we are combining the traditional three tournament Blue Storm series into one massive event in one location at the Riviera Beach Marina which is the excellent Palm Beach Open venue. The tournament rules have been super-charged as follows:


    Two Days of Hunting (not just one!)
    Hunt Days = Friday, July 16 + Saturday, July 17 Weigh-in Day = Sunday, July 18


    Two Sets of Prizes and Trophies!
    For this tournament and for cumulative points for three years


    Double Aggregate Points Scoring!
    2010 aggregate scores will be doubled for prizes and trophies


    In addition to a large prize table for this event, there is a special set of prizes and trophies for the cumulative top 30 winners of points earned over three years of participation in the Spear Wars Blue Storm Tournaments. Participants will add their 2008 + 2009 points to the 2010 double points!


    Check out www.spearwars.com for further details such as the new tournament rules and forms.


    The following items are attached to this e-mail for your review:


    1.) The 2010 Spearboard.com Marketing Rate Sheet for tiers one through five.


    2.) The 2010 Big Bang! Open Tournament Sponsorship Sheet for Bronze through Diamond levels.


    3.) The 2010 Big Bang! Open Tournament Flyer.

    Should you decide to advertise and market on Spearboard by donating prizes, you will have to make only one prize shipment this year instead of the three shipments of prior years. And, as I mentioned above, the rates have been adjusted downward so that you get more value for less cost. Additionally, unlike some tournaments that pile your prize donations on a table, we try our best to showcase them on grid wall such as these prizes displayed at the last 2009 Palm Beach Open at this link:


    2009 Palm Beach Open - Official Photos - People, Trophy & Prize Bonanza! - Spearboard Spearfishing Community


    Please let me know what you would like to do. I am looking forward to having your participation in marketing your business on Spearboard. Please e-mail me or call me at 561-371-1256 with any questions or comments.


    Thanks, Tony Grogan
    Owner of Spearboard.com

  • not so mako

    Thanks guys.


    IDK around $60 I suppose. Depending on the final cost. A little less for gun builders who buy a few at a time.


    Note that this handle doesn't have a safety. For me this is fine as I don't use a safety, for someone else this may be a negative point.


    The handles can be in a variety of colors, fluorescent green, black, red, white, yellow etc.

  • not so mako

    Alan, I don't know what you mean. The trigger and handle are integrated.


    Marco, the plastic line release has too little meat around the pivot pin, I think it will potentially break in that area. The trigger, for the hell of it.

  • Double trigger speargun

    A fellow by the name of killaseahorse on SB made a double trigger speargun. The idea is that a long gun can be used as a hole gun. I've ran into this problem a few times with my long gun, this is a possible solution. I like to keep thing simple so my first reaction is against it. But it's an interesting concept. Maybe more applicable to scuba? The secondary handle can be quite a bit smaller as you'd normally power down a band and there wouldn't be so much recoil. It could also have a safety which I normally don't have on my gun.



  • not so mako

    BTW I tried that Mako gun and it was accurate. I got a solid mid body shot on a small porgy the first time I fired the gun. Steven says it was about 10ft away which is a good distance. Maybe the accuracy was due to the fact that he has it rigged with only one 16mm band. I found that weaker bands which is similar to one band make for a smoother shot, the down side is decreased penetration.


    The Mako handle is uncomfortable, it would've been even more uncomfortable if Steven didn't have the loading butt off of it. The plastic of the handle looks cheap, I don't know if it's strong, tomorrow maybe I'll drop a brick on it to see. The Mako muzzle is not bad, but the holes are too big for the 16mm band and it flops around in there. The shaft was rusted to shit, it was funny because the little pins for the wishbone were shiny stainless steel. I also found loading, I mean just getting the shaft in the mech and track to be a PITA. But I suppose that particular aspect of it is no better or worse than any other rail gun.


    Steven, please beat the shit out of that handle. I need to know if it has weaknesses. Don't worry about it breaking, if it does I'll set you up with another.

  • RAT grip custom handle material

    For reference my palm swell is made of two part epoxy, the beige colored one that cures in about 15min. It sticks to the wood well.


    rfoggyone, the Riffe speargun is very good speargun, but with one major flaw; the handle on all Riffe guns is one of the least ergonomic handles on the market. For sure using the Riffe handle as a base you'd have had to use a ton of RAT grip.


    Not only because of unorthodox shooting position, we often find ourselves carrying the gun by the handle. Some divers lightly grip the handle with the speargun in inverted position on a descent. Sometimes we're holding the gun in the middle and very quickly have to reach for the handle to take a shot, not enough time for the hand to settle properly into such a specific position. This in no way reflects on RAT grip as unsuitable. I'm just trying to give some idea why too much contours wouldn't be a good thing. Post back after you try it, maybe it will work well for you.

  • not so mako

    It's a Pursuit handle. I'm just waiting for the trigger and line release to be fabricated in stainless steel before I offer it.