Marko! Great to see you here, welcome!
Guys, Marko is fantastic. He is an engineer and great craftsman on top of that. Him and his dad have been pushing the development of vacuum barrel muzzles and slidersfor airguns for many years now and offer some amazing products. It's all home made, affordable and beautifully optimized. Marko will be a great addition to this board.
Thank you so much for so much info we have been booking up places over the weekend and are planning on heading to Caye Caulker, potentially Ambergris Caye and near Placencia. Extremely excited, we are hoping to be in the area from the 1st to the 8th/9th of August if anyone fancies coming for a dive.
Just happens that a last minute assignment came in and shortly, I will be off to Roatan, Honduras to shoot some docu video of the freediving WCs. So, was looking at the map and Belize is fairly close to there.
As always, I will be on a bit of a budget, so would like to hear what you did for spearing and what it cost.
Anyone else with leads there? Hank, you moved to Thailand, right?
Hey guys,
There's a chance that work (photography) will take me to PNG in late Sept and I might be able to stay a week or two on my own dime afterwards.
It would be incredible to get some dives in. I am not sure I can afford a fully fledged charter thingey (photography doesn't make you rich) but would be cool if anyone happen to know local spearos or a guide there?
Could also trade favors if anyone just so happens to know a resort/boat owner who needs nice pics;-). As said, would be amazing getting some water time there and any leads would be gratefully received.
All best,
David
Hey Lighterknot,
Welcome.
I actually was just on Okinawa main island and Miyako but was told regs have changed...? It used to be "no guns, polespears OK", now I was told neither is OK... You have any info you can share?
Good to know Dan but, I think you got your pricing wrong. Primeline (14mm Small ID) sells for about USD 2.25/feet in at least one, possibly two-three shops in the US.
(I don't know what the sell 16mm for, but 14 mm Small ID should be comparable power wise.
As for the braining on Cudas, I think I do mine a little further back than normally, though not sure. But this one, while the insertion point is that far back, I think the shutter happened as I moved the handle forward and the blade pivoted backwards inside the fish (even more back than in this pic).
This video is probably the most butcher like of the ones I have come across, but it does show the foam mattress and the mono being snipped after inserting. They even have plastic bags in "tuna size".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSQ-N0-f0pk
Here are two links for PDFs on the procedure:
Not from US org, as I thought, but Aussie + French
Good videos and especially the first one is right on the money in terms of what I had previously read and researched on the procedure.
Basically, the whole idea is to preserve the meat and protect it against bruises. First they stun and then brain the fish, so it wont flap around. Notice how even after it being brained, the heart keeps beating so when they make the bleed cuts at the pectoral fins, the blood pumps out. Then they insert the long mono/wire to destroy any nerve signals in the spine. I think the farms use wires as the buyer knows and trusts they do the procedure whereas on many wild caught tuna, they tend to use mono and leave it in the fish for the buyer to see. With a crew, like in the first video, these things happens so fast and though it is a tad macabre it also shows respect and skill. That first video is a like a dance; they work so fast but still so smooth.
BTW, the canned tuna is often lesser tuna species or tuna caught on boats where they don't do this. I am quite sure the tuna in these videos will end up as sashimi. Sometimes they don't even bleed tuna going to canneries.
I even came across a paper from a US organisation sharing the method for US boats so that their tuna would be accepted as sashimi grade. That's where the money is. If the fishing boat takes a few mins extra per fish and have the freezing capabilities, then a fish treated like this can make a whole lot more in a market. I'll see if I can find that paper.
As a side note, I think I mentioned elsewhere how, a few years ago, I ran into a Japanese marine biologist (in Japan) from a famous university's department of aquaculture and fish farming. He said everyone should gut their fish fast as any parasites in the gut will start migrating into the flesh once they sense their host is dead. He also told me, that the Japanese had just succeed in breeding their first "full circle" bluefin tuna. Meaning they had farmed bluefin from eggs from other farmed bluefin. I think he said the fish is 7 years old once they "harvest" it. This is potentially a huge deal in terms of sustainability as normally, the farms get their eggs or spawn from the wild and then take them to the farms - which at the end of the day is not sustainable at all.
Yup, there's the thick mono coming out of the spine.
Some fish buyers want to see that mono as proof of the Tanaguchi/Iki method. The idea is that the "butcher"/fisherman on the boat inserts mono or wire through the full length of the spine to destroy the nerves there. This stops the fish from bruising itself by flapping around on the deck which can happen even after the fish has been clubbed and brain spiked. For the same reason, the "sashimi boats" have foam or rubber pads on their decks.
Normally, they "should" insert it right after spiking. I think the order is more or less like this:
Club fish on the side of the boat, land it, brain spike, cut arteries behind pectoral fins, insert wire/mono. Then gut and remove head and freeze instantly. That's how the sashimi fish buyers ideally want it.
I think they even have some hollow brain spikes that can guide the mono into the front end of the spine while the head is still attached. Sometimes, they just cut a coneshaped hole in the front of the head.
Dan, good thoughts. Especially on the "not creating tension and no room to be demanding" thing.
(Btw, I think the bite pic may just be for illustration purposes. I am not so sure it is from that trip, but I get the point;-))
Thanks for elaborating. Sounds like an interesting place, haha.
Here's my personal take on this and since I have never shot a big fish, my opinion may not matter, but I do think other potential viewers of you videos might feel the same: It doesn't look as respectful as it could when you pose with fish that have not been killed yet or when we see them thrown in a holding box still flapping. Others may not care, but I like videos where I know the fish has been killed fast. If you don't want to brain it in the water, you - or the boat boys - can do it as soon as the fish is on the boat.
But I am a softie this way, I even sometimes brain other peoples fish on boats (if they let me).
Yeah, but the bloke didn't do a great job with the club, I have to say. These are big animals, I personally feel, they deserve to to die fast.
Maybe they weren't sure they could bleed them fast enough if they brained them? But the Japanese and the sashimi grade fishermen seem to have no problem with it and as a rule, brain and sometimes Iki-jime the whole spine right away. Maybe Virgil's catch simply didn't get bled at all? (I can think of one reason not to but I think it's one of those things bluewater hunters don't talk openly about).
No matter what, I am still curious.
Hi Philippe,
Thanks for sharing. Just curios, but why don't you brain these fish in the water or as soon as you are back on the boat?
Aren't they actually called freshwater cudas by some? I think I have seen that a few times.
The Russian hunters really like pneumatics for this job as viz is often low so the much shorter air guns seem perfect for this job.
In Denmark, I have had some OK fish cakes made out of pike.
Suits are like masks - best to try them on. At the very least, download a sizing chart from Seacsub and see if you tend to fit how they cut their suits.
If you are very lucky, pretty much the most you can hope for it that someone has tried it and you can compared your body type to his.
Don thats pretty much how my projects go as well ...having to stop and start like that is the worst. But you got some nice work done in the end...Side question, don't want to derail : Delrin is somewhat low friction, has anyone ever used it or nylon to make roller pulleys without any bearings, just the pulley with a stainless shaft through it?
Yup, plenty of folks have done that. But if you are turning some Delrin down for a pulley, it's not much more work adding bearings, but of course not as cheap. Supposedly, ceramic bearings are the next best thing after hot choco for this.
Short version: Just flame it. End of story. Youtube it, lots of tutorials.
Longer version: Yeah, you can try the less aggressive ones first like toothpaste and dish washing soap but some masks really only clear up with burning. So, I don't even bother with anything else than a flame to new masks.
Hey Marcus,
Awesomely inspiring intro, thanks for sharing it and welcome!
There are some very good freedive schools on Hawaii though not sure where exactly. Maybe something could be arranged.
I imagine your upper torso is strong? So, for depth you can do Free Immersion which is a discipline where you descend and ascend by puling on the rope:-). It is often used for warm ups but it is a properly recognized discipline on its own, too. No Fins is another one where your arms do a lot of work.
I think 100' is a good goal, not too deep that you start getting really heavy and need more power in the beginning of the ascent but still deep enough that it is a proper accomplishment.
I wish you all the best.
What boat did you get? Sail or motor?
(Pete, you are on the other forum, so if you find it hard to believe that I can be the messenger, then I propose you search for "galling" over there. This is the word Majd used on various threads and actually four times in a post on a thread you replied to right after. So, no, I am not "interpreting it").
Pete, I got you one the mismatched surfaces and possible lack of contact area. Makes sense.
Whether it is galling or scratching, I don't know - neither did I say I did, hence 'the messenger' but if we are to believe Majd then something is happening in a lot of triggers that affects his aiming. So much so, that he felt compelled to push to have a new Pathos trigger designed and so much so that he is spending a lot of money and time on trying different metals and treatments.
Me possibly interpreting anything was when I said the Sporarub One solved a trigger problem by switching to a plastic trigger - but I made it very clear that I wasn't 100% sure on the timeline of that, so I could be wrong.
Also, Abellan who seems to think more about gun design than a lot of other builders, uses a plastic trigger. Now, if he machines them rather than mold them, then it could be because he finds it easier/faster to machine plastic. Or it could be because he finds it eliminates scratches and/or galling issues. But his guns start at 750 euros for a 90cm and the trigger sells for 75 euros, so perhaps it is not a cost saving measure. And yes, that was me speculating. I guess I could email him and ask;-)
I do think most manufacturers use plastic parts to save on costs, though. I am just proposing that perhaps there is an unforeseen benefit besides the reduced cost.
Cheers,
D.
[EDIT]
Apologies to Dan for lifting a quote from that other forum but I thought it might clear things up (let me know if you want me to take it down):
From Majd/SpearQ8:
[INDENT]Galling and scratching with regards to trigger sears I consider the same. If you look under slight magnification the sears looks scratched ... but if you look at them at high magnification you can actually see that some metal moved from one sear to the other. This is like throwing a monkey wrench in a well oiled engine ... it just completely screws up the trigger pull. At best it makes the gun less accurate ... at worse it can cause a pretty dangerous situation.[/INDENT]
Now, feel free to disagree but let's try not to attack the messenger. I was just trying to share some viewpoints and I don't know if Majd is right, but I have no reason to believe he wouldn't be. Anyways, as they say, I don't have a dog in this fight, so I will go back to building a gun for my friend now.
Metal triggers have been used for decades without galling problems. When "Undersee" made a eurogun out of the Asian parts bin, the "Don", they equipped it with a metal trigger. An earlier version with a different name had a plastic trigger, they said it was for making that gun a floater, but after some time they added the metal trigger when people demanded something more substantial. The plastic trigger hails back to the two European trigger mechanisms that were widely copied, the Beuchat and Cavalero slotted cassette for a floating sear lever pivot pin and the Sporasub Dessault floating sear lever which was also adopted by Rob Allen.
"Undersee" had always made cocking stock guns, but had to make a eurogun as that had become the new fashion and there was nothing in their product range that was a match, so they adapted a clone from elsewhere, although most of it may be made in-house. JBL have travelled the same path, the decisions are to capture another market segment with a lower cost to produce gun.
Plastic components are cheaper to make once the injection moulding dies are paid off and parts can be produced very quickly as the injection moulding cycle is very fast
Could be, and I was just being the messenger. Majd says he has looked into this more than most people and he says he sees galling in a lot of triggers (I think under magnification). That people don't notice the effect of this, he blames on there being so many other variables to speargun accuracy. Again, his words, not mine.
Then again, JBL has made some "funky" decisions on this gun, so it could be that they are going for plastics cuz it's cheaper rather than any other reason. By the sound of the sales blurb you shared they make it sound like this gun is the next best thing after hot choco...
