This is how I've always made loops in hollow braid. Splice the tag end through a little ways. Then pull it out through a side. Tie an overhand knot, tighten, and then reinsert the tag end into the main line. As long as the overhand knot is in place around the outside, there is no way for the tag end to pull through, the way it can with a simple splice.
. . . but they first cut a section of the foamcore out then do the eye splice. . .
Makes sense, and then the hollow braid can constrict on the inner. I didn't think of that when looking at your earlier post.
I think the problem with the inside splice in the link is that the outside braid can't squeeze the inside braid to hold the loop because of the foam inside?
The floatline is probably a hollow braid to contain the foam inside, instead of the twisted design in the pics above, so the spliced loop would have to be different, I think.
I think that I read somewhere that birds see at least partially in the ultraviolet spectrum, making their bright colors appear different to them then they do to us. It made me wonder if fish did too.
Dan - Here's a twist. I wonder if it would be possible to take a relatively dull, sargassum colored rope, and weave strips or threads of reflective mylar or something similar through it. If we can't easily make it invisible, then make it visible in a way that works like a flasher, and might actually attract fish?
Anyway, back on track. Novabraid, the manufacturer of Polyfoam, also makes it in a dull orange (not specifically labelled as "hi vis"), and a fluorescent pink . . . Not sure that I'm secure enough in my masculinity to sport a hot pink floatline.
They will sell directly in 600' spools, but the price on 3/8" was $122! Best to find a local or internet distributor and ask if they can special order other colors for the normal price.
Seeing a head full of teeth like that appear out of the gloom would stay with me for a while too! :0
I do recall your position, but I'm curious if you think the color makes any difference in the "visibility" of a floatline to fish if we are talking about cord that is 3/8" or 1/2" in diameter. Seems like it would be hard for them to miss no matter what color it was. And below some relatively shallow depth, they would all look the same anyway as colors filter out.
But don't you think that the added visibility of red or orange is a benefit to the diver when working line on the surface? When I was diving two weeks ago, I noticed that it was quite a bit easier to keep track of the orange floatline that we were using, as opposed to the second diver who used a white cord inside of clear tubing. In this case, floatlines tended to overlap and get tangled, as both divers sometimes worked close together around weed patches, but maybe that is an infrequent occurrence in general.
Wrap a string around it. Measure the length of the string, and divide by 3.14 to get diameter. For a more accurate measurement, wrap the string around several times and divide the length by 3.14, and then divide again by the number of string wraps.
I think you have a set of calipers that read in inches?
What would be better, the 3/8" or 1/2" diameter?
I missed your earlier post, but that is Man-O-War's gun in the installation pics.
There are definately some potential safety concerns. I'm not sure that they go away with a removable shaft, and may even be worse. As that cuda is pulling line through your hand, you are now asking yourself, "did I leave the spike in, or take it out?"
Making a removable spike really wouldn't be that hard in concept, but making it function acceptably would require that everything be done to much tighter tolerances than I do now. For example, press (or hammer) fitting the shaft into the delrin is easy because it doesn't matter if the shaft material is a couple thousandths of an inch larger diameter than the last batch. But the same couple thou is a world of difference between something having loose threads, or not going in at all.
So the hard part is making a removable spike that doesn't add significantly to the fabrication effort, to the point that the whole thing isn't worth my time or costs more than anyone wants to pay.
I didn't look closely at the other sites, but Memphis Net sells 300' spools.
The outside is braided polypropylene, not nylon. I found a particular brand called "polyfoam floatline" linsted in other places, but here's a link to the Memphis Net page:
I found this on the Memphis Net & Twine site. It's used as the upper rope in some types of nets where its buoyancy helps to keep the net properly oriented. I know that many peoply just use plain polypropylene line, but I was just wondering if it might be nice as a spearfishing floatline.
The 3/8" diameter supports 0.9 oz per yard, and the 1/2" diameter supports 1.7 oz per yard. At around $0.11 per foot (for the 3/8"), it seems like an economical and robust alternative to the "spectra within a pvc tube" construction. End connections would be easy, since there is no need to maintain a watertight tube connection, and it probably stays more flexible in cold weather.
Anyone tried it?
Here's a few pics of the spike installed as designed. The first thing that comes to my mind is that it's probably a little longer than needed as a shark poker. The length could be nice, I guess, for subduing a holed up fish, but that is pure speculation on my part since I don't have that type of bottom. It's tough (but fun) to design and build something for a type of diving that you have never done, and to fit a gun that you have never used and don't even have in your possession!
I hadn't thought about material as thin as rashguards. I see your point there.
On scuba I prefer to mount my knife on my BC inflator hose at chest level, and it has always seemed to me that the perfect mount for freediving would also be near the middle of the chest. Easily accessible with either hand, but high enough not to interfere when bending to dive or turn, and wouldn't be lost if the belt needed to be ditched. Obviously an issue if you are chest loading your gun, though maybe it could be positioned slightly to one side? Aside from the obvious difficulty of constructing the mount, what are the disadvantages of this arrangement?
I thought of that too, Dan, but the rails seem to be held in place quite well. I'm afraid that I would end up destroying them before I could get them off. If I were confident that acetone would not attack the rails or the blade, I could possibly use that to loosen the adhesive. Maybe i will carefully test that out near the end of the rail.
This is just a coke-can prototype, and I obviously would need to use some slightly thicker aluminum, but you get the idea. Rather than crimp them on, it might work better to bend them to shape and slide on from the end. Will it work? Potential problems? Remember it is intended to be only a temporary solution.
