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Hi All, I've been using Seahorse PVC rod tubes for years. With their oval shape I find they are pretty compact. Problem is that the handles are starting to play up on me. I also have a few PVC rod tubes that I have made up from Bunnings plastic components for some of my more expensive rods. I even stuck polyethelene foam in the caps to protect the rod ends from bumps. What I didn't do was make a strap or handle for these. I'm looking for ideas to make handles or straps for all my cases. Firstly, the before and after of the Seahorse rod tube handle. While probably easy to make, the ring part which circles the case is pretty thin and breaks after a while. Depending on the balance of the rod in the case I could slide the yellow handle along the tube till I reached a point where it was easy to carry. I could also grab three or so of these handles in one hand. I've got some ideas for replacement ones but I'm sure someone has come up with an excellent idea already and has a patent pending. My criteria for the handles. Relatively inexpensive (Seahorse rod tubes used to cost me about $28, the home made Bunnings ones cost less than $15). Does not put a catch point on the interior of the rod tube - was considering rivets but they could catch on the guides or scratch up the rods. Does not leave a sharp point to catch on the outside - was considering hose worm clamps but the screw mechanism has a sharp point. Ideally can slide it along to suit the balance of the outfit. Went to Bunnings today and found a $6.60 25mm x 4m tie down strap which is stitched. This is the material I'm thinking of using. Not quite as meaty as old handle but it is an option. Sufficient length that I could probably do all my rod cases. I could also run this strap through another material like a neoprene tube to give me that meaty feel I'd like. The two ideas I've had are: 1: Cut to length (say 300mm) and heat/melt the ends to prevent unravelling. Double 25mm of the end over to double the thickness and duct tape to rod tube. 2: Cut to length. Find some thick elastic (not pure rubber as it degrades) bands slightly smaller than the tube circumference and then stitch the ends of the strap into loops over the rubber. Essentially copying the old yellow handled design. What have other Fishraiders done? Regards, Derek

Last weekend I finished my self-sufficient solar setup to keep my batteries topped up during the week. Boat (Quintrex 475 Freedom Sport) has 3 batteries - (1) main starting & bilge, (2) accessories radio and sounder, (3) for leccie on order. 3 panels on the roof, one for each battery. Located roof brackets from Melbourne off fleabay @ $5 each and ran Unistrut as my panel support frame. Each panel feeds into a 10A MPPT charger and then 3 cables sleeved together to the boat charging rig with one slot to spare. Charging rig to batteries connected with 50A mini Andersons for a bit of battery redundancy or swapping if required. May need a 75A for the leccie later.. Cabling to be tidied tomorrow. Wire is heavy duty speaker wire (the good stuff) and terminated on Neutrik PowerCon 30A connectors, on a SS316 plate, housed in a waterproof IP65 box. All connections soldered and finished with triple-shrink for extra piece of mind. Wire coming into the housing is through 16mm glands. I'm going to have to design something for the front cover - maybe a Count morphed Fishraider logo .. .. .. .. .. .. No more wires in or around the boat or charging one battery at a time with the CTek - everything is neatly behind the scenes now. So now when I'm home from my adventures the last task is to insert the connectors and turn, job done. Cheers, TC.

Howdy Raiders, Just thought id start a thread about FCL labo lures as they are fantastic but there are few things about these lures that id like to discuss. Firstly they have amazing finishes and work amazing! however, they seem to not epoxied at all and damage very easily even just from the impact with the water when casting. As well a this they are made of a high density foam which is supposed to not take on water which is false i had a guy run over my ebipop today in his jetski and i lost the lure for about 2hrs by the time it was located it was barely on the surface with cup facing the sky vertical in the water and weighed a maybe 10 - 20% more. I would like to epoxy my FCL lures but i have a few minor concerns id like help with, A. the surface lures being slightly heavier and not being as effective B. the epoxy not working with the paint/foiling on the lure and causing bubbling. I plan to use Devcon 2 ton epoxy i have ordered from the states it seems to be what a lot of lure makers recommend that wont effect the paint. PLEASE IF ANYONE HAS TRIED THIS ON OTHER LURES OR CAN WEIGH IN ON THE SUBJECT OF EPOXYS or FCL LABO MUCH APPRECIATED. THANKS RAIDERS!!

Hi guys had a couple of hours spare yesterday and how expensive lures are these days thought I'd have a crack, I had some hardwood timber stake offcuts from a previous diy project not much of a woodworker as I'm a welder by trade lol ummm here we go, I started off with the off cut then proceeded to shape it with my trusty cordless angle grinder with a flapper disc on it got some shape to it and used a engraver to try to get some detail in it, drilled some holes used 316 MIG wire for the hook and tow points , then I used some builders bog to fill the holes, then I was going to use some polycarbonate then thought mmm might go jitter bug style so I grabbed a spoon cut and shaped it used a 316 screw to hold it on then I sealed it sprayed it with red calliper paint haha it's all I had in the garage, once dried I raided the missus nail polish drawer and used some black on the but ( don't know what its supposed to resemble but anyways) once dried I gave it a shot of some clear and here we are a nice 150 mm top walking lure can't wait to try it .Guys and girls it's not the best looking lure but made with a bit of love only took about an hour of work rest was waiting for paint and bog to dry lol and casting so close to trees and stuff was designed to be lost ... Having a Lil trouble uploading the pics that I took so bare with me and I'll try to get them up or if anyone could help would be awesome I tried resizing them but it's not working ?

Hi Raiders, So I've spent a few days in the garage doing some DIY stuff. Here's a quick update. I've installed an anchor trolley. At first I was kind of iffy about drilling holes in my kayak so i opted for a hole-less build... the rope kept riding up over the top so I made the call to drill holes. Got some stainless steel pad eyes and screwed them into the bow and stern. Bought some parachord and started making the anchor trolley (thank you youtube for some guides). Here the finished picture Close up of the links and mount Next up was the storage crate. Thanks Nursie for the recommendation. Started with the standard milkcrate but it didnt fit well in the back so I had to cut it a little. Attached some pool noodles to the bottom to give it some lift and some grip. In went a piece of pvc cable tied to the crate. This was to hold the anchor (currently a 0.7kg one, but will upgrade if this doesnt hold). Chucked on some cheapie rod holders from you know where and since i wanted to finally try fishing with livies, I needed a place to put my mini livie well. Got some smaller pvc and made a little platform that folds out and ofcourse a piece of bungee to hold the bucket in place. That was it, crate was pretty much done. Just need to add in the bungees to secure it to the yak and some knife/scissor/gear holders. Heres the crate with the stand in the travel position With the livie well added. Finally it was time to put together the stabilisers. With my newly gained courage to drill holes in the yak, off I went and started putting together the frame. If you want instructions feel free to pm me. The finished product is shown below: Travelling position Fully deployed fishing position. Now to get onto the water to figure out the waterline for the stabilisers and add in lock pins. Can't wait to test the stand and cast capabilities hehe Thanks for reading guys!

Hi Raiders, So recently I reached out for some kayak advice as I was looking to purchase one. SOOOOOO I've got one hehe. Brought it home yesterday and already started working on it. The progress thus far is below: Here is a walkthrough for how to build your own super cheap kayak trolley (parts are from a big b warehouse). Brand new yak, freshly unpackaged Onto the workbench... DIY kayak trolley parts list ( 25mm conduit pvc pipe cut into 4x20cm, 1x23cm, 4xT-intersections, 1x pool noodle, 1xWheel and axles sourced from an unused wheelie bin. Total build cost around $10 exc free wheels) Lay out the parts so you know how to assemble them Use pvc primer on every joining surface, then use pvc joiner to join the H frame. Join the 23cm pipe to the T joint and slide on the pool noodle (this is to cushion the bottom of the kayak). Complete the H frame with another T joint. Glue in the 2x20cm pipes which will stick into the scupper holes. Finish the H frame with another 2x20cm pvc Place the remaining 2xT joints onto the axle so that they will be in the right position (I cut them earlier so it can fit nice and square) Put it all together and set it aside to dry, check for squareness before the pvc cement sets completely then let it sit. Back view of the trolley stored on kayak Front view of the trolley stored on kayak Top view of the trolley stored on kayak Bottom view of the trolley attached on kayak Bottom resting on the noodle. Thanks for reading I hope it helps you build your own!! next up an outrigger

Here is the skinny on how to make a simple but very bright anchor light, visible from at least 1000 yards. While I haven't taken it on the water as yet, it's bright enough to enable you to get around on the yak. I didn't glue the screw coupling to the lower section of PVC because it gives me the option of taking it down and using it as a torch. It gives off about the equivalent of a 3W light bulb. Oh, and at the risk of stating the obvious, don't glue the screw coupling to the top section of PVC, or you'll not be able to change the battery. All up, the cost of parts comes in at around $35. Hardware and electronics stores are the best source of parts, but if you've got bits lying around (and you probably do), it will be cheaper. Parts: 1 x 1 meter of 25mm of white PVC tubing, cut into two sections, 400 mm and 600 mm. 1 x 25mm PVC cap 1 x 25mm PVC Screw Joint (screw coupling) 1 x clear plastic 30 ml medicine cup 4 x 5mm White Waterclear 10000mcd LED’s 2 x 150 ohm ¼ watt resistors 500 mm Red Light Duty Hook-up Wire 500 mm Black Light Duty Hook-up Wire 200 mm 4mm heat shrink tubing 1 x 9 volt battery snap 1 x 9 volt alkaline battery 1 x SPDT Miniature Toggle Switch - Solder Tag Sufficient bright yellow material to make an optional flag. 500 mm x 250 mm will make a flag 250 mm x 200 mm Tools required: Wire cutters Wire strippers Pliers Solder Soldering iron 2 part epoxy (24 hr Araldite) Silastic Sealant (Selleys Marine All Clear) Solution 0: 2 x 2 array uses 4 LEDs exactly +----|>|----|>|---/\/\/----+ R = 150 ohms +----|>|----|>|---/\/\/----+ R = 150 ohms The wizard says: In solution 0: each 150 ohm resistor dissipates 60 mW the wizard thinks 1/4W resistors are fine for your application together, all resistors dissipate 120 mW together, the diodes dissipate 256 mW total power dissipated by the array is 376 mW the array draws current of 40 mA from the source. Arrange the LED’s and resistors in the bottom of a clear plastic 30 ml medicine cup so that each of the led’s face outwards 90 degrees from each other. Solder the legs of the led’s and resistors as per the circuit layout above. Solder 500 mm of red hook up wire between the “front” two led’s. Twist and solder the resistor legs together and insulate with heat shrink. The resistors can stand up in the centre of the arrangement so that the heat shrink will be clear of the epoxy. Use the 9 volt battery to test the circuit at this point. If all the led’s light up, then proceed. With the led’s and resistors in place, mix and pour 10-15 mls of epoxy into the medicine cup so that all the led’s are completely submerged. Set the medicine cup aside for 24 hrs for the epoxy to completely harden. Do not use 5 min epoxy as this gets very hot as it sets and can melt the medicine cup. It also has a yellow hue, which you do not want. When the epoxy has set in the medicine cup, trim back some of the heat shrink from the resistor legs and solder on 500 mm of black hook up wire. Insulate the solder joint with some heat shrink. Drill a 12 mm hole in the centre of the cap. and bring the hook up wired through the hole. Bring the wires down through the PVC tube. Place the cap loosely over one end of the 400 mm section of PVC. You should have about 100 mm of wires dangling out the bottom. Drill a 6 mm hole in the 400 mm PVC about 300 mm from the cap to mount the miniature toggle switch. Take the wires back out of the tube and mark them against where the hole was drilled. Allow an extra 30 mm and cut either the black or the red wire. Not both. Strip the ends of the cut wire and solder them onto the switch so that when the switch is mounted, the ‘up” position turns the light off and the “down” position turns it on. Pass the wiring and switch through the cap and down the PVC tube. The switch may have to be captured with pliers in order to pull it though the wall of the PVC tube. Secure the switch in place with the supplied lock nuts, ensuring that the orientation is as previously described. Test the circuit. Place a bead of silastic around the rim of the cap and push the cup down onto the silastic. Do not press to hard as this will squeeze the silastic out from the rim of the cap, which will leave an insufficient amount for the medicine cup to adhere to. Leave for about 30 minutes before moving on to the last step. Once the silastic has set so that the medicine cup is adhering to the PVC cap sufficiently, slide some heat shrink over each of the the hook up wires and solder the battery clip so that the red will run to the positive connection and the black will run to the negative connection. Connect the battery and test the circuit again. Assuming it is working, cover the solder joints with the heat shrink then slide the battery back up inside the PVC tube. Push one section of the screw joint coupling onto the open end of the tube. The battery should rest on the small inner diameter of the joint without any strain being placed on the hook up wire. Take the other section of the screw joint coupling and push it on the end of the 600 mm section of PVC tubing and screw the two sections together. Secure the assembly to the kayak in a place of preference. So that the kayak may be made more visible during the day, especially dull days, a flag made from some bright yellow material can be fixed to the PVC just under the light. I used a yellow gloss plastic waste bag folded on three sides, leaving the unfolded end to glue to the pole just under the light. It needs to be about twice as long as the length of the finished flag in order to wrap it around the pole a couple of times. I "glued" the hems with Selleys all clear silastic. Run a bead along the open end and place it on the pole. Apply a bead of silastic about every 1/2 turn until the flag dimensions look right. If you want to use fabric for your flag, I suggest you swap out the silastic for a sewing machine. A working man's effort. The on/off switch