Fixable Rod's Reel Seat?

[tufnik]

Got a crack in the plastic reel seat of my old boat rod. Is this fixable? If so, how do you fix it? How do you get the broken part off? Any idea of how much the parts will cost?

I'm thinking about putting on a heavy duty graphite seat.

It's about 30 yrs old. Bought from BPS for about $50, the rod looks like hollow tube fiberglass. I think it may cost more than it's worth, but it's still basically a usable rod.

[Memory Maker]

2 ways to fix it. The proper way would be to strip the rod. Carefully cut off the reel seat and the fore grip, sand it down a little and install a new reel seat and foregrip.

Or .......... just put alittle epoxy on the cracks on the reelseat and possible drill a small hole and inject epoxy under the reelseat if it is moving.

or .......just ust it as it is ....... doesn't look too bad

[bignose]

I agree with MM, it doesn't look that bad. As long as the reel is solidly seated and the seat is not flexing, you could patch it with epoxy and sand it smooth, or ignore it.

If you chose to replace it:
I'd recommend doing this from the bottom side up to avoid having to remove the guides if you chose to go that route.
To replace this, you'd have to remove the lower foam grip, which is messy, foam pieces and chunks everywhere, cut off the seat, ( I usually try to split it after carefully cutting down the length with a hack saw blade), being careful not to damage the blank, then remove as much of the old epoxy/glue as possible by scraping and sanding. That's extremely messy. Stinky glue particles and chips.
Then you need to smooth the blank down and refit a new reel seat and foam grip.
Installing the reel seat is relatively easy, use masking tape or thread to build up the diameter to fit the seat, and epoxy. Lots of videos on line to show this procedure.
Installing a new foam grip is a major pain in the butt, involving much sliding, pushing and strong language. You need to find one that is the proper inside diameter. Don't forget the butt plug or gimbal at the bottom.
You can get the supplies from Mudhole tackle, figure about $20.00-$30.00.
I did one of these last year on a similar rod. It took me several hours, most of which was spent getting the new lower grip pushed on snug.

[M_Duong60]

As the others said it does not look that bad and as you said it is still fishable. Anyway I don't see why throwing on a little duct tape wouldn't add some extra insurance if your worried. At least that's what I would do because it seems that I destroy everything I try to fix

[Memory Maker]

Bignose ........ 2 things ........ I know that some people use masking tape but that sometimes becomes a makor problem. The Masking tape does not allow the epoxy get to the blank so you are epoxying the reelseat to the paper masking tape. Over the years (sometimes ) the tape breaks down because it's paper and then you have a reel seat that turns on you ....... big mess. It's better to use the fiberglass wallboard tape because it's a mesh that allows the epoxy to bond completely between the blank and the reelseat and it is reinforced like concrete with a fiberglass screen that won't rot.

Second, trying to install the rear grip from the back is a problem because of the taper of the blank. If you can get it over the back end then the front of it will be loose. That's why you always install a grip from the front. It may work but it may not last and it will be difficult. You might be able to build the front up a little like above but it will be a bigger problem getting the EVA over a rough surface.

[tufnik]

The whole rod flexes when it's under load. That's how the crack started. I guess that's what happens with fiberglass tube. The crack goes about 280 deg around. The aged plastic seat is kind of brittle. Also, the seat is a cheapo so the reel is not that strongly rigid when screwed on.

I do want to do it right, and since fiberglass blanks are generally durable, I suppose it's worth it to upgrade the handle/butt.

I can see what you mean by being a bitch to get the stuff on. The rod taper will make it hard to get the seat and grips on from the bottom end. I don't want to remove the guides to slide the stuff from the tip.

This rod is going to be used for deep drop bottom fishing, and heavy sinkers and strong currents are going put some good bends on the thing. So, I'm thinking of fixing it right. Hmmmm......need to think about whether I want to put hours of wrestling the grips and seat on

Thanks for the advice!

[bignose]

You are right about the fiberglass tape. I've done that as well. I've used tape or string on a lighter action freshwater blank. What I find is that the epoxy fills some of the gaps between the several "spacers" of tape, and bonds the blank to the seat. I've never had one come loose, but I haven't immersed one in water either.

I prefer not to have to remove all of the guides if possible, and to inch worm the EVA butt grip over the blank from the bottom, up.
That means getting a grip that fits up by the seat and working it on. EVA is kinda stretchy stuff.
If the blank is, say, 5/8" at the seat and 3/4" at the butt, use a 5/8" I.D. grip. It will be a bitch to get over that end but it will stretch enough. Some guys coat the blank with slow dry epoxy as a lubricant, but it's a horrible mess. I have heard that you can heat the EVA in boiling water, but it didn't help much when I did this last year. If the EVA grip is loose at the back, you can pull it forward by compressing it and filling the gap with extra epoxy, and then sliding it back over the glue. Worked fine.

If the whole rod flexes at the crack under load, the odds are that the blank underneath it is shot. It may be that the seat has cracked at a hollow spot where it wasn't bonded well to the blank. I've seen that a few times. Some of the cheaper blanks don't use epoxy but use a hot melt glue. If it is a 30 year old rod, then the plastic seat is probably brittle and will chip off. It's a rather modestly priced blank, and I'm not sure that the "juice is worth the squeezing".

[tufnik]

Since it's rigid, will the seat fit through the butt end? If so, then the seat front end will be loose on the blank. I guess I fill the gap with epoxy, right?

[bignose]

The reel seat needs to fit over the butt end of the rod. The reel seats are sold by their inside diameter in mm. 19-24 mm are common sizes for a salt water reel. Problem is the grip ID is in English units. Never make it easy, do they?
Mudhole will have everything you need.

I am pretty sure that there are demos of this on YouTube. Google up "installing a reel seat".

You will build up three or four spacer rings with the fiber tape, where the seat goes, about 1/2-1/4 " from each end of the seat and in the middle. Mark where the ends of the seat fit on the blank in pencil. The seat should easily slide over over the spacers, as you need to have a film of epoxy to cover them. Twist the seat slowly into place over the glue covered tape. Extra epoxy can flow into the gaps. I use a popsicle stick to do this, but be ready to wipe away any excess that oozes out between the seat and the fore grip. I use 7 minute epoxy for this. I do not depend on the epoxy to provide support or structure, only adhesion. It's the tape with the epoxy that provides the structure.
The grip should fit tightly enough that it shouldn't need any filler, just a touch of epoxy on either end, no more than an inch or so. If it was as tight and hard to push on as the one I did last year, it isn't going to go anywhere!
Remember to leave about 3/4" overhang of the blank to attach the butt plug. Example: if you have 12" of rod blank exposed behind the seat, you'll need an 11" grip and a 1" butt plug. It looks like the one on your rod had an slot so it could be used in a gimbal. The one I replaced was a blank plug.

Total cost of the three parts, grip, seat, and plug ran about $27.00.

My major concern is the condition of the underlying blank. Has that cracked?

[Redfish12]

JB Weld or epoxy and fish it for another 20 years.

[MTDluvsFishin]

I think it's probably important to carefully cutoff the seat so that you can inspect the blank. You'd hate to do a patch job and have it snap on you while fishing. Mudhole is a great resource that contains videos to show you exactly how to install a reel seat. It's an inexpensive fix, just a little time consuming.

I personally do it just as they how on the site with 3 spaced masking tape arbors that snugly fit the inside ID of the seat and loaded up with a good amount of rod bond epoxy on and in between the arbors to ensure the blank, glue, and seat all come into contact.

As for the grip, you could use simple cork grip tape so that you don't have to worry about boring out or heating the EVA. They have black textured grip tape as well.

Here's a couple cork pics from the one I'm building now

DSCN0927.jpgDSCN0929.jpg

[Memory Maker]

I agree with Mike ......... try the epoxy first .... lots of it.

The rod really isn't built for deep drop. It's only rated for 3 oz and you're probably using up to 16 oz for weight plus the fish. It is definitely bending into the handle but tons of fun playing a fish. The fiberglass takes a lot and the reel seat looks like a good one made of graphite. You can usually put the reel seat on from the back because you can use any size and shim it with the fiber glass tape if you want and then work the rear handle on using the 2 ton devcon epoxy ........ use the 1 with the longest cure time to give you all the time in the world to put it on and keep a bottle of denatured alcohol to clean up. if you decide to do it. It's not the proper way but you can make it work I guess. I'd use a dremel tool cutting just through the reel seat.

[tufnik]

I'd really like to take the easy route and just use epoxy, but the plastic seat is brittle and I'm afraid of the seat failing and my reel goes flying off the rod. I didn't expect to use heavy sinkers on my last boat trip, but I ended up using 30 ounces.

[bignose]

Another alternative might be to just use some rod clamps and clamp the reel to the blank. If the seat cracks, the reel stays on the rod.

[DOGFISH]

If you only spent $50 for the rod you have probably gotten your money out of the rod. I would go with MM and Redfish's fix and use some epoxy. It can be tricky cutting those graphite reel seats off. By the time you go to all the fixing and work, you still have half a rod that was only $50 to start with. Unless you are looking for some experience in rod building, go with the quick fix. As someone else mentioned, it looks like the rod has been over flexed at the stress point. I am assuming that you were using a conventional rod with a rod clamp afixed to the reel seat. There could be more damage under the reel seat.

If you are worried about your reel. You may want to get a heavier rated rod for those deep drop trips.