# Outdoors > Fishing >  DIY kontiki info

## gadgetman

Looking at knocking up a fishing kontiki and after some info. What capacity batteries do you use and what sort of main line should I use, mono/braid, and how long.

Reckon I can have a complete set up for under $400 including winch. :Cool: 

What are your thoughts?

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## longrange308

get the gorse out and buy one, more time fishing less time in shed and to and fro testing

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## gadgetman

But I love to tinker with stuff and make things. Knowing me I'll give it away once I've made it.

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## Gibo

Dunno much about longlines GM but id go mono as it has far superior abrasion resistance which is inevitable. Maybe 3-400 lb? 
Length would depend how far out its to go. Couply three kms or so should do it  :Grin:

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## gadgetman

> Dunno much about longlines GM but id go mono as it has far superior abrasion resistance which is inevitable. Maybe 3-400 lb? 
> Length would depend how far out its to go. Couply three kms or so should do it


What I was thinking. The braid would be getting dragged through fine sand which would probably get into id and abrade from the inside.

Looking at integrating a long line dropper system to cut down drag and avoid having it as part of the tow line so sharks don't bite the thing off. Use a front drive hub and alloy rim as the basis for the winch, cheap as chips from a wrecker.

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## Gibo

So two separate lines? Could get messy

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## gadgetman

> So two separate lines? Could get messy


Just the one line. The bit that attracts the fish and predators is not part of the bit you rely on to get the knotiki back.

Just integrate something like this into the kontiki itself.

ShoreThing Automatic Electric Kontiki Fishing System

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## Gibo

Oh yeah, looks the bizo. Must be big sharks to take a 600mm trace and the mainline  :Grin:

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## gadgetman

Integrating it into the kontiki (I thought about it about 15 years ago) would mean it is in better synch with the kontiki motor. Use two timing boards, 1st one is for the line drop and that triggers the start of the motor shut off timer which should be pretty well constant.

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## gadgetman

Things are progressing. Have component weights and rough dimensions required for buoyancy. Plans are drawn up and the hull build will begin shortly. I have the motor, a couple of batteries, electronics coming and the hull components. Costing things up and it would cost about NZ$50 to make it GPS controlled, about $30 more than just timer based, but will take a bit of programming so sticking with just timers for initial tests.

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## Gibo

Remember the offer of mainline and hooks etc from the bad one mate. I have his number if and when you need it

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## Danny

> But I love to tinker with stuff and make things. Knowing me I'll give it away once I've made it.


I'll give you $500 for it when she's done mate! Win, win!

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## hunter308

> Integrating it into the kontiki (I thought about it about 15 years ago) would mean it is in better synch with the kontiki motor. Use two timing boards, 1st one is for the line drop and that triggers the start of the motor shut off timer which should be pretty well constant.


Jeeze what happened to the days that kontikis were rigged with a barley sugar that would drop the weight and the sail once dissolved?, seems everything has been blinged out these days with timers, motors, batteries, GPS etc just to get a long line out   :Grin:

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## Chris

A couple I built GM ,might be some idea's useful for you.They all caught fish . 



Have wiring diagrams if you need them just drop me you email addy.

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## Dundee

Geeze that first pic is a classic :Wink:  Chris

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## gadgetman

> I'll give you $500 for it when she's done mate! Win, win!


I have an idea of who I'll give it to. A guy that was injured at work and now unable to work. Help him feed the tribe and get out of the house.

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## gadgetman

> A couple I built GM ,might be some idea's useful for you.They all caught fish . 
> 
> 
> 
> Have wiring diagrams if you need them just drop me you email addy.


Thanks Chris. Searching the web I've seen some of those, Google seems to know all about you. Should be right on the electronics having done electrical and electronic engineering.

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## gadgetman

> Jeeze what happened to the days that kontikis were rigged with a barley sugar that would drop the weight and the sail once dissolved?, seems everything has been blinged out these days with timers, motors, batteries, GPS etc just to get a long line out


With motor power you don't have to rely on the wind from any particular direction. When was the last time you saw a sailing ship plying the freight trade? And I don't recall you yelling any commands to the donkey you were working with in your work video clip.

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## gadgetman

> Remember the offer of mainline and hooks etc from the bad one mate. I have his number if and when you need it


Reckon I'll be taking up that offer too thanks Gibo and "The Banished One!"

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## Chris

> Geeze that first pic is a classic Chris


It went very well too Mr D , didn't have to worry about steering.Just point it where you wanted it to go,caught a lot of fish too.

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## Spook

> Jeeze what happened to the days that kontikis were rigged with a barley sugar that would drop the weight and the sail once dissolved?, seems everything has been blinged out these days with timers, motors, batteries, GPS etc just to get a long line out


Must be bloody scary watching several thousands of dollars heading for the horizon.

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## Spook

> It went very well too Mr D , didn't have to worry about steering.Just point it where you wanted it to go,caught a lot of fish too.


 @Chris...Your father was very innovative when it came to fishing, growing up, did you hear about his exploits with the spear he made to get the kingfish?

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## Chris

Only that he nearly drowned a couple of times using it .Was made for Kingi's not sting rays I recall.

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## possummatti

Mates got a home built contiki. Basically a motor and prop strapped to a surf board. Looks horey as fark but apparently does the trick.

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## Barefoot

> Must be bloody scary watching several thousands of dollars heading for the horizon.


That's why you borrow other peoples ones, reduces those worries dramatically   :ORLY:

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## samba

Iv been mucking around building them for myself to get the set up I have now. Knowing what I know now I would just save my pennys and buy a sea horse. I would rate my one now on par with sea horse but it has cost me a lot more than $400.

My advice would be if you are going to build your own is to get a motor from wave rider off trade me they are actualy the same motor that is on a merc trolling motor the last the best and are the best on batteries, they are a little bit more pricey but worth it. I currenty have a knock off motor it works well but have rebuilt it twice as I didn't have the cash spare for a better motor at the time. Also if it gets water in it being a dc motor its easy to clean and will work again.
I use a magnetic timer similar to sea horse I got it from trade me from bullet fishing works bloody well.
Batteries I use 2x 9amp hour for 1 full set and can normaly get a small next set before I grab a new pair. I made the kontiki rear end big enough to hold the next size up 14 amp hour batteries too. Wouldn't waste my time with the 7.5amp hr ones.
I use a electric wheel chair motor for winch I was lucky enough to get one with the wheel attached so it also had the clutch for free wheeling and use mono not braid as it seems to handle better with stretch and abrasion on the sand.

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## gadgetman

Thanks samba. That is a nice looking set up.

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## samba

Cheers it works mint made from alloy

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## gadgetman

> Cheers it works mint made from alloy


I was just about to ask that! I'm definitely giving this thing a crack and it will be a bit more than your usual kontiki as I want to keep the trace with bait away from the tow line and cut down on drag.

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## samba

yea that's cool  sounds like a lot of tangles to me but good luck to you also by having a separate trace line I assume that will mean your main line is on top of the water?

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## gadgetman

> yea that's cool  sounds like a lot of tangles to me but good luck to you also by having a separate trace line I assume that will mean your main line is on top of the water?


Yes the tow line will be on the surface. The bait line will be wound on a separate cassette reel that will plug into the centre of the kontiki. At the appropriate time the reel will be released (via a car central locking motor) and drop as the kontiki continues to motor. As the kontiki is retrieved the bait line (and fish all going well) will follow. This way the baits are not dragged out, less likelihood of tow line being bitten off and there will be no tangle.

Electrically/electronically quite easy to do. A five minute swap out in future to change to a steered system with GPS when I get that far.

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## samba

sweet but if a boat crosses your line shes all over rover

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## Gibo

> sweet but if a boat crosses your line shes all over rover


And i'd say more chance of that than a shark getting the main line.

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## gadgetman

Not many boats about out there but apparently a hell of a lot of sharks. Also a steep and stony beach. I like the idea of efficiency and removing what risks are practicable.

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## Chris

I've seen Torpedo's get run over by boats ,but suspect the main line unless has floats attached will be below prop level of most boats .

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## gadgetman

> I've seen Torpedo's get run over by boats ,but suspect the main line unless has floats attached will be below prop level of most boats .


I like the sound of that.

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## Maca49

If you use a mobility scooter motor for your reel, get the controller as well, battery draw is always a prob.also pressure build up on the winch drum can cause it to "explode"

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## samba

Most mobility scooter and wheel chair motors will run 12 and 24 volt. I have a 2 way switch and run it on 24v volt until the traces start coming up the beach then flick it to 12v. if avoidable you never want the main line to go slack hence the use of 12v for the short amount of time. the most common mobility scooter motor has a large plastic gear in them, while the motor is still good I would recommend taking it out and getting a new one water jet cut and it will handle much more strain. I was using 2x motor bike batteries to run winch and could do a whole day out of the pair now to save on carting so many batteries I use the spent ones from kontiki and have a back up from some 7.5 amp hour batteries the alarm companies normally give away.

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## veitnamcam

6mm mono has a breaking strain over 900kilos,your trace will break well before sharks are a concern.

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## gadgetman

> 6mm mono has a breaking strain over 900kilos,your trace will break well before sharks are a concern.


The mono is quite soft and their teeth are quite hard and sharp with some pressure behind them.

6mm would be a bit overkill size wise too.

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## hunter308

> With motor power you don't have to rely on the wind from any particular direction. When was the last time you saw a sailing ship plying the freight trade? *And I don't recall you yelling any commands to the donkey you were working with in your work video clip.*


My dump truck gets cussed out on a regular basis I just kept it clean for that video  :Grin:

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## longrange308

old mans long line had 1m long traces that you cliped on , never had trouble with main line getting taken

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## Chris

I use 30 or 40lb mono for my traces,theory is if they get snagged the trace breaks.Sharks ,rays & cudda; aren't a problem either they just bust the trace & go no issues . They just the shit you really don't want to catch any way .

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## possummatti

> I use 30 or 40lb mono for my traces,theory is if they get snagged the trace breaks.Sharks ,rays & cudda; aren't a problem either they just bust the trace & go no issues . They just the shit you really don't want to catch any way .


I only take home 30lb+ fish chris so wont work for me

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## veitnamcam

> I only take home 30lb+ fish chris so wont work for me


Do you dig them into the garden?

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## Chris

> I only take home 30lb+ fish chris so wont work for me


I don't eat "shit fish" ,prefer some thing eatable but what ever floats ya boat .

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## possummatti

> Do you dig them into the garden?


Na i just use them as berly to catch bigger fish. Then i use the bigger fish as life bait to catch marlins then i use the marlins as dog food. Its really the long way about getting dog food but works for me

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## gadgetman

Looking at the electronics side of things it isn't going to be as easy as I thought. It is going to be easier and cheaper. I reckon the guts can be put together for NZ$25-30 for a GPS guidance based system.

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## veitnamcam

How on earth do you get a gps and controllers for that money and why are the ones we carry around 20 times the cost?

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## mikee

> How on earth do you get a gps and controllers for that money and why are the ones we carry around 20 times the cost?


I'd be interested too, gps modules are cheap but the rest of it not so much, especially autopilots

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## Beaker

Keen to learn more on the gps to 'real world' control interface for this price and simplicity to!

Also @gadgetman do you do electronic design in general?

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## gadgetman

> Keen to learn more on the gps to 'real world' control interface for this price and simplicity to!
> 
> Also @gadgetman do you do electronic design in general?


It will not have any display as such as an unmanned kontiki wont need one, though it could be added.

GPS Module

Free shipping ! GY NEO6MV2 new GPS module NEO6MV2 NEO 6M with Flight Control EEPROM MWC APM2.5 large antenna-in Other Electronic Components from Electronic Components & Supplies on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Micro Controller

J34 Free Shipping Pro Mini Atmega328 5V 16M Replace ATmega128 For Arduino Compatible Nano With Pin -in Integrated Circuits from Electronic Components & Supplies on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

Comapss

Y92" Free Shipping 1PC 3V 5V HMC5883L Triple Axis Compass Magnetometer Sensor Module For Arduino-in Other Electronic Components from Electronic Components & Supplies on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

The bits clip together and you just program the microcontroller to do what you want. I studied electrical & electronic engineering but branched out into IT.

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## gadgetman

Bugger it, I can't turn the brain off. Would be easy enough to have the thing continue to monitor the GPS and after a set period of time decide if it is being dragged back to its start point or not. If not then fire up the motor and drive steer itself back to its launch point. A simple fail safe for a cut retrieve line.

I'm going to start with a wheeled version to test out the software.

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## veitnamcam

Now there is a good idea.

Sent from my GT-S5360T using Tapatalk 2

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## gadgetman

> That's awesome, good 'ol Chinese - all the bits you need for your DIY 'cruise missile', 'fishing machine'.  And under US$15 delivered...
> 
> I don't need a kontiki, but I'm wondering what I need that requires those bits just well, because...


Exactly. I'm thinking of all sorts of things to do with the pile of extra bits I ordered; at those prices I figured one wasn't enough. Could flog off the programmed brains on TM and make a killing when compared to what is available already.

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## gadgetman

Yup. From an individual transistor to a complete engine rebuild kit for my wagon.

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## gadgetman

The brains have arrived. The micro-controller and GPS module next to an 18650 cell and and empty 223 case.

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## stingray

GM ,even with pictures you still have me stumped as to were to start   :15 8 212:  :Slow:  . think the idea of a self returning kontiki is fantastic all the same!! :Cool:

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## Gibo

> GM ,even with pictures you still have me stumped as to were to start   . think the idea of a self returning kontiki is fantastic all the same!!


Sort ya avatar out stinger, just fucked me neck  :We All Gonna Die:

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## gadgetman

> GM ,even with pictures you still have me stumped as to were to start   . think the idea of a self returning kontiki is fantastic all the same!!


That little board in the middle is the real heart. It is a little computer that can be programmed from a computer and all the little dots around it at where you connect it to power, other circuits, etc. It will monitor the GPS module which just puts out the same sort of info as any other GPS and turn the motor on and off and work the steering through a servo from a remote controlled model.

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## puku

@gadgetman
How did you go with this kontiki idea? I have a hankering for one of the cheaper models

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## gadgetman

> @gadgetman
> How did you go with this kontiki idea? I have a hankering for one of the cheaper models


Well unfortunately most of the gear for the project has been packed for the house repairs, that we are still waiting for, and looks like we will be waiting longer for since Fletchers/EQR have dropped the ball 5th time running!  :Pissed Off:

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## puku

Oh man that's bloody terrible!

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## madmaori

> Well unfortunately most of the gear for the project has been packed for the house repairs, that we are still waiting for, and looks like we will be waiting longer for since Fletchers/EQR have dropped the ball 5th time running!


Hey @gadgetman is it possible to install gps into a non gps model?
thanks

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## gadgetman

> Hey @gadgetman is it possible to install gps into a non gps model?
> thanks


Pretty sure the factory will retrofit a GPS control unit. Shouldn't be too difficult to DIY one if you have electronics bent.

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## madmaori

> Pretty sure the factory will retrofit a GPS control unit. Shouldn't be too difficult to DIY one if you have electronics bent.


yes i thought they might but one would assume that it would come with a hefty price tag looking at some of the prices of their other products on the website!
Did you ever have any luck with making up your own kontiki?

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## Got-ya

But they do work well. Last Fridays catch. Seahorse GPS

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## gadgetman

> yes i thought they might but one would assume that it would come with a hefty price tag looking at some of the prices of their other products on the website!
> Did you ever have any luck with making up your own kontiki?


Been too busy or broken to get very far. Plan was to attack it during 'lockdown', but that has been even busier than usual.

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## The bomb

My con tiki set up is me paddling out a longline with a sit on kayak!

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