Thread: DIY kontiki info

Originally Posted by 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?

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.

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

Originally Posted by samba

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.

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.

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 .

Originally Posted by 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 .

I like the sound of that.

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"

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.

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

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

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.

Originally Posted by gadgetman

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

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

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 .

Originally Posted by 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 .

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

Originally Posted by possummatti

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

Do you dig them into the garden?