Bill Watson's folding minnow trap

[Match Aerial]

Yep see that one mate just wondering if you had anything else of interest ?

[Nobby]

No those were just what I came across in the last few episodes of that magazine before it closed down.

[Match Aerial]

Ok Nobby thanks mate

[QuinetteCane]

Anyone who has seen a properly shotted sight bobbed antennae float rising up majestically from the stillness on a Tenching morning.
Most surely must come to the inescapable conclusion that those wise pontificating ones herein have never shared such an experience....
Just sayin'
A Bill Watson double bobber antennae must add to such visionary delights...... Cant afford a copy of the book tho'.

[Nobby]

I think many folk still think like Bill and misunderstand buoyancy. It doesn't really matter though...as long as the float works, that's surely fine?

In truth, although I am no scientist, I'm not sure how fully Archimedes' Principle applies to a moving object as opposed to a stationary one. I used to make some antennae floats with a tiny buoyant 'pip' halfway up the stem. Left to its own devices the float would always sit with that pip bang on the waterline...it shouldn't....but it did.

Here's the humorously named Donner-Kebab float, but I got the same effect with tiny, tiny 'torpedoes' of balsa:

http://oi67.tinypic.com/2di0xsp.jpg

[Santiago]

Archemides Principle fully applies to moving objects! Otherwise it would be a nightmare for boat builders. The ' pip' in your float Nobby, will be acting as a buoyancy stabiliser, because more weight will be required to pull it under per mm than the much thinner stem, so unless you add much more weight, the float will always tend to settle on the 'pip'; unless undershotted.

[Nobby]

Well, I heard Archimedes was a leger fisher.


;-)

[Santiago]

Allegedly!

[Match Aerial]

From my experience using a buoyant material in the float stem has some slight benefits depending on your goals. Its correct the dia of the antennae regarding shot load matters little, Archemides Principle is correct in my opinion.
Balsa compared to fibre glass for example used for a float tip after being submerged will bob back to the surface quicker than a fibreglass float tip in comparision .
So hopefully you can read bites better in some cases with balsa compared to the likes of fibreglass.
That's what I have found anyway.

MA

[Nobby]

I think the float tip material is important, even if we are not concerned about Archimedes Principle which deals with the overall capacity to carry shot, it's more about how the float behaves when in the water.
A non buoyant stem, like fibreglass or carbon fibre might give us a float of extraordinary sensitivity but it is far more sensitivity than we really need...overkill, if you will.
A buoyant tip to the fibreglass or carbon fibre helps, the float cocks better and is less inclined to sit partly canted-over, but it is still sluggish...the weight of the stem is just too much, even with a buoyant tip.

A 1mm cane tip is perfect.......but horribly fragile.


Nevertheless I've had some pleasing results with a 1mm cane stem hardened above a candle flame, but by 'Eck it's easy to turn it into a bit of charcoal!

If only there were a buoyant form of carbon fibre or glassfibre. I'm waiting to see what any of the developing nano fibres offer.