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Welcome to
skywaterrods.com
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Since a rod blank is tapered, different things occur in
different sections of the taper. Varieties of guides are designed to
accommodate varying requirements among applications. Therefore, why are
identical guides used along the entire length of a tapered blank?
SKYwater’s Vector Compensated Rods address the various loads, stresses, and
requirements of specific applications by utilizing different types of guides
on a blank and represent the most highly performance enhanced, radical
departure from traditional designs available in the industry!
Spring scale tests demonstrate that the greatest load (vector) on a blank
occurs where the curve is greatest and least where the blank is straight. |
| The vector tends to be concentrated in a short
region of fast and extra fast blanks, and spread more evenly in longer
sections of slow and moderately tapered blanks. Guides perform several
functions, one of which is protecting line from wear and abrasion, which
occurs most at the point of highest load (vector). Therefore, guides
providing the greatest protection belong in that section! Once the tip
section of a blank is bent straight down, the load on it no longer
increases; it rises in the curved midsection. Similarly, in a very stiff,
unbent butt section, load is also minimal. The greatest degree of vector
compensation is applicable in saltwater live bait, jig, and standup rods
with strong tapers and combined requirements of casting, lifting, and
sensitivity. Examine the following examples for a better understanding of
SKYwater’s Vector Compensated concept. |
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7’ West Coast, 12-25 lb.
line, Live Bait Rod - Very stiff butt, extra fast, light tip. Design
parameters: 1. Accommodate reel height & width. 2. Provide castability of
small baits. 3. Protect line. 4. Preserve tip response, sensitivity, and
weight. The guide set which accomplishes the requirements for this rod
consists of 2 SiC ring guides, 3 single foot, Aftco light rollers, 3 SiC
single foot fly rod ring guides, SiC ring top. |
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6’9”, 30-50 lb. line, Tuna
Iron, Live Bait & Jig Rod - Composite blank, very stiff butt, short
extra fast tip. Design parameters: 1. Accommodate reel height & width. 2.
Provide castability of wide range of baits and jigs. 3. Protect line. 4.
Preserve tip response, sensitivity, and weight. The guide set which
accomplishes the requirements for this rod consists of 2 HD SiC ring guides,
2 Aftco HD roller guides, 3 Aftco single foot light rollers, Aftco small
head roller top. |
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6’, 40-50 lb. line, Live
Bait & Standup Trolling Rod - Powerful butt, fast heavy tip. Design
parameters: 1. Accommodate reel height & width. 2. Protect line. The guide
set which accomplishes the requirements for this rod consists of 1 large, HD
ceramic ring guide, 4 Aftco HD roller guides, Aftco roller top. (Notice this
arrangement is just opposite of the traditional double roller guide followed
by ring guides. SKYwater believes this is backwards and serves no purpose
since the load occurs in the middle and tip! What does the double roller do?
It actually makes level winding line difficult because of its narrow
entrance! The large ring guide in the Vector Compensated set rectifies the
problem. No metal, chromed ring guides are used in any of the above sets,
and SKYwater discourages their use anywhere as they damage line and are very
prone to breakage, corrosion, and grooving.)
Vector Compensation is adaptable to lighter casting, jigging, trolling, and
inshore rods. Since roller guides are not yet available for spinning and fly
rods, performance-enhancing features for them are found in SKYwater’s High
Performance Rods section. |
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