The Technology behind Our Rod Blank Construction
At the core of every good fishing rod is a great fishing rod blank. A blank that’s been designed and crafted to be the best that it can be. Whether you’re a tournament angler or you fish for pleasure, Neritica Fishing has it covered.
Our Neritica blanks are constructed right here in Australia in a ‘state of the art’ facility utilising 30 years of investment in computer aided engineering and quality controlled processes. At the centre of this technology and quality is the unwavering commitment to innovation. The result in a rod blank that has to be felt to be understood, something very special.
Our design principles
Every blank that leaves our facility meets these criteria:
- Efficiency – casting effortlessly & imparting action to lures that tournament anglers need;
- Fast recovery – one thing you will notice as soon as you hold one of our blanks is how crisp the blank is, how it loads up powerfully and recovers promptly;
- Sensitivity – Being able to feel every little bump and twitch of the lure, the bait and the sinker as they meet different substructures, sand, rock & gravel keeping you in touch the whole time;
- Power distribution – put simply the modulus, wall thickness, taper and cloth join design have been chosen specifically to produce a blank that distributes power to minimise the load placed on the angler.
Blank Construction
Multi Directional Carbon Core
What makes the perfect rod? We suggest one that’s powerful, light, sensitive, and functional and this is what we aim to do.
In an effort to reduce weight and increase sensitivity of rods, most manufacturers use prepreg carbon cloth with high modulus carbon and low resin content. Unfortunately, a higher modulus carbon also results in a loss in strength and a blank that is more brittle and prone to breakages.
So why are our blanks different?
Our unidirectional carbon prepreg is rolled around the mandrel in layers. Each layer has the direction of the caron fibres at different angles (MDCC). This technique has been refined to find the optimum balance between strength, weight and sensitivity. The MDCC results in significantly stronger “hoops” that are much more resistant to distortion of the hoops while under load.
By changing the direction of each layer of carbon prepreg, the strength of the carbon is positioned to handle forces from different directions, without the need to add weight.
The MDCC virtually eliminates the blank twist during loading. This improves power and control when casting or fighting a fish.
The other benefit is that sensitivity is maintained yet the recovery time is drastically improved, meaning the blank very quickly transmits any vibrations but then recovers back into place promptly resulting in a crisp blank that telegraphs everything that is happening at the other end.
100% TORAY CARBON CONSTRUCTION
Neritica blanks are made from 100% uni-directional carbon fibre. This is combined with a Multi Directional Carbon Core construction to obtain superior hoop strength resulting in light and strong blanks. Using the Multi Directional Carbon Core, our blanks are 100% carbon construction therefore, 100% carbon blanks result in a light blank that is both sensitive and responsive.
VARIABLE MODULUS DESIGN (VMD)
Our blank designs are focused on the desired action, as well as power, sensitivity and recovery. As the modulus of the carbon increases, the sensitivity and stiffness increases. Our blanks are constructed with up to four different types of carbon in each blank. Each carbon type is placed at different segments of the blank to optimise recovery, strength and sensitivity.
Seamless Integration
One of the focus areas for innovation has been the technique for joining the carbon along the blank. Our manufacturer is very pleased with the outcome after many years of research and development.
The result is a blank that has no loss in strength, no impact to action and a lower resin content due the proprietary technique for joining the carbon materials along the blank. The result is a stronger blank with a smooth power curve.
Low resin pre preg
Carbon rod blanks are made with carbon fibre reinforced by a polymer resin. The resin can account for a significant proportion of the weight of a blank. To reduce weight and maximise the sensitivity of a blank, the design team have used precision controlled production process to incorporate low resin prepreg into the blanks. The use of low rein prepregs increase manufacturing time which results in a lighter, crisper blank.
Definitions
Power:
The “power” of a rod refers to how much force it takes to flex the rod. The best approach is to start with your target line class and cast weights, then determine the options in power available.
Action:
The “action” of a rod is determined by where a rod flexes along the blank. Faster action rods flex mostly near the tip. Moderate action rods flex more near the middle of the blank. Slower action rods flex down into the butt section.