Critterhunter
New member
Many say the Excalibur with it's BBS technology is the be all and end all for water hunting in terms of depth and performance in just about any ground conditions. Sure, there are a few water machines that are more sensitive to very thin gold chains or tiny earings, but when it comes to depth on a gold ring or coin the Excalibur is in a class by it's self, at least in any kind of tough ground. I've got a Sovereign GT (same machine) but can't afford to shell out a grand for a water version of it, so figured why not make my own...
Here is my land and water setups. Haven't used the water setup with the 10" coil yet...
The land rig is lightweight. Custom upper aluminum shaft and Whites tall man carbon fiber lower rod. 15x12 SEF coil with spray on bed liner to drop some more weight. Running on a lipo for added weight savings. Grip is lighter than stock and features a remote pinpoint switch. Arm cup is a Whites, which is also a lot lighter. Stand is aluminum landing gear for RC craft. Much lighter as well. I think the weight is 4 pounds 13 ounces from memory, much lighter than the stock rig with the 10" coil.
The water unit is the stock upper/lower rods. I drilled two drain holes right above the coil plastic mount where it ends inside the lower shaft. Used a measuring tape stuck down the lower shaft to measure where it ends so I could drill right above it for complete water drainage. Also took off the little plastic end cap at the end of the upper rod since I want water to escape and not be trapped. This coil also is using spray on bed liner. I found the 15x12 to be too much drag for me in the water and since I never use the 10" Tornado for land anymore I figured it could have it's permanent home on my "water hunting rig". Didn't want to use the stock foam grip for this setup either because it's uncomfortable and the foam holds water, so I used a bicycle end bar (cut down) and a rubber bike grip for it as well as my land unit. Still have to put the plastic cap on top of the grip (just built the thing today). Obviously I don't need a meter in the water, and since the box will be chest mounted right below my chin I have easy access to the stock pin point switch and so don't need a remote one for the water rig. For now I plan to enclose the control box in a plastic back and wrap a rubber band around it to close it off where the coil cable exits. Then just poke the headphone plug right through the bag for added splash insurance. Oh, and I drilled the snap pin adjustment hole on the shaft all the way through since it has two heads but only one hole is drilled from the factory for one head to snap out. By doing this you'll greatly stiffen the rod, which is important in water hunting. Mine had a little play until I did this.
I think I'll head up to a boat supply store and pick up one of those waterproof boxes meant to hold flares and such. I plan to just enclose the GT control box in it once settings are done on site. Since the 10" coil is only going to be used for water hunting for now on (at least until I get a 12x10) I plan to just drill a hole in the box for the coil cable to exit and a permanent set of headphones to always use on this unit as well. That way I can just coat the exit holes with Shoe Goo (a heavy clear rubber cement meant for fixing boots and such, best there is) to seal it. Once all this is done I'll still keep the box chest mounted high but now I won't have to worry about getting it into the water. Cheap/easy way to make a water machine that is as good or better than an Excalibur without spending hardly any money at all. Eventually I plan to find somebody selling a Sovereign control box (any model) alone for say south of $75. When I do that I may make the waterproof box with external controls.
When you think about it, even if you had to build a water machine from scratch you could do it real cheap and still be as good or better than any water unit on the market. $50 for a control box. $75 for a coil. $20 to $50 for a water proof box. Under $20 to build a shaft and you're all set.
Here's a link to a ton of Sovereign waterproofing threads...
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1214825
Here is my land and water setups. Haven't used the water setup with the 10" coil yet...
The land rig is lightweight. Custom upper aluminum shaft and Whites tall man carbon fiber lower rod. 15x12 SEF coil with spray on bed liner to drop some more weight. Running on a lipo for added weight savings. Grip is lighter than stock and features a remote pinpoint switch. Arm cup is a Whites, which is also a lot lighter. Stand is aluminum landing gear for RC craft. Much lighter as well. I think the weight is 4 pounds 13 ounces from memory, much lighter than the stock rig with the 10" coil.
The water unit is the stock upper/lower rods. I drilled two drain holes right above the coil plastic mount where it ends inside the lower shaft. Used a measuring tape stuck down the lower shaft to measure where it ends so I could drill right above it for complete water drainage. Also took off the little plastic end cap at the end of the upper rod since I want water to escape and not be trapped. This coil also is using spray on bed liner. I found the 15x12 to be too much drag for me in the water and since I never use the 10" Tornado for land anymore I figured it could have it's permanent home on my "water hunting rig". Didn't want to use the stock foam grip for this setup either because it's uncomfortable and the foam holds water, so I used a bicycle end bar (cut down) and a rubber bike grip for it as well as my land unit. Still have to put the plastic cap on top of the grip (just built the thing today). Obviously I don't need a meter in the water, and since the box will be chest mounted right below my chin I have easy access to the stock pin point switch and so don't need a remote one for the water rig. For now I plan to enclose the control box in a plastic back and wrap a rubber band around it to close it off where the coil cable exits. Then just poke the headphone plug right through the bag for added splash insurance. Oh, and I drilled the snap pin adjustment hole on the shaft all the way through since it has two heads but only one hole is drilled from the factory for one head to snap out. By doing this you'll greatly stiffen the rod, which is important in water hunting. Mine had a little play until I did this.
I think I'll head up to a boat supply store and pick up one of those waterproof boxes meant to hold flares and such. I plan to just enclose the GT control box in it once settings are done on site. Since the 10" coil is only going to be used for water hunting for now on (at least until I get a 12x10) I plan to just drill a hole in the box for the coil cable to exit and a permanent set of headphones to always use on this unit as well. That way I can just coat the exit holes with Shoe Goo (a heavy clear rubber cement meant for fixing boots and such, best there is) to seal it. Once all this is done I'll still keep the box chest mounted high but now I won't have to worry about getting it into the water. Cheap/easy way to make a water machine that is as good or better than an Excalibur without spending hardly any money at all. Eventually I plan to find somebody selling a Sovereign control box (any model) alone for say south of $75. When I do that I may make the waterproof box with external controls.
When you think about it, even if you had to build a water machine from scratch you could do it real cheap and still be as good or better than any water unit on the market. $50 for a control box. $75 for a coil. $20 to $50 for a water proof box. Under $20 to build a shaft and you're all set.
Here's a link to a ton of Sovereign waterproofing threads...
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?21,1214825