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Left Handed Centrepin?

J

John Spilsbury

Active Member
Anyone know whether, by disassemby/reassembly, it is possible to change an OKUMA Trent centrepin from a right handed reel to a left handed reel?
For those that don't know this reel, it has a unidirectional star drag system.
Not sure if I will ever use the drag, but it would be nice to have it working properly. The alternative is for me to load the line in the unconventional direction and do all my reeling backwards.

And yes, I did buy it assuming it would work for a left hander as well. Silly me.
 
This has come up before John :)

See posts, #19 onwards, in this thread although not sure there's a definite answer there.

My feeling is that it's going to take a lot of trial and error, the Trent looks a tad complex. The Okuma AventaPro is much more simple but it took a lot of emails to and fro for me to sort someone's fault and re-assembly problem.

Good luck

paul4
 
left handed centre pin

i bought one of these trent reels and had the same problem.so i rang okuma and spoke to thier chief engineer.he told me that with out presision machining it is impossible to alter the reel.it is also impractical for okuma to alter thier specs. he told me to send it back and upgrade to a sheffield. i got re-emburrsed,shopped around and got a sheffield for an extaten quid.
 
Thanks to you both for the useful input. The thread referred to does suggest that the reel may be reversible, although no-one admits to actually doing it. I am well versed in dismantling complex machinery so will probably have a go, although Clive's conversation with the Okuma engineer is a bit off putting.

Anyone actually "tried this at home".?
 
Aye but they call those blokes who fit Sky boxes 'engineers' these days. John I reckon if you are comfortable with mechanical devices and have reasonable tools it should be possible. If it's not and you can restore it back to normal I might buy it off you at a discount of course ;)

Conrad
 
Conrad Farlow said:
Aye but they call those blokes who fit Sky boxes 'engineers' these days. John I reckon if you are comfortable with mechanical devices and have reasonable tools it should be possible. If it's not and you can restore it back to normal I might buy it off you at a discount of course ;)

Conrad
Click to expand...


EXACTLY! Conrad. I took the statement with some seasoning too. I am afraid I am rather old fashioned and I think I remember being told that the term engineer actually has a legal definition involving the engineering institutions. So for me gas "fitters", plumbers, and quite possibly centrepin assemblers/repairers should not really use the term. If the guy designed the reel then I apologize.

I reckon I am qualified to take a simple reel apart. Will post the results. I shan't sell it unless it cannot be modified AND also I manage to find a leftie version.
 
John you are absolutely right about the term engineer, it took me many years to achieve the professional status of being an engineer. The systematic abuse of the term happens to be a pet hate of mine.

Glad that you agree and the best of luck to you.

Conrad
 
hi guys ,i am a time served engineer of over 35 years i manage an egineering shop for a living.i too could have gone to the trouble of redesigning the reel,but thought i would see what okuma had to say about the reel.
if i would have been "stuck" with the reel then yes i too would have have modified myself.but i took the easy route out for an extra tenner.
for someone who isnt capable of these tasks its a lot of moneys worth of reel to butcher n throw in the bits box! if your capable go on get it sorted.......ya know ya want to!!!!:)
p.s. if ya not .....send it back or sell it to conrad?????:D
 
John Spilsbury said:
EXACTLY! So for me gas "fitters", plumbers, and quite possibly centrepin assemblers/repairers should not really use the term. If the guy designed the reel then I apologize.
Click to expand...
As a former trade union officer who negotiated on behalf of qualified gas engineers I wish to defend Gas Fitters..they do not (or at least should not) use the term engineer unless they are qualified and recognised as such, the term fitter in my day meant they were qualified at a certain level and this was recognised by the same body as the actual engineers. It is now confused by the term "CORGI recognised qualification" being refered to as a CORGI engineer...which would have been a no no in my day. I have every respect for the skills and knowledge of gas fitters...but the term engineer took considerable training and education at what today would be degree level and was the basis of a lot of my pay claims!
This does seem to happen everywhere these days,. The bloke at the university I occassionally work at, who checks if step ladders are safe to use and that warning signs have been put up the right way round is called a "Health and Safety Engineer" I can't come to terms with that one at all.
 
Conrad Farlow said:
John you are absolutely right about the term engineer, it took me many years to achieve the professional status of being an engineer. The systematic abuse of the term happens to be a pet hate of mine.

Glad that you agree and the best of luck to you.

Conrad
Click to expand...


Yup, pet hate of mine too. Took me some time and much study to become CEng.

Gas "technicians" etc may well be skilled in a limited field. To be Corgi registered is useful and probably essential. "Corgi Engineer" is still a term I would not accept. Although for legal reasons I would not do so, I am damn sure I could replace my boiler completely safely. Pretty simplistic system really.
On legalities, it is somewhat annoying that, even as a chartered electrical engineer of 35 years standing, recent legislation has ruled that I would not be allowed to re-wire my house. I apparently need a much lower qualification!

The "Corgi Engineer" who worked on next door's gas installation was worrying. He finished work, switched on the gas and went home, leaving an open ended gas pipe spewing its contents into the cellar. The house consequently filled up with gas, and my own house smelt very strongly of it when I came home. Luckily an explosively dangerous situation was dealt with safely following an emergency call.

Much more importantly. On the reel. Dismantled it last night, and without some machining it is not practical to completely reverse the reel. I have however come to a compromise with it which works for me, and so I will not be selling it on. Sorry Conrad
 
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reel

please john let us know how you come to adapt the reel please for us and other people who are stuck with em or contemplating buying one.......cheers.regards....clive.
:)
 
Clive Kirkman said:
please john let us know how you come to adapt the reel please for us and other people who are stuck with em or contemplating buying one.......cheers.regards....clive.
:)
Click to expand...

Clive, the main lesson from all this is that I, and others, should do a little more research before splashing the cash. The Trent is not ideally suited, off the shelf, to a left hander. As people have said, the Sheffield, or another make is a better choice.
I am probably not finished yet with my investigation/modification, but first want to use the reel, albeit without taking full feature advantage, and whilst winding the line on backwards. (so it still comes off the bottom). Once I am more au fait with it I'll have another peek inside.... possibly with a sledgehammer ;-)
 
nice one john, try a lump hammer instead of a sledge hammer.......ya might miss it !!!!!!!:D
 
Thought an update was good and proper in view of the helpful replies you all gave. Still using the RH pin in LH mode. Have abandoned the clutch completely, although I may just use the clicker when a fish is running, mainly for dramatic effect, aided by a braking thumb on the spool rim.

To date I can still count the number of times I have used a pin on one hand, but yesterday I actually caught something with my Trent. 3 chub betwixt 2 & 1/2 and 3 & 1/2. Very nice too for the river I was on, and especially in the cold, although the two smaller fish had both been seriously savaged by the cormorants, one still having a red-raw wound. Both had been attacked near the dorsal fin. But all three fought very well on a new, but cheap, 15 foot trotting rod. Never had a rod with so much "bend" since a tank aerial I had as a kid.
Very pleased with myself for I thought I was using the pin with at least an ounce of competence. No problems with the spool running free on this trip. I now understand the bedding in problem you described, and have now experienced it, but only immediately after landing a fish. I was even trying Wallace casting, something I had never heard of until January. One in two casts still resulting in overrun tangles, but the others were working. No great distances involved, but it does feel good, even artistic when you get it right. I will improve I have no doubt, with practice.
Not yet decided which is best: batting the line back, or sticking a finger through the spool cutouts to wind back in. The thought of a motorized retrieve did spring to mind.
I do miss the ability to reel in quickly as I can with a fixed spool, with a fish on the line and heading towards me, but I guess with a little planning the length of the rod can be used to try and keep fish contact.

Thanks again.
 
Long time since this thread was posted, but having accidentally rediscovered it, I thought I should add what I eventually did. Still use the reel left handed, but I now have the line coming off the top of the spool, which allows me to use the clutch on those occasions when I feel like using a clutch. I probably use it about half the time, and it does have advantages at times when playing a fish, but more so when transporting the rod with the line and float still in situ. I have come to quite like the reel, and don't see any real problems caused by the line coming off the top. I wind in by poking my finger between the spokes, so don't see any awkwardness that reeling backwards using the handle might have produced. All in all after some years of use, I am still pleased with the reel, happy with the clutch system, but will forever fish left handed ( despite being right handed in all else that I do. ) And if you reckon that makes me weird, there are many others who would agree with you. ;-)
 
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