DocBeav
Bronze Member
Max was sent 2 of the new PROTOTYPE Anderson shafts for the CTX 3030 and passed one off to me to test and give my impressions as well. I've been able to get out 2X so far using both the 17" and 11" coils.
(and it worked out great as my stock Minelab shaft broke last month...Merry Christmas.....and I made some temp repairs to it as I only have one and haven't heard back from Minelab regarding my inquiry to see if it's covered at all still but no response yet....guess I'll be calling too...)
First spin was at night and using the prototype shaft with the 17" bigfoot coil. I put some rigger's tape (duct tape, 100 mph tape...same stuff) as I have been doing on the shaft so that the locks would grip. I only needed 2 pieces, one on top and one on underside 10" each. The Minelab shaft usually needs 4 or more pieces to do the same. Shaft was good and secure, no slipping and it worked well, even in the wash. It felt solid and didn't wriggle or flex much, even with the bigfoot on. Only hunted for about 2+ hours with the bigfoot before switching to the 11" for the send spot I hit. . It was getting a bit heavy, the wash was kinda rough and when I'd swing a little too wide it would start reading my scoop which can be a pain. I finished off wit the 11" on my broken shaft and stayed out
I used it again yesterday for the spin at Nada, this time with the 11" on and it worked great. Feels light but solid and the 11" did fine in the wash today just like the 17" did.
I thought that the exposed wire leading into the hole might cause some water resistance but no more so than the stock Minelab one.
Couple of observations/thoughts.
1. The edges of the hole where the connector and wire route through will have to be either rounded or have some kind of edging or bushing that goes in there to protect the coil wire as I can see that edge cutting the rubber insulation over time. Riggers tape will work well for a quick fix now but some kind of weather striping/rubber material might be glued on there as well for a longer one.
2. Where the piece that connects to the coil fits into the bottom of shaft, there is a small space where sand/debris will collect. I'm sure it's not a big deal but it might be good to have some kind of rubber stopper or cork in there to prevent that and having to keep cleaning it out all the time.
3. Found this one out yesterday.....if you feed the coil wire through the shaft and have the plastic piece that clips to the connector and has the wire wrapped around it, up into it, it will go with a little pushing. When pulling wire back down the shaft to change coils, that piece doesn't wanna come with it. The wire started unwrapping from it and it there wasn't enough room to get my finger in behind it to try to bent it a bit and guide it out the hole. By now I had it wedged in good and after some fighting (and some cursing) was able to push the wire back up the shaft and take the plastic thingy out of it and it came out easily after that. Guess best thing is that people will just have to know to keep the thing off the wire or take it on/off only while the wire is still at the top. (Now that I went through all that I see that the directions say to remove the plastic thing so I'm a moron...lol)
I like it so far, it looks sharp and feels nice. If Anderson can keep these things at a reasonable price (still can't believe Minelab charges $175!) then many CTX owners will want one or more as a back up shaft or separate shaft for each coil.
Will keep you posted with any new thoughts or impressions as I go. Gonna keep it on the heater with the 11" for a while and give it more of a workout and will report any other thoughts later. Attaching a few picts with the shaft and bigfoot coil on.
(and it worked out great as my stock Minelab shaft broke last month...Merry Christmas.....and I made some temp repairs to it as I only have one and haven't heard back from Minelab regarding my inquiry to see if it's covered at all still but no response yet....guess I'll be calling too...)
First spin was at night and using the prototype shaft with the 17" bigfoot coil. I put some rigger's tape (duct tape, 100 mph tape...same stuff) as I have been doing on the shaft so that the locks would grip. I only needed 2 pieces, one on top and one on underside 10" each. The Minelab shaft usually needs 4 or more pieces to do the same. Shaft was good and secure, no slipping and it worked well, even in the wash. It felt solid and didn't wriggle or flex much, even with the bigfoot on. Only hunted for about 2+ hours with the bigfoot before switching to the 11" for the send spot I hit. . It was getting a bit heavy, the wash was kinda rough and when I'd swing a little too wide it would start reading my scoop which can be a pain. I finished off wit the 11" on my broken shaft and stayed out
I used it again yesterday for the spin at Nada, this time with the 11" on and it worked great. Feels light but solid and the 11" did fine in the wash today just like the 17" did.
I thought that the exposed wire leading into the hole might cause some water resistance but no more so than the stock Minelab one.
Couple of observations/thoughts.
1. The edges of the hole where the connector and wire route through will have to be either rounded or have some kind of edging or bushing that goes in there to protect the coil wire as I can see that edge cutting the rubber insulation over time. Riggers tape will work well for a quick fix now but some kind of weather striping/rubber material might be glued on there as well for a longer one.
2. Where the piece that connects to the coil fits into the bottom of shaft, there is a small space where sand/debris will collect. I'm sure it's not a big deal but it might be good to have some kind of rubber stopper or cork in there to prevent that and having to keep cleaning it out all the time.
3. Found this one out yesterday.....if you feed the coil wire through the shaft and have the plastic piece that clips to the connector and has the wire wrapped around it, up into it, it will go with a little pushing. When pulling wire back down the shaft to change coils, that piece doesn't wanna come with it. The wire started unwrapping from it and it there wasn't enough room to get my finger in behind it to try to bent it a bit and guide it out the hole. By now I had it wedged in good and after some fighting (and some cursing) was able to push the wire back up the shaft and take the plastic thingy out of it and it came out easily after that. Guess best thing is that people will just have to know to keep the thing off the wire or take it on/off only while the wire is still at the top. (Now that I went through all that I see that the directions say to remove the plastic thing so I'm a moron...lol)
I like it so far, it looks sharp and feels nice. If Anderson can keep these things at a reasonable price (still can't believe Minelab charges $175!) then many CTX owners will want one or more as a back up shaft or separate shaft for each coil.
Will keep you posted with any new thoughts or impressions as I go. Gonna keep it on the heater with the 11" for a while and give it more of a workout and will report any other thoughts later. Attaching a few picts with the shaft and bigfoot coil on.
)
