Islander Stealheader reel

[icefisherman]

Bought one of the so very highly recommended Islander center pin reels a year ago from Josh in Woodstock. It did cost me good money more than some less expensive reels but I was told it is one of the better reels out there. Reel worked fine last year but I am noticing much slower spinning and humming noise when spinning it. The most it spins for is about 3 min and this is after quite the work out on my side. Pretty sure something is wrong with the bearings. Not that many parts inside anyways so it can't be anything else...not sure why those things cost so much...it seems the simplest piece of machinery....

I remember it been much quieter and faster spinning when it was new. Islander has 2 years warranty, so it is still covered...did major cleaning yesterday...oiled it...no improvement...took it to Josh today...he did the e same...no improvement...not sure what to do with it, but not impressed for sure with its reliability...I see on You Tube people spinning it for 10 min and mine can't do 1/3 of that...what this amount to is often when fishing the river I need to help it start releasing line by pulling my line by hand or by jerking the float...not ideal...Will probably try calling Islander on Monday to see what they say, but this whole thing is not making me very happy to say the least...also not thrilled with having to send it across the country and be with out reel for who knows how long in the middle of the float season.

Hope some one has an idea/advise how to improve spinning time and decrease the humming noise that comes out of it.

Thanks.

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[Freshtrax]

Boca bearings

[kemper]

Forget how many minutes it spins for because that means nothing on the river, how does it fish?

 

If it really bugs you, pull the bearings and degrease them then put a tiny amount of sewing machine oil on each. Problem most likely solved.

[icefisherman]

Forget how many minutes it spins for because that means nothing on the river, how does it fish?

 

If it really bugs you, pull the bearings and degrease them then put a tiny amount of sewing machine oil on each. Problem most likely solved.

 

Kemper,

 

It got me lot of fish since I owe it...probably over 250 bows over the last year. It bothers me not because it is not getting me fish but because it is spinning worse than it was a year ago. I tried removing the bearings but couldn't do it...they seem to be pressed in the housing...is there any trick for removing them?

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[kemper]

Kemper,

 

It got me lot of fish since I owe it...probably over 250 bows over the last year. It bothers me not because it is not getting me fish but because it is spinning worse than it was a year ago. I tried removing the bearings but couldn't do it...they seem to be pressed in the housing...is there any trick for removing them?

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

 

I don't think they are pressed in - if I remember correctly Islander uses Loc-tite to secure them. If you're careful you should be able to pop them out using some type of dowel that will spread the force of tapping them out on the outer ring. In case I'm wrong, you probably want another opinion.

[Salmonidstalker]

Well taking pictures of steelhead lying beside your reel on the river bank/dirt/mud doesn't do anything good for the bearings. You may not want to do that in the future.

 

Send it back to islander and they will take care of it for you. They are very reputable and have excellent customer service.

[icefisherman]

Well taking pictures of steelhead lying beside your reel on the river bank/dirt/mud doesn't do anything good for the bearings. You may not want to do that in the future.

 

Send it back to islander and they will take care of it for you. They are very reputable and have excellent customer service.

 

 

I hope they fix this problem for me. Will call them on Monday and see what they say...what bother me is it'll likely leave with no reel for some time. Considering Islander is on the West Coast it'll probably take a week or two turn around time...not ideal right in the middle of the float season.

Thanks for your input.

So I'll ask them and see if they can guide me how to do the repair myself if at all possible.

 

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Edited November 18, 2012 by icefisherman

[icefisherman]

Been playing with it all night...here is what I've noticed...in addition to been noisy and slow spinning it also wobbles badly ....I have the bottom end of my float rod on the carpet and the rod laying under 45 degrees angle against my desk and spin the reel...only use the bottom portion of the rod for this experiment...so when I spin the reel fast the section of the rod that extends above the desk vibrates really badly...has to be something wrong either with the bearing or with the shaft....in order for such a violent shaking of the rod.

Josh tried convincing me today there is nothing wrong with the reel but the more i play with it the more I feel it is in need of repair.

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[irishfield]

If you had of Xpress Posted the reel to them today... it would have been in their hands Monday and probably back to you before next weekend...

 

That said... you can probably just buy two bearings cheaper than the postage.

 

BTW.. if they are in with loctite, just steal your wife's hair dryer and warm them up a tad before tapping the bearings out.

Edited November 18, 2012 by irishfield

[icefisherman]

Good point Wayne. I am hoping they'll agree to cover all shipping charges and repairs/replacements, considering reel is under warranty.

Some one mentioned Boca ceramic bearing...according to this:

 

http://www.bocabearings.com/productdetail.aspx?ItemID=16985&ProductGroupID=0&ProductSubGroupID=152&MFGSYSID=0&MODSYSID=4414&ApplicationID=0&ProductGroupName=&ProductSubGroupName=Ceramic%20Orange%20Seal%20ABEC%207&ApplicationName=CENTER%20PIN%20REEL&ManufacturerName=&ModelName=STEELHEAD&Feature=CENTER%20PIN%20REEL

 

It'll cost me $29.95 for a pair of Ceramic Orange Seal ABEC 7 bearings for my Islander, with free shipping...based on what Islander says on the phone on Monday I'll either send it to them for (hopefully) quick repair and return...or take care of it myself by replacing the bearings. If so, I will try the trick with the hair drier. I assume I'll need to put the new or cleaned up baring back in place again using loctite, right?

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Edited November 18, 2012 by icefisherman

[kemper]

Been playing with it all night...here is what I've noticed...in addition to been noisy and slow spinning it also wobbles badly ....I have the bottom end of my float rod on the carpet and the rod laying under 45 degrees angle against my desk and spin the reel...only use the bottom portion of the rod for this experiment...so when I spin the reel fast the section of the rod that extends above the desk vibrates really badly...has to be something wrong either with the bearing or with the shaft....in order for such a violent shaking of the rod.

Josh tried convincing me today there is nothing wrong with the reel but the more i play with it the more I feel it is in need of repair.

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

 

Have you ever slipped on the bank and landed on your rod/reel?

 

Usually this is the only thing that will bend the shaft on a pin, especially a solid one like an islander. I did it to an old raven matrix and the barely spun at all anymore...

[Ralph Field]

My Islander had a terrible spin time and start up was terrible as well. It sounds like you got one of the good ones. Since it is under warranty they should fix it for free, but if I were you I would ask them to upgrade the bearings to APEC 7"s while they have the reel. They will charge for the upgrade but it will be worth it. The reel shouldn't have a wobble unless you fell on it,as mentioned , or you forgot to use backing. Never try to remove the bearings yourself , as you will likely not be able to get it back together properly.

[icefisherman]

Nope, never had any incident with the reel...always been very careful with it, backing still in place as put there by Josh a year ago...even avoid dipping it in the water as I've seen many others do....if Islander covers shipping charges both ways for reels under warranty I agree sending it to them for servicing is a better option. Does anyone have experience with using their warranty...do they cover shipping both ways?

Hope the turn around time is within a week.

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

Edited November 18, 2012 by icefisherman

[Rob]

If your going to go with the abec 7's, then I would order them and replace the bearings. If the wobble is still there then more than likely you have a bent shaft. If it is out .001" then the end of the shaft is out probably .003 to 004". These are CNC machined parts and are designed with tight tolerances, so any damage, no matter how small is going to affect how it functions. BTW if you are dealing with a $600 reel, $50 for return shipping is worth the cost. Most company's won't cover shipping on warranty returns.

 

Rob C

[Guest ----]

Sounds like the one I just returned. It was a lightly used one though and had old line still on it in the store with no backing. I'm wondering if that may have been the problem...good luck with it icefishermen....I kept my aventa for a back up to avoid any missed fishing opportunities if I have to send the islander in.

Edited November 18, 2012 by merkinbrumsky

[Burtess]

Running no backing on an Islander shouldn't be a problem as they are machined from solid bar stock and should not warp.

 

Sounds like you got some crap in the bearings or maybe a bearing went bad. If the vibration you mention is from a bent shaft they may fix it for you under warranty to be nice but that would be caused by an impact of some kind.

 

I kind of laugh when many talk about spin time.... my Purist 2030(an old one)spins for only like a minute but starts with very little resistance which is the important thing.

 

Burt

[BillM]

Total spin time is useless, how's the startup? That's what you should be worried about.

[icefisherman]

With so few parts this thing is really so simple...it can't be anything but the bearing or the shaft...in both cases it doesn't speak well for manufacturer's quality....Reel looks like new...no dents of any kind...barely even any scratches...I do babysit it a lot...so I am sure I have not landed on it or caused the shaft to bent...Actually I have never felt while fishing rivers, it has been used for lets say...maybe 20-30 trips or so....

 

Just removed all the line to see what happens...the spin time (as insignificant as many here may say it is) went down from 3 min to 2.5 min and the rod is still vibrating while the reel is spinning...so yes...no need to be a rocket (or reel) scientist here to determine something is wrong with it....

 

Something else I observed...while spinning it as fast as I can, I gently put my finger so it touches the moving and not moving part of the reel at the same time. I can clearly feel the wobbling on my skin as it touches the spinning part at each revolution...If I then spin it slowly I can actually see from the side, the inside of the moving spool kind of coming in and out against the static frame next to it...

 

The distance or gap, periphery wise though looks to be OK and not changing while spinning.... this is the difference in the diameter between the spinning spool and static frame...with my naked eye it seems to be OK there....

 

So based on those simple observations and experiments it seems the inside of the spinning spool is the one that is doing the wobbling, not the outside diameter...this leads me to think that it has to be the bearings allowing microscopical movements along/parallel to the shaft (not perpendicular to it)....or the spool itself has not been machined well and the inside of it is uneven creating vibrations when spinning....can't prove it without specialized measuring tools but this is what it seems to me so far....

 

It would have been nice if I had another reel available to temporary swap spools and see what happens...but no such luck...

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[Ralph Field]

If the bearings are not seated properly I think that is another possible cause for the wobble. You can cause all sorts of trouble trying to fix it yourself. For reels out of warranty Islander charges $90 to upgrade to apec 7 bearings.

[misfish]

probably over 250 bows over the last year

 

it has been used for lets say...maybe 20-30 trips or so....

 

 

Im fishing the wrong spots.

[icefisherman]

Im fishing the wrong spots.

 

That's why I've been telling you to come this way

I really had a very good last season...considering it was my firs one with the float rod, weather and fish sure cooperated big time.

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[SlowPoke]

Total spin time is useless, how's the startup? That's what you should be worried about.

I mentioned this to Emil as well... whether it spins for 6 minutes or 8 minutes is pretty irrelevant BUT, he has noticed start up issues and has had to hand feed a little to keep the float moving.

Having said all that; if it's not spinning like it used to, there's a problem and it's just going to get worse. It shouldn't hum while it spins. I could hear it over the phone. It sounds like a drift lol (actually a draft blowing through an unseal door.... Wayne will get that joke)

[irishfield]

The drift.. the drift! LMAO

[Rich]

Im fishing the wrong spots.

 

Lol, no kidding! Probably wore the damn thing out!

[NAC]

quite certain if you called AO, they would order the bearings and swap it out for you in a couple days or less. Provided that is the problem. When c-pins start to get loud or grindy, it is usually that the bearing race are cracked. Doesn't take much since they are highly hardened carbon steel.

I've done my own on several Ravens without issue but is good to let the pro's do it and hopefully show you the first time around.