David Ortley
09-20-2006, 11:43 PM
After 35 years of strap weights on my dekes, and endless attempts to secure the weights without removing paint, I decided to give the Keel Grabbers a try this year. We hunt in a river system that is drawn down through the season so I need some length on the cord for the early season. I wanted about 8' of cord hanging on the decoy. To get that, and have the right length once you have rigged everything so that the rubber "Stretchee" fits snug, but not too snug, when you stow the line and weight on the keel you have to have the correct length of cord to begin with. I rigged three dozen "Life Size" mallards and came up with a standard that allowed me to cut the cord in bulk to the specified length and then rig perfectly every time. My goal was to have the Stretchee just snug.
I elected to rig with Green Head Gear braided line. I found that if I cut the cord 3" shorter than the final length I wanted I got good results on each one I rigged. Where the cord attaches to the keel and the Stretchee I used a bowline knot which forms a small loop and will not "untie" on its own. (you Scouts will remember the rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and back into the hole) That knot is easy to tie, and unties when you simply "push" the knot apart. I found I used 5" of cord at each end to comfortably tie the knot. The length of the weight and Stretchee make up the difference. I tied the cord to the front hole on the keel. I tryed this for several lengths and it worked well. After tying a few I found I was consistent in knot tying and didn't have to adjust in order to get the right stretch.
I also found that the hole on the weights where the Stretchee is inserted has some casting marks on it that could cut the rubber. Running the tip of a small knife around the inside of the hole smoothed it out nicely.
I am impressed with these weights and anxious to see how they hold up during the season!
For those of you who are interested here is a link that will help: http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Bowline_Knot.html
I elected to rig with Green Head Gear braided line. I found that if I cut the cord 3" shorter than the final length I wanted I got good results on each one I rigged. Where the cord attaches to the keel and the Stretchee I used a bowline knot which forms a small loop and will not "untie" on its own. (you Scouts will remember the rabbit comes out of the hole, goes around the tree, and back into the hole) That knot is easy to tie, and unties when you simply "push" the knot apart. I found I used 5" of cord at each end to comfortably tie the knot. The length of the weight and Stretchee make up the difference. I tied the cord to the front hole on the keel. I tryed this for several lengths and it worked well. After tying a few I found I was consistent in knot tying and didn't have to adjust in order to get the right stretch.
I also found that the hole on the weights where the Stretchee is inserted has some casting marks on it that could cut the rubber. Running the tip of a small knife around the inside of the hole smoothed it out nicely.
I am impressed with these weights and anxious to see how they hold up during the season!
For those of you who are interested here is a link that will help: http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Bowline_Knot.html