This is what is left of my first reel. The original Bob Johnson had a Martz reel, not sure if it was a copy or original Martz. I took it home over a weekend, and my father and I measured it all and we came up with this monstrosity. Martz reels were Plexiglas, and the center spool was sealed and kinda had some buoyancy that offset the weight of the reel and line. All we had around the shop was aluminum, so this was born. It was heavy when you put 450' of line on it. I used it for several years.

We picked a poor alloy of aluminum to use. While diving in the Bahamas, the salt water started to cause intergranular corrosion of the reel. I soaked it, cleaned it, and tried to stop the corrosion, but it finally ate the reel.



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