The Quill Project – Chapter 1
THE QUILL PROJECT
Chapter 1
THE HOLY GRAIL Fishermen all over the world are seeking lighter and stronger equipment. Nobody wants to use equipment that is heavy and cumbersome. It is easy to make fishing rods stronger simply by adding more material or upscaling. However, that will also increase weight. Likewise, it is easy to reduce weight by using less material, but it will result in an inadequate rod that will be prone to failure.
In the last 20 years we have not seen any breakthrough in rod design since the introduction of pre-impregnated carbon fibre sheets. Being a company that is continually obsessed with making the best, we are constantly introducing cost effective and pragmatic enhancements to improve the performance, strength and efficiency of our rods. Many of these subtle enhancements have largely been unnoticed, for example; reverse tapered joints, anti-tip-wrap choke systems, hidden joints, targeted reinforcement, lightweight arbors and many more. We will elaborate on some of these in separate chapters.
PROJECT QUILL Temple Reef is embarking on a mission to achieve the Holy Grail of rod design. It is codenamed PROJECT QUILL. The objective of Project Quill is to build a rod that is substantially lighter than existing rod designs while maintaining the same tensile and compressive strength. With all of our best resources and capabilities, we are collaborating with PhDs in the fields of material science, composite development, design optimisation, analysis and assessment, advanced manufacturing etc. in our quest for the best.
Working with scientist and engineers unravelled a whole new spectrum of probability and prospect in achieving our goal, constrained only by cost effectiveness. Our team of scientists and engineers have employed new technologies, new materials and scientific models incorporating numerical analysis & optimisation, utilizing powerful computer simulation software ie. Finite Element Analysis. These approaches are the gold standard adopted by high tech industries such as Aerospace, F1 Racing, Americas Cup Yacht Racing and highly technical sports such as Golf, Tennis and Archery where the best equipment is crucial in achieving success.
LIGHT WEIGHT EQUIPMENT The lighter and stronger the equipment, the greater the speed and the ease of handling. Some of the key improvements and advantage we can achieve with a lightweight rod:
DISTANCE – When making a cast, a lighter rod will enable a higher casting speed which will equate to higher lure velocity that will translate to longer distance. We all know that the angler who makes the long cast is usually the one that will reach the fish nearer the reef or at the dropoff thus getting more hook ups.
FATIGUE – Lighter equipment will reduce fatigue. Basic probability theory and statistics tells us that the guy with a line in the water and who makes more casts will land more fish that the guy who is exhausted from casting with a heavy rod and is resting in the cabin!
CONTROL – A lighter rod will enable the angler to focus on controlling the fish rather than struggle with heavy and cumbersome equipment. This is a very important aspect when hunting for trophy specimens where the most minute detail separates failure and success.
THE DESIGN In the next chapter we will reveal how we are designing and engineering a prototype that is potentially 40-50% lighter than conventional rods yet maintaining the same tensile and compressive strength. This is a massive weight saving and it has been achieved in two revolutionary ways… Stay tuned as we continue in our journey to make the magic real with Temple Reef’s special alchemy of hi-tech materials and groundbreaking engineering designs!