Hutchy Horizons - 80's original rods

It's a long shot fella's but has anyone still got an original Hutchy Horizon, 12ft 2½lb tc, from the 1980's, or a decent photo of one?

No photo, but I still have an unused blank somewhere.

I worked with Century Composites on the development of that blank, you see, before it was marketed by Rod as the Horizon and by myself as the Express.

I played a blinder a little later - I got Century to produce a cheaper version of the blank exclusively for me in smooth-ground finish carbon (no kevlar in its wall, which the Horizon had) and marketed the rod as the "Pikemaster I". Sold at a very reasonable price, the rod fairly flew.

"Not a lot of people know that...."


PS - More about the Horizon / Express. A pal and I took the very first blank out of the factory (sent to my then home in Old Windsor), taped 6 big intermediates on it, hotglued a large diameter tip ring, taped a 20mm Fuji FPS fitting to the butt, put a Cardinal 57 fixed-spool loaded with 8lb mono with a 30lb shock leader in front, then took it down to the largest bit of open grass local to my home (and to "Black Water Kevin"'s - he and his girl were living at my place after a long India trip), Runnymede Meadow.

I can cast, but Kevin really has / had a mighty throwing arm.

He did 127 measured yards first chuck.

I phoned the Century factory in Washington on getting home: "We have a winner."

that's interesting Paul... and well done on the blank. I love mine and still use them a lot for piking, and plenty of other stuff.

They're so well used they look on their last legs so I've decided to give them a new lease of life and get them rebuilt. My pair were blanks so they don't look original.

Can you remember what they looked like out of the shop? I'm just deciding on the rebuild and thought it might be nice to build them similar, if I like them of course. Don't know why, but I seem to remember a fair bit of brown in the colour scheme (which will probably break the deal for me)... I might be wrong there though as it was only a small photo.

They were indeed, mighty casting rods of their day. A 3oz lead went a long, long way. Great playing action as well. I prefer them to my 3lb, 12ft, custom built Harrison chimera's for piking! :doh:

Brown finish for Rod's rods rings a bell, though I can't remember handling one at a show or seeing one on the bank.

We made sure that the two rods looked different, you see.

My Express was the same blank, but of unground plain carbon as it came off the mandrel then clear varnish dipped. My standard build for the Express was an abbreviated duplon handle and Fuji FPS, a big butt guide, 5 (sometimes 6) large intermediates plus tip, wrapped in black Gudebrod "A" gauge nylon thread and finished in FlexCoat two-pack rod epoxy (unavailable in Britain at the time). The latter varnish is wonderful - I have barbel rods - leger and trotters and heaven knows what other rods that I made for myself in the mid to late 1980s - that, despite being very well used over the years, are still nigh on perfect.

yes, he's always liked brown. Some of his brown rods are very nice looking but I don't think it suits the blank colour.

cheers anyway mate, it was good to hear a bit about the history.

I'll keep looking for a few days but will probably just revert back to how I was planning.

Did you try google images?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=R...niv&sa=X&ei=AUwnVK2MI8jkauPjgZAD&ved=0CCoQsAQ

yes Rob, thanks, but there aren't any photo's of the originals.