Milwards Floatcraft (and eBay sellers)

[PDuffield]

A short while ago I won an auction for a 10ft 6inch Milwards FloatCraft described as 'in excellent condition' and 'rewhipped to a very high standard'.

After the usual hassle of re-arranging the courier delivery due to them always trying to deliver when I'm at work, I finally got it today.

From the typically poor photographs I'd expected to disagree that it had been re-whipped to a high standard, and I was also expecting to find that it was an inch or two short with a bit of a set in the tip. As I planned to strip and re-finish the rod anyway, for the price I wasn't bothered.

On examining the rod, I was right about the whipping which is competent, but not great, and the tip does seem short, with more of a set than I'd expected, but probably fix-able (the seller didn't mention either of these by the way) but it's not even the 10ft 6inch model, it's the 14ft!

I don't like long rods, even when I used carbon all the time I never liked float rods more than 12ft long, so I definitely don't want this thick heavy monstrosity (apologies to any Milwards fans reading this). Now I have to decide whether to send it back and argue about a refund and return postage, try to sell it on as it is, or fix the set and restore it, hopefully to increase its value slightly before selling it on.

All I wanted was a nice restoration project on a rod I could use for some light roach fishing... :hairout:

[Ljm183]

It,s always worth contacting the seller first, tell them your not happy with the rod, point out the faults you have found and the fact that they were not mentioned in the sellers description. ive bought two rods recently from ebay one for £49, after contacting the seller to tell them the faults i found they offered the rod to me for £22, too much work for me so that went back for a full refund plus my postage. Another was a 10½ ft Elasticane "Test" for £21, had worn ferrules after contacting the seller, got £15 refund

[Beresford]

I would send it back. I bought a cane fly rod on ebay recently that was described as 'like new'. It arrived and was worn out, the ferrules were so bad they would not fit together properly. The male ferrule whipping wasn't original and the set in the tip was so bad that it would need replacing. The seller tried to argue the toss saying they didn't take returns so I simply pointed out the faults and the fact that their description was grossly in error. Oh and the rod was 8' not 8' 6" as they said even though I asked if it was an 8' 6 weight! I got a full refund.

There is some real rubbish out there and some very good items as well. Part of the trouble I think it that a lot of sellers know very little about what is to be fair pretty specialist stuff and think that any old cane rod they find in the shed is worth a mint when in reality few are.

[SeanM]

I too would return it. I know it's a hassle and will probably cost you the postage, but if you don't the seller will do it again. I went through a long argument with a seller about a crack in an Octofloat and in the end I kept the rod. Having stripped it to restore it it does indeed have a crack, probably a drying crack in one of the strips and I'm now kicking myself. I've rebuilt the rod, but I probably won't be able to sell it because of the crack, even though it won't affect the performance or reliabilty.

Incidentally Paul, I've just bought a 10ft 6in Floatcraft and they are a lovely rod. Can't wait to try it out once it's rebuilt.

[Weyfarer]

Don't pussyfoot about with this seller. Never mind the kinks, twists and scriuffy threadwork, he advertised a 10' 6" rod and sent you one a yard longer. Demand a full refund of all costs and take it further if he protests.

[Nobby]

Another thought occurs to me;

Assuming all the sections are the same length ( not all Milwards were) you now have a tip section so long, it can be cut down to make a tip for any rod...that's a nice little thing to have tucked away for a rainy day.

All assuming you didn't pay too much for it of course.


On checking the two Milwards catalogues I have..1957 and 1962 I can find no record of this rod at 14 feet.

[PDuffield]

Thanks for the comments and moral support. If I'm honest, there's nothing wrong with the condition of the rod that I wasn't expecting apart from it being a significantly different length, if it had been the 10ft 6in version I'd have been delighted with it at the price I paid which was less than £50 including postage.

With the set in the tip sorted out it could be fished with as it is so I don't think the seller was deliberately mis-representing its condition.

Another thought occurs to me;

Assuming all the sections are the same length ( not all Milwards were) you now have a tip section so long, it can be cut down to make a tip for any rod...that's a nice little thing to have tucked away for a rainy day.

All assuming you didn't pay too much for it of course.


On checking the two Milwards catalogues I have..1957 and 1962 I can find no record of this rod at 14 feet.

Nobby, I may keep it just for the tip. Apart from the set which I don't think it will be too hard to correct, it's in good condition and over 4ft 6in long. It just might be the correct length too, I can't be sure without removing the tip ring, but although its less than the length of the whole cane sections, when assembled the rod is still slightly over 14ft.

If I do decide to 'break it up for spares' the butt and tip rings are quite good too, and the cane from the butt and half of the middle section are thick and strong enough to make a landing net handle.

I've got a Milwards catalogue marked 1957-58 and there are three versions of the FloatCraft listed at 10ft 6in, 12ft and 14 ft, I've attached a scan to this post.

I think I'll put the rod away for a couple of days and then decide what to do. I'll definitely contact the seller to point out the issues, but I think I've almost convinced myself that its worth keeping for what I can do with the parts.

[Nobby]

D'oh..I looked at the wrong rod..the Floatmaster.

Milward's catalogues can get a bit much with so many rods listed at so many lengths. The Reed built Featherlites were at 10 and a 1/2, 11, 12, 13 and 14 feet, though I've only seen them at 12 and 14. It gets still more confusing as some rods weren't illustrated and came with different length sections making them look like another version that has had an accident.

[Nobby]

It is extraordinary how many rods are sold quoting the wrong length...it's not that hard to measure a few bits of cane!



It's also amazing how many rods are described as in 'good condition' though no photo of all three sections together is offered.

An enquiry as the length of each section is paramount.

[GloucesterOldSpot]

There's certainly some imaginative and fanciful descriptions out there. Take a look at this listing (now ended, so no danger of prejudicing the outcome) which I spotted last week:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... TQ:GB:1123

I noticed something not quite right about the avon tip section, so I asked if they could confirm the lengths of the two tips and whether anything had been lost from the avon tip: I received a reply reiterating that both tips were perfect and nothing was missing. Hmmm...