Just wondering if anyone has any information on an Abu Ambassadeur 20? It's a reel that I haven't seen before (I'm from Australia so maybe they're more common elsewhere) and have only been able to find one reference to it on the internet.
It is a very solid lever drag, weighing close to 3 1/2 pounds! I did manage to find a couple of pictures on the net (haven't got my digital camera with me to take a pic of this one) and have listed them below.
If anyone has any information on it, or a rough idea of how much they might be worth, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Why sure, Swifty. I'd be glad to help- That happens to be one of my favorite reels. I have a 30 myself, formerly Dan Skupien's. Never been used, except for research for his book.
The 20 & 30 was the brainchild of engineers Hugo Svensson and Åke Murvall at ABU; they're the ones who came up with the one-knob takedown concept. The reels debuted in 1976 and were manufactured until 1984- Quite a long run.
There are relatively many kicking around, but because of their cult status they don't change owners very often. I bought mine for 3000 SEK, but saw one on an auction site recently for about half that. That range, with an average of 2200 SEK is usually the going rate. Currently you can divide by about 7.5 for USD.
Want to use it for fishing? Go ahead! But you might want to consider having a machinist crank out an aluminum spool for you to replace the factory cast bronze one. It will shave off a pound (!) in weight. Maybe also consider using an HT-100 drag material instead of the factory cork.
BONUS:
Not known to all, the project also included a 50-lb reel. A prototype was made, that now resides in the ABU museum in Svängsta. Also, an 80-lb prototype was made and sent for testing on the Great Barrier Reef. It was later stolen from Jack Erskine's shop in Cairns.
How's that? Any help?
Doc.
Last edited by Dr. Rob on Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks very much for that Dr Rob. Very helpful! Like I said, I haven't seen to many of them kicking about here in Australia, so it's interesting to hear a bit about their history.
Noticed where you pilfered the pictures from. Great gallery. Lots to look at.
There are a few of those reels kicking around Australia. You could ask around at the Sportfish Australia tackle forum and see what comes up. I know Jack made a few aluminum spools for them.
Also, I might as well add that ABU in Svängsta still has a good supply of spare parts. Not that you're ever likely to need them.
Well, enjoy.
BONUS, BONUS tidbit of lore:
In 1975, ABU gave one of the reels to Swedish IGFA guy Jan Olsson to test. He caught a halibut. Nineteen kilos.
There, beat that.
