Flynn Chyper, Blue Water Spear Gun (Student Awards 2018)

Flynn Cypher lives in the middle of the Indian Ocean on Christmas Island and is the next generation of avid fisherman and free divers. He designed and created a custom made spear gun as part of his year 12 woodworking course that he studied at Christmas Island District High School. The custom made spear gun was inspired by traditional construction methods unique to the island and he wanted it to be produced from local timbers. Flynn tested several varieties of local timbers found in the rainforest for suitable density, strength and durability. It was critical that the timber could handle the huge forces the spear gun power bands were going to put onto it but also it needed to be of a neutral buoyancy for performance. It took a lot of work and a couple of prototypes getting the balance right and to achieve minimal recoil. The spear gun was designed specifically for blue water hunting and with the abundance of pelagic fish on Christmas Island he definitely gets the chance to put his spear gun through its paces. There were so many technical aspects of this project from choosing the right timber blank, machining the dovetail groove for the enclosed track, setting the trigger mechanism, hand shaping the wings and creating the handle. Flynn has 40,000 followers on his Instagram page (saltwaterprodigy) and has a massive following on Facebook and on his YouTube account. In 2018 he featured on the covers of Western Angler and Cast magazines. He has had a huge amount of interest in making these guns in mass production and this gun exemplifies peoples increasing demand in quality hand craftsmanship. Year 12, Christmas Island District High School. Teacher: Digby Edwards

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