Took a beating today at 90 fsw in a 2-knot push, and my straight-barrel holder kept rolling the rod off the seam — precision goes out the window when you’re fighting torque and watching your umbilical. Anyone running a pistol-grip stinger that locks 3.2 mm rods solid without cooking the insulator, and a lanyard setup that still lets me drop safe and clean if the line goes hot?
On 3.2s I use the Arcair Sea-Weld pistol grip with the 15 deg offset and ‘clock the head 15 deg and pre-load the lead 1/4 turn’ so torque doesn’t roll the rod; I also strip an extra 10–12 mm of flux and lightly flatten the bare shank so the jaws bite, which keeps it solid without cooking the phenolic if you stay <=160 A. For a clean drop, clip your lanyard to a small Wichard snap shackle with a 12–15 lb mono breakaway so a yank dumps it free if the line goes hot; if you can’t get Arcair, the Broco BR-20 with a fresh sleeve behaves close. You running DCEN in that push?