Dendou-Maru, Shimano’s First Electric Reel, Making Boat Fishing More Comfortable and Enjoyable

The Dendou-Maru series, Shimano’s first range of electric reels, was launched in 1987. Dendou-Maru became the forerunner equipped with an automatic winding function and the technology to accurately set the hook rig at an intended water depth, which are now taken for granted. Shimano continued to pursue power and speed, which could not be achieved manually, and worked to improve functions, such as durability and operability. The Dendou-Maru series continued to lead Shimano’s electric reels for more than 20 years after its release. It continued to offer new value by using cutting-edge technology.

STORY
SERIES

STORY

Product development from a user-first viewpoint

Going offshore by boat increases the target fish species and offers more opportunities to catch big fish. However, it is difficult for beginners to accurately set the hook rig at the intended water depth and achieve a large catch. Even for experienced anglers, it required considerable physical strength to wind a line from deep water. To cope with these issues, Shimano embarked on a project in the 1980s to develop a reel by using electric and electronic technologies. In 1987, it released TITANOS Dendou-Maru ED 6000, Shimano’s first electric reel. The product helped add the power required for boat fishing and bottom fishing. It also featured a compact design while focusing on operability. The birth of Dendou-Maru expanded the roles of reels and heralded the future of electric reels. Dendou-Maru was a forerunner of the digitization of Shimano’s fishing tackle. While improving power and operability and enhancing usability through reduction in weight and size, the Dendou-Maru also reflected creative ideas to allow anglers to experience the joy of fishing. For example, the manual winding function was provided, without digitalizing the entire functions, to enable anglers to enjoy interacting with the fish they caught (i.e., the joy of fishing). When a big fish was on the hook rig, anglers could manually assist the electric winding. Dendou-Maru expanded the potential for enjoying fishing, instead of focusing solely on convenience, by taking into account all potential situations in fishing.

Successive Models That Continued to Evolve for Users Through Shimano’s Challenges

The lightweight and robust Titanos body of TITANOS Dendou-Maru ED 6000, which was released in 1987, featured the proprietary cutting-edge functions of Shimano, which was the pioneer of reel evolution. It was equipped with a function to automatically set the hook rig at the intended water depth. It became the first product to feature the full-fledged function to automatically wind a line using a motor by operating a switch, which is the norm today. Subsequently, Shimano worked on the development of a function to accurately set the hook rig at the intended water depth. In 1990, it developed the Shimano Line Program System (SLS), which memorized the number of spool rotations and the line length when winding a line on a reel in advance to calculate the water depth. The products released in 1990 and 1994 featured the Technique Master, which was designed to automatically perform the luring action, and the right depth announcement system, whose calibration accuracy was further improved, respectively. Shimano also worked to enhance functionality. In 2001, an easy fishing mode was introduced. It automatically adjusted the motor winding speed depending on the fish’s movement to prevent the fish from coming off the hook. The another-model released in the same year featured a large movable LCD.

With the advent of the PE line, Shimano made efforts to further increase the power of its electric reels. In 2010, the GIGAMAX MOTOR, a brushless motor, was used for the flagship Dendou-Maru 9000 BeastMaster ZB model. It should be noted that brushless motors are also used in racing cars and Shinkansen bullet trains. The motor achieved high durability and overwhelming power and speed, which were required of electric reels. It was also designed to endure severe control operation. In 2012, the Dendou-Maru series was subdivided into the BeastMaster, ForceMaster, PLAYS, and PLEMIO series, which continue to evolve to this day.

SERIES

Some of series are listed.

1987

TITANOS Dendou-Maru ED 6000

This was the first model of the Dendou-Maru series. Shimano’s first electric reel was equipped with an electronic control function. The lightweight and robust Titanos body incorporated a function to automatically set the hook rig at the intended water depth. The compact design focused on operability to achieve automatic winding by simply operating a switch. The reel featured Shimano’s cutting-edge technologies at that time, including an electric high speed gear, an electric high power gear, and an innovative 4WD system, which enabled the angler to select the winding speed and power.

1989

TITANOS DIGITANA Dendou-Maru EC

This model featured the Shimano Line Program System (SLS), which achieved an accurate water depth count. The SLS was achieved by the development of a function to set the hook rig at the intended water depth, which was incorporated in products from the first Dendou-Maru model. The model was fully equipped with high functionality, including a squid jerking function, which made it possible to lure squids by electrically controlled three-speed winding and intermittent winding, and a large LCD digital depth counter, which enabled anglers to directly read the water depth in 50 cm increments. Despite the high specifications, the compact body was achieved by a spool with a built-in motor.

1990

DIGITANA SLS Dendou-Maru TM

This model enabled all boat fishing techniques by microcomputer control, from setting the hook rig at the intended water depth to winding. It also featured the Technique Master, a boat fishing program that performed automatic luring action by memorizing the winding method for up to 19 seconds. The model was equipped with an array of functions to make fishing more comfortable, such as the digital depth counter, which displayed the water depth in 10 cm increments to set the hook rig at the intended water depth more precisely, the bottom/water depth setting, which was effective for memorizing the bottom and the water depth, the water depth 0 setting, which accurately displayed the water depth from the water surface, and the balance seat, which was designed by taking into account the weight distribution.

1997

Dendou-Maru 3000XH

The weight was reduced as far as possible, achieving a miraculous deadweight of 675 g in addition to an ultra-compact design. The model was equipped with a new super magnet motor with nine-speed shifting, attaining both extra-high speed and high power despite the compact design. Powerful winding with high speed and torque achieved the electric jigging method. The Technique Master memorized and reproduced the winding method for up to 30 seconds. The product also featured the “from bottom” mode, which indicated the water depth from the bottom by simple operation, the automatic tension error calibration system, and the automatic line release function.

2001

Dendou-Maru 1000H

Characterized by overwhelming speed and power, the ultra-compact and lightweight Dendou-Maru series was equipped with an easy fishing mode, a function that enhanced convenience. It automatically adjusted the motor winding speed depending on the fish’s movement to prevent the fish from coming off the hook. No troublesome operation was needed. This became Shimano’s first electric reel equipped with the Super Stopper II. The drag, for which a carbon drag washer was used, could be finely adjusted. Durability also improved significantly. Importance was attached to operability, through such features as the crank handle that was easy to wind without shaking, the double-click operation switch, and integration of the connector with the main unit to avoid obstruction by the cable. The high-performance reel was easy to use.

2001

Dendou-Maru 3000SP

The product was equipped with a fishing navigation display, a large movable LCD which showed how to set and operate the high-performance electric reel. An ultra-large dot LCD screen was used for the first time for the LCD of a boat fishing reel. It ensured visibility in all fishing site conditions and enabled the display of dynamic images.

2006

Dendou-Maru 3000 Squid Special

The product supported the Tankenmaru fish finder system. It was equipped with a newly developed motor, which achieved a maximum winding speed of as high as 205 m/min. It offered two modes, a constant speed mode and an easy fishing mode, that were switchable depending on the target fish. The durability and heat resistance of the gears and other parts of the reel were significantly improved for fishing with a high load and at high temperature. The reel was equipped with a function to easily enjoy fishing of Japanese flying squid with multiple hook rigs.

2008

Dendou-Maru 3000XH

The maximum winding speed was 230 m/min. The maximum winding speed could be attained only by using the technical lever. Simpler operability was achieved by eliminating the fast winding button. The practical winding endurance was 4.4 kg. The product attained both speed and high power. The reel was equipped with two switchable winding modes (a constant speed mode and an easy fishing mode) and a three-step jerking function for squid fishing. It ensured both basic specifications and high additional functionality.

2010

Dendou-Maru9000 BeastMaster ZB

The product was equipped with the GIGAMAX MOTOR, Shimano’s first brushless motor. It attained high torque, rotation and durability, and achieved unprecedented power. Despite its lightweight and compact design, the reel was equipped with a built-in ZB wireless communication module, which was convenient for communication with Tankenmaru. Communication was enabled without using a special cable.