As an ex South African I did a lot of fishing from the beaches using long rods 14' to 22' the reason for the length, get beyond the breakers. The real seats on these rods were 10" to 24" from the butt, with the fulcrum point being so low on got a lot of leverage resulting in long casts. Secondly with using a bucket one can reach the reel comfortably when fighting a fish.

The physics doesn't support the assertion that you shorten the rod by the placement of the reel seat. The extra length below the reel is so you can have better balance when two handing the rod. You push down on the lowest point of the rod while pushing forward with the other hand. The forces exerted on the bait are the results of the forces exerted on the rod. With the reel high on the rod, you can have less travel through the guides for the line, but the force that propels the bait is from the full rod length.

Thank you for your reply, I will certainlytry and learn to cast with a longer butt to reel seat on a rod.
I can see how one will be able to apply greater force to the rod even though the arc of the rod tip will be smaller
I will also have to forget about using a bucket as the reel will be out of my reach, this will be a learning curve as
I will not have all my upper body behind the rod.
One never gets too old to learn new things that is what makes life so interesting I will adopt a new style of fishing
this is a great challenge.
Thanks again for your interest, God bless you . Alan

put an apple on the tip of a stick and flick it off the longer the stick the farther the apple will travel with less effort on your part . length is what gives the full fulcrum

Well for starters leverage. push and pull for casting . secondly for fighting the fish you can place that under your arm and therefore gain even more leverage to fight a fish by putting your body into it .  ALL this adds up to less fatigue over the course of a day.

I agree that length is what increases the speed of the rod tip. If one has your reel close to the butt
and it is controlled by your left hand your right hand will be closer to the butt end of the rod allowing
more rod above the pivot point, right hand, thus increasing the speed of the rod tip. All one is doing is
moving your casting position closer to the butt.

As for fighting a fish, by moving the reel closer to the butt one can use a bucket this enables one to
exert a tremendous ammount of pressure by leaning back and utlizing your body weight. This is the same
as fishing from a boat, standing not from a fighting chair.

Many of huge fish are caught overseas using this method.
Thank you for your comments, Alan