Fishing Forum

Sadly, I may have taken my last float tubing trip, for the year, yesterday. (we'll see) I was wondering if there are any special procedures that I should do in winterizing the Fat Cat? Specifically, should I disassemble the seat foam and dry them out? Also, should I fold up the the fabric or leave it loose? Thanks in advance.
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[cool]I'm sure TD will have a good answer for you soon on that, but I believe that at the present he is out (hopefully) nailing the walleyes at Utah Lake.

When you went fishing yesterday, how did you do, and where did you go?
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I went up and exercised a few troutskis after work at Payson Lake. I left a posting of the trip on the general board.
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[cool][#0000ff]WHASSAMATTA YOU WIMP? Hanging up your pride and joy this early in the season? Man, you gonna get banned from dis board.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Just in case you have a good reason (I can't think of any) why you want to quit tubing for the year, here's the skinny on "winterizing".[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not necessary to remove and/or clean the foam seats. Also, no need to completely deflate and fold up the craft, unless you need to get it out of the way and make room for something else. When not using my Fat Cats for awhile (seldom) I just lay them flat on a table in the garage, at about 50% inflation.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]All of the materials used in the construction (nylon, PVC, urethane, etc.) are pretty tough and can withstand repeated soaking and drying. They do not rot or mildew, unless in contact with something else that does. About the worst thing you could do is to store them fully inflated, in a hot garage, in the middle of July. Almost as bad as leaving them fully inflated for the drive home, in a hot car, in the middle of the summer. Can you say KABOOM?[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Cosmetically, you may wish to lay the craft out on the driveway and wet it down with a hose. Then, spray on some good heavy duty cleaner and take a brush to the cover, to clean up some of the "stuff" that accumulates...both above and below the water line. Then, drape it over a sawhorse or small table to let it dry thoroughly before putting it to rest for the winter. And, be sure you close the door behind it tightly so you don't have to listen to it whimpering for the next few months.[/#0000ff]
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Got the points about storing the tube in the garage in July or anywhere that gets hot. I'm wondering about those colder places like mine that gets as cold as 10 below. Any points in doing something about it just as doggonefishin was asking about? When I got that old Fishmaster and I just threw it on top of my son's stored Mustang and left it there, I didn't see anything different. (It was already lost of it's original zippers at that time, which I wasn't too worried about it, now it has the new zippers and now I'm worried!)
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[cool][#0000ff]As I mentioned, most of the materials are pretty stable...at least in modern craft. Not sure about the old Fishmaster tube. If you have replaced the zippers, hopefully they were sewn with nylon thread. If not, then you CAN develop future seam failure. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Even good nylon sewing jobs can come apart after while. That is probably the main problem I have had with tubes over the years...seam separation. Different makers have different warranties. Some are for one year, some for five and some really don't give you more than just a cheap price.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I had to learn to sew a long time ago. Nothing fancy, but I know how to push a big needle loaded with heavy nylon thread. I've repaired a lot of zippers, seams and pockets over the years. Heck, I even had to repair a D-ring attachment on the bottom of my Super Fat Cat. It was one of the 4 D-rings installed for backpacking the craft. One of mine ripped off and I used a combo of heavy thread and epoxy to put it back on. It will be there long after the rest of the craft is disintegrated.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Back to the subject. Extreme cold is not as bad for tubes as high heat. Most of the materials can easily survive below freezing temperatures and not degrade. Just don't take a frozen tube and start bending it. You can crack stiffly frozen air chambers. Wait for the spring thaw before you play with it again.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]All that being said, it is hoped that you guys love and respect your "float buddies" enough to try to provide a nice place for them to snooze through the winter. They don't ask for much, and they give so much enjoyment. [/#0000ff]
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" [font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][#0000ff]WHASSAMATTA YOU WIMP? Hanging up your pride and joy this early in the season? Man, you gonna get banned from dis board."[/#0000ff] And I always thought it would be for a heated discussion about bucket biologists, June suckers or Strawberry chubs. [blush] You do have a very good point though, I'm going tubing next week. Do you think the WB will start hitting a bit more at Lincoln? I could go for some scampi or po-mans shrimp.[/size][/black][/font]
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[font "Arial"][size 1] I like your new seat idea. The seat on my little pet has been a source of frustration (and lower back pain) all season. One question though, would a seat like that slide back and forth against the rigid foam of the regular Fat cat and be unstable? If not, I might just have to hit a yard sale or 2. [/size][/font]

[font "Arial"][size 1] [font "Times New Roman"] "[/font][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 1][#0000ff]All that being said, it is hoped that you guys love and respect your "float buddies" enough to try to provide a nice place for them to snooze through the winter. They don't ask for much, and they give so much enjoyment."[/#0000ff][/size][/black][/font][/size][/black][/font][font "Times New Roman"] Nothing but the best for my critters. She will get to curl up by the hearth all winter and remind me of Jordanelle smallies and channel cat water skiing. [/font][/size][/font]
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[cool][#0000ff]Hey, you left out "corn chumming". Ya know I was just pokin' fun at ya.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is still a lot of good white bass catchin' left before "hard water". They have been schooled up pretty good down there, but the storm this past week seems to have scattered them. They'll be back...along with the Terminator.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Here's a pic of some whities I caught just after a snowstorm in November a few years ago. I caught them every month of the year last year, including January and February. In case you didn't catch my post last year, in January ([url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=178414;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread"]TUBE SLEDDIN')[/url] I even use my tube as a sled over the snow.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I predict that there will be some good white bass action for the next 60 days. Bundle up good and wear your neoprenes.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]By the way, how about posting your question on the seat over on that thread. Makes it easier for future reference if anyone is trying to scare up info. Thanks.[/#0000ff]
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