01-04-2003, 10:45 PM
[cool] Dave, you ask all the same "what if..." questions most people ask...if they have never tried float tubing. The short answer is that YES, it is possible to sustain a hole in your donut...other than the one in the middle. This can come from careless handling of a hook or lure, spines from a fish bouncing off your craft, setting your tube down on a sticker or piece of glass during launching or beaching or any one of a dozen other ways in which a sharp point can find your air chamber.
Reality is that if you exercise caution about where you plop your craft down, keep all loose hooks in protective containers and maintain control of the hook or lure on your line, you will be unlikely to create any leaks. If you do get a leak, it is usually a pinhole leak that results in a slow loss of air. You will notice it before you have to "get out and walk" back to shore.
During my many years on the water in a donut dinghy, I have never had my craft sink out from under me. I have never even come close to being in trouble due to lost air. That doesn't mean I have never developed a leak in my craft. Anyone who catches fish with spines will inevitably get dinged. Even little bluegill can drop off the hook on the way aboard and leave a spine puncture in an air chamber if they bounce off at the wrong angle.
Part of safe float tubing is maintaining "system checks" while afloat. A full bladder needs no system check. But, if you periodically check to see if you are floating high and that your air chambers are tight and fully inflated, you are less likely to do a "Poseidon Adventure" rollover.
It is not unusual to notice some deflation of your craft shortly after launching...especially in cold water. When the air in your tube chills, it contracts. Go to chore and air it back up firm, and then monitor it. Chances are that it will hold shape. If it continues to lose air, you can assume you do have a leak. Either stay close to shore, for repeated air-ups, or go home and strip your craft down to the air chamber to effect a repair.
There is one thing that WILL seriously impact your flotation...IMMEDIATELY. That is cutting into it with a knife blade. Had a buddy trying to cut some strips of a small fish to decorate his jigs, and his knife cut through the tube cover and into the tube. Luckily, he was in fairly shallow water, because he did have to walk back to shore. WHOOSH is a sound you do not want to hear when you are flotation fishing. That's why you should always wear your vest.
FISH SAFE, HAVE FUN AND DO IT AGAIN SOME MORE.
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Reality is that if you exercise caution about where you plop your craft down, keep all loose hooks in protective containers and maintain control of the hook or lure on your line, you will be unlikely to create any leaks. If you do get a leak, it is usually a pinhole leak that results in a slow loss of air. You will notice it before you have to "get out and walk" back to shore.
During my many years on the water in a donut dinghy, I have never had my craft sink out from under me. I have never even come close to being in trouble due to lost air. That doesn't mean I have never developed a leak in my craft. Anyone who catches fish with spines will inevitably get dinged. Even little bluegill can drop off the hook on the way aboard and leave a spine puncture in an air chamber if they bounce off at the wrong angle.
Part of safe float tubing is maintaining "system checks" while afloat. A full bladder needs no system check. But, if you periodically check to see if you are floating high and that your air chambers are tight and fully inflated, you are less likely to do a "Poseidon Adventure" rollover.
It is not unusual to notice some deflation of your craft shortly after launching...especially in cold water. When the air in your tube chills, it contracts. Go to chore and air it back up firm, and then monitor it. Chances are that it will hold shape. If it continues to lose air, you can assume you do have a leak. Either stay close to shore, for repeated air-ups, or go home and strip your craft down to the air chamber to effect a repair.
There is one thing that WILL seriously impact your flotation...IMMEDIATELY. That is cutting into it with a knife blade. Had a buddy trying to cut some strips of a small fish to decorate his jigs, and his knife cut through the tube cover and into the tube. Luckily, he was in fairly shallow water, because he did have to walk back to shore. WHOOSH is a sound you do not want to hear when you are flotation fishing. That's why you should always wear your vest.
FISH SAFE, HAVE FUN AND DO IT AGAIN SOME MORE.
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