07-08-2007, 12:22 PM
[cool][#0000ff]It is hard to believe that I have been tubing for over five decades. During many of those years, I have taken my current ride into many spots that were anywhere from a few steps away from my vehicle to several miles back in to a mountain lake or remote bass pond.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the early years of my tubing career, I was a lot younger and tougher, and the old round tubes were usually pretty light. That was also in the days before I started adding sonar, batteries and truckloads of PVC goodies. I could just carry my tube under one arm if I wanted to. I usually balanced it up on my head, while carrying my fins and maybe one or two rods in the other hand. Life was simpler then...in a lot of ways.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In the pictures I have attached below, I have included a shot of me carrying a round tube (and a big basket of fish) up from a beach down in Mexico, on the Sea of Cortez. Another picture shows me balancing a Kennebec on my head. By that time I was loading the tubes up pretty good, and there was some weight involved.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When I got my Super Fat Cat, it had a basic weight of about 12 pounds. That was two to three times more than my previous round tubes or Kennebec. And, by the time I decorated it with PVC rod tubes, sonar and a battery...plus several boxes of lures, a fish basket and net, etc....I had a pretty good load to carry, if I wanted to get from point A to point B.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The Fat Cats have 4 D rings on the underside, for the attachment of backpack straps. And, for carrying a basic tube any distance, that is the way to go. However, getting a fully loaded SFC up on your back, with pack straps, is tough duty. I found it easier to rig the top two D rings with a wide strap, clipped on each side, and to pull the loaded craft up onto my head with a "tump line" arrangement. TubeBabe and I have logged a lot of "ground time" on the way to the waters we fish while carrying our loaded Fat Cats with a tump line.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Being creative and lazy, I have continually experiemented with various carts, wagons and contrivances for attaching a loaded tube and getting it to the water without disaster. The good news is that almost anything with wheels will work for some distance, but almost all will suffer defeat under different conditions. Some can't handle rough ground. None can handle deep mud. Some are unstable and will dump your goodies every few feet.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]In a couple of the pics below, there is a Stroller tube cart. I salvaged a couple of sets of wheels from a discarded baby stroller and worked them into a PVC frame (what else>). It worked somewhat, but had to be pulled and there was no positive control when going over obstacles. Dump city. Better than nothing, over level terrain, but not good for long jaunts over rough trails.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Last year, I bought a cheap golf bag carrier at a yard sale. I never got around to trying to rig it for my SFC. Recently, I got another yard sale bargain, on a really compact but sturdy golf bag carrier. I could see the potential. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]When we got our new H3's, with a bit more size and weight, I figured it was time to put the golf carrier to the test. After a bit of fitting and tinkering, I think I have come up with one of my better innovations. It took some playing with the method of lashing everything down, but when I finished, I took my H3 for a ride up and down the block, up and over curbs...and got lots of interesting looks from the neighbors. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]This setup works. It is very stable and can be either pushed or pulled. There is plenty of clearance between the H3 and the wheels, so no rubbing. And, the weight of the fully loaded H3 is probably less than a golf bag full of clubs, balls, "bottles", etc. So, it should take the weight over many trips.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Finally, the cart itself weighs a mere 6.5 pounds, and folds up into a very small package. I have not had it on the water yet, but by next week I will include photos of the cart stowed and strapped in and on the "bow" of my H3. I have already checked and it fits up there just fine. I can use it to get my craft to the water...like in the NE corner of Willard Bay, across the dried mud flats...and then take it with me to use wherever I choose to beach my craft later.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I began by trying to use the small straps and buckles that came with the cart. They did not fit my application. I removed them and easily threaded some 1/4" nylon rope pieces through the tubing of the cart where the cross bars are placed to hold the bags and stabilize the ride. I put a loop in one end to use for quick cinching. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is a short bar at the bottom, to provide a stand and to hold the golf bag. I slipped a piece of schedule 40 PVC (what else?) down over that little bar (fit perfectly) and put a T on the top. This provides a stop for the bow of the H3 and provides a lash down point. There is a cross support close to the bottom...for golf bags...and it works perfectly to stabilize the front of the H3 when moving. By the way, that is the first point you lash down when loading up the tube.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There is also a cross bar stabilizer (bag holder) at about the mid point of the bottom of the seat on the H3. There are two D rings that are spaces almost identically to the width of that cross bar, within an inch or so. Ideal for running the rope lashing through the D Rings and securing in the middle.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The top lash down is accomplished with the top D rings, and the rope is simply run around the shaft of the handle. When all three lash down points are secure, that puppy ain't goin' nowhere you don't want it to go.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have included pictures which should help to illustrate how it all goes together. With the quick cinch rope lashdown arrangement, I can attach the tube in less than 5 minutes. If I use slip knots in the lashdown, I can remove the cart in less than a minute at the water, fold it up and bungee it to my tube in another minute or so. Piece of pie.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I plan to take it up to Willard sometime this week and then to find some more walk in locations that I can use my new cart. I can think of a couple of places on Utah Lake that it would help..and maybe down the road at Jordanelle Rock Cliffs. I really think I am on to something here.[/#0000ff]
[signature]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the early years of my tubing career, I was a lot younger and tougher, and the old round tubes were usually pretty light. That was also in the days before I started adding sonar, batteries and truckloads of PVC goodies. I could just carry my tube under one arm if I wanted to. I usually balanced it up on my head, while carrying my fins and maybe one or two rods in the other hand. Life was simpler then...in a lot of ways.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In the pictures I have attached below, I have included a shot of me carrying a round tube (and a big basket of fish) up from a beach down in Mexico, on the Sea of Cortez. Another picture shows me balancing a Kennebec on my head. By that time I was loading the tubes up pretty good, and there was some weight involved.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When I got my Super Fat Cat, it had a basic weight of about 12 pounds. That was two to three times more than my previous round tubes or Kennebec. And, by the time I decorated it with PVC rod tubes, sonar and a battery...plus several boxes of lures, a fish basket and net, etc....I had a pretty good load to carry, if I wanted to get from point A to point B.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The Fat Cats have 4 D rings on the underside, for the attachment of backpack straps. And, for carrying a basic tube any distance, that is the way to go. However, getting a fully loaded SFC up on your back, with pack straps, is tough duty. I found it easier to rig the top two D rings with a wide strap, clipped on each side, and to pull the loaded craft up onto my head with a "tump line" arrangement. TubeBabe and I have logged a lot of "ground time" on the way to the waters we fish while carrying our loaded Fat Cats with a tump line.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Being creative and lazy, I have continually experiemented with various carts, wagons and contrivances for attaching a loaded tube and getting it to the water without disaster. The good news is that almost anything with wheels will work for some distance, but almost all will suffer defeat under different conditions. Some can't handle rough ground. None can handle deep mud. Some are unstable and will dump your goodies every few feet.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]In a couple of the pics below, there is a Stroller tube cart. I salvaged a couple of sets of wheels from a discarded baby stroller and worked them into a PVC frame (what else>). It worked somewhat, but had to be pulled and there was no positive control when going over obstacles. Dump city. Better than nothing, over level terrain, but not good for long jaunts over rough trails.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Last year, I bought a cheap golf bag carrier at a yard sale. I never got around to trying to rig it for my SFC. Recently, I got another yard sale bargain, on a really compact but sturdy golf bag carrier. I could see the potential. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When we got our new H3's, with a bit more size and weight, I figured it was time to put the golf carrier to the test. After a bit of fitting and tinkering, I think I have come up with one of my better innovations. It took some playing with the method of lashing everything down, but when I finished, I took my H3 for a ride up and down the block, up and over curbs...and got lots of interesting looks from the neighbors. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]This setup works. It is very stable and can be either pushed or pulled. There is plenty of clearance between the H3 and the wheels, so no rubbing. And, the weight of the fully loaded H3 is probably less than a golf bag full of clubs, balls, "bottles", etc. So, it should take the weight over many trips.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Finally, the cart itself weighs a mere 6.5 pounds, and folds up into a very small package. I have not had it on the water yet, but by next week I will include photos of the cart stowed and strapped in and on the "bow" of my H3. I have already checked and it fits up there just fine. I can use it to get my craft to the water...like in the NE corner of Willard Bay, across the dried mud flats...and then take it with me to use wherever I choose to beach my craft later.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I began by trying to use the small straps and buckles that came with the cart. They did not fit my application. I removed them and easily threaded some 1/4" nylon rope pieces through the tubing of the cart where the cross bars are placed to hold the bags and stabilize the ride. I put a loop in one end to use for quick cinching. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There is a short bar at the bottom, to provide a stand and to hold the golf bag. I slipped a piece of schedule 40 PVC (what else?) down over that little bar (fit perfectly) and put a T on the top. This provides a stop for the bow of the H3 and provides a lash down point. There is a cross support close to the bottom...for golf bags...and it works perfectly to stabilize the front of the H3 when moving. By the way, that is the first point you lash down when loading up the tube.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]There is also a cross bar stabilizer (bag holder) at about the mid point of the bottom of the seat on the H3. There are two D rings that are spaces almost identically to the width of that cross bar, within an inch or so. Ideal for running the rope lashing through the D Rings and securing in the middle.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The top lash down is accomplished with the top D rings, and the rope is simply run around the shaft of the handle. When all three lash down points are secure, that puppy ain't goin' nowhere you don't want it to go.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have included pictures which should help to illustrate how it all goes together. With the quick cinch rope lashdown arrangement, I can attach the tube in less than 5 minutes. If I use slip knots in the lashdown, I can remove the cart in less than a minute at the water, fold it up and bungee it to my tube in another minute or so. Piece of pie.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I plan to take it up to Willard sometime this week and then to find some more walk in locations that I can use my new cart. I can think of a couple of places on Utah Lake that it would help..and maybe down the road at Jordanelle Rock Cliffs. I really think I am on to something here.[/#0000ff]
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