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Trying to contact hustler898
#1
I am new in BFT and would like to get in contact with hustler898, I have some questions about his float tube. Can anyone tell me how to find or email him? Please email me at [url "mailto:thefirststrike2001@yahoo.com"]thefirststrike2001@yahoo.com[/url] with any info. Thanks.

Dave Riley
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#2
[cool][#0000ff]Welcome aboard Dave. Al Abela (Hustler) has not logged in for over a year, according to his profile. He was living in Taylorsville, Utah, not too far from me, and I used to hear from him and fish with him on occasion.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]If you are unable to find him in the white pages, I can probably answer most of your questions on his tube. I helped him put it together. As I recall it was an Outfitters Expedition "knockoff" of the Trout Unlimited Togiak. He got a good deal on it at one of the Salt Lake area sports outlets and it seemed to be a pretty good craft.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]As with all of us, his life took some turns and he drifted away from BFT. I have not heard from him for a long time.[/#0000ff]
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#3
Sorry...the guest response was actually me...forgot to log in...although how I managed to post without logging in is beyond me. [blush]
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#4
[cool][#0000ff]Inasmuch as we do not have a lot of problems with "hit and run" posts...from unregistered visitors...we have not had to institute a policy that blocks unregistered posts. We are really user friendly.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I doubt that you will find replacement parts or backup service. As with much of the "offshore" merchandise sold in the US, those tubes were designed to be sold cheap and with no warranty service or replacement parts. I just ran into the same thing on some plumbing fixtures installed cheaply on my house. They look like "the real thing" but are cheap Chinese made knockoffs. No replacement parts. I have to replace the whole setup.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The only positive side to the cheap tubes is that it allows a lot of newbie tubers to get into the sport less expensively. Then, once they decide they like it, and want to upgrade, they know enough to make better decisions.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]As I recall, a close inspection of Al's craft showed it to be surprisingly well made for the price he paid. But, there are often little hidden "gotchas" that you can't always see upon first review.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Good luck, but don't stay up nights on the computer looking for a source. Get some sleep and then go fishing.[/#0000ff]
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#5
You said it was a knockoff of the Togiak. As best as you can remember, was it almost the same shape and size? I need to see about some new bladders...if it is close to the same size and shape maybe I can get bladders meant for some other craft and they will work in mine.

I really didn;'t think mine was all thet cheap (in price). We paid about $158.00 on sale I think, and that was marked down from something like $238.00 originally. How much does one of the "better" ones cost?

Thanks
Dave Riley
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#6
[cool][#0000ff]I went back through my photo files and I found the attached pic of Al's tube. Actually, it is a knockoff of the "Kennebec". I fished a Kennebec for a year or so myself. I am sure that you can find the air bladders through Trout Unlimited, but they are likely to run about $40 apiece. The shape size and valve placement look to be about identical.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I might suggest that you look at getting on of the other craft we find favorable here on BFT. The Fish Cat 4, the ODC 420, the Fat Cats or the H3 are all good "pointy bow" rides that handle the wind much better than the mini pontoon design of the craft in question.[/#0000ff]
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#7
I tried looking up his name in the white pages...no luck. Maybe he moved or is unlisted. If he moved that might explain why ya'll haven't heard from him in awhile.

I appreciate all the help you have given me. We aren't finacially in a position to buy new tubes right now, so we will have to make do with the ones we have. My wife is going to try to repair them and hopefully the bladders will be OK. We don't go out ocean fishing like you and many of the others, where we couldn't ge back safely so I am not too worried. Maybe we can upgrade later.

Thanks again
Dave Riley
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#8
[cool][#0000ff]Good luck with the repairs. Are the leaks just holes in the vinyl bladders or are there cuts and tears. We have a lot of past threads on repairing leaks. Get some Aquaseal and start locating the leaks. Come on back if you need further assistance.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Attached is a PDF file of an excerpt from my book on tubing, from the chapter on Care & Repair. You might find some help in these few pages.[/#0000ff]
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#9
Well, one bladder has a very minor leak somewhere. I used it last weekend and only lost a very slightly noticeable amount of air after 3-4 hours.

However, the other bladder is stretched out. My wife and I were a bit lazy after returing from several hours on the water, and we left our tubes in the yard in the sun. Normally I would have deflated them and laid the craft out to dry, but this time I didn't. You can probably guess what happened then. I just wouldn't have thought that the air could expand so much it would bust out the seams of the nylon, but that is exactly what happened. We both heard a loud bang when it blew out, but neither of us even thought to look at the crafts to see if that was it. I discovered it later.

So we have one craft whose air chambers are both blown out along the seam. We have another with the threads streched out a little, but still intact. We have a bladder with a minor leak, and another that may blow out completely when we inflate it again because the side wall is stretched thin. She is going to get some nylon and try to make an overlapping patch for the ripped out seams. But I am not sure what will happen when we try to inflate that bladder again. The nylon of the craft should hold it, but it may leak through the stretched out wall. I can only wait and see.

Stupid mistake. Stupid and costly, but not one we will make again.

Dave Riley
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#10
[cool][#0000ff]Sounds like a hard learned lesson...and a costly one.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No "undo" button on float tubes.[/#0000ff]
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#11
Yeah, but I can't understand why we need these little lessons in life. I would have been perfectly happy with someone stopping by and going "hey, you don't want to do that...bad idea". I would have listened, really I would...LOL.

Dave Riley
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#12
[cool][#0000ff]Sure you would. Just like you listened when your mommy told you not to touch the stove because it was hot...but you had to touch it anyway.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Been there, done that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Some lessons are cheap and easy. Others are painful and costly. And, unfortunately, we don't survive some lessons so that we ever have a chance to learn by them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I think the sun-damaged tubes thing falls somewhere in the middle. Frustrating, maddening and costly...but not a life threatening experience. Even now you can laugh at yourselves about it, so you will survive it...and probably never do it again...even when you have all the money in the world and a couple of new tubes would not be a financial hardship.[/#0000ff]
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#13
All of what TD said. But all is not lost. Check the papers and places like KSL classifieds for floats. Post here at BFT that you are looking. You can probably pick up a used one as cheaply as you can repair the ones you have.. Maybe even cheaper. With getting a used one you can check them out and not get any torn or streched seams. Just a thought.
Boy I'm glad I had a friend tell me to make sure I deflated my crafts.
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#14
Where were you last weekend...when I needed someone to warn me not to do that...LOL?!

What really ticks me off is I should have known better. And I always deflated them every time before. I was just tired from the sun and fresh air and I got lazy.

I doubt we will try to replace them this year. I am in the running for a new job, and even if I get it we won't be in a position money wise to do anything until next year at the earliest.

My wife will try to repair the nylon, and I will test the bladders, and we will see where we are from there.

Thanks for the heads up about buying used ones from here. I will keep it in mind.

Later
Dave Riley
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