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[font "Times New Roman"]Ok how many of you guys have had tube or toon failures? [/font]
Any catastrophic failures? Any plans for surviving a catastrophic tube or toon failure?
Since we are all about to hit the water some time soon I was wondering what you guys do.
My son and I have life vests. We have whistles, and radios. Beyond that I like to fish with a buddy just in case things get "western". Ron
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A very long time ago, I had an inexpensive U tube. I pumped it up and set it in the driveway to load....it exploded.
On the water...never. I pack a waterskiing vest, whistle, compass, and a strobe light. Radios are a must.
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[cool][#0000ff]Proper maintenance and correct inflation will reduce or eliminate deflation problems on the water. But, when you fish for spiny fish...like cats, perch, bass, etc....there is always the risk of getting spine holes in your craft. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Over the years TubeBabe and I have had to make a few unscheduled returns to shore to repair a hole and reinflate our craft. If the leak is slow enough, you can often just add some more air and keep on keepin' on until the fishing is over. That's a good argument for having a pump and some repair patches with you when on a fishing jaunt.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It is highly unlikely that you will EVER suffer a sudden and unexplained deflation. Although I have "heard tell" of seams splitting I have never heard of it directly from a credible witness (fisherman).[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are also some precautions to take to help insure that you remain afloat. KNIVES: Be careful. Do not cut bait without using a protective board or similar surface. Keep them properly sheathed when not in use. HOOKS: Don't drop loose hooks or lures into a pocket on your craft. Keep them in protective boxes. Also, be careful when fishing or when handling hooked fish...especially with trebles. Don't use gaffs...except in salt water for big fish. And then it is still safer to use a big net. Gaffs are also illegal in most inland waters.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Don't bring glass containers on board. Carry all liquids, bait items, etc. in plastic or metal. Broken glass and inflated air chambers do not go together well.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Stay away from the shoreline unless launching or beaching. There can be unseen underwater dangers as well as shoreline barb wire, sharp branches, etc. No need to tempt fate.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After that it is common sense. You should also be aware of your craft's condition at all times. If you notice any changes stop fishing and check it out. Might only be pressure change due to warming or cooling. If it is anything else you need to deal with it. Stay aware of your surroundings and always have an escape plan if emergencies occur. Watch the weather and water conditions and don't put yourself needlessly at risk.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That's about all I can think of.[/#0000ff]
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I have had only one slow leak in all of the many years of floating that I have done. It was due to a valve that I hadn't closed good enough. All I had to do was pull in close enough to shore to stand up so I could refill the chamber better.
Only other ones were when it is really warm out, and I have put my tube or tune in the water and had to top-off the chambers because of the cold water reducing the air pressure. -- An adjustment that is in no way threatening.
I do wear a life vest anyway.
I have more of a concern about being blown where I don't want to be!
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TubeDude wrote: Quote:
[#0000ff][/#0000ff][#0000ff]Stay away from the shoreline unless launching or beaching. There can be unseen underwater dangers as well as shoreline barb wire, sharp branches, etc. No need to tempt fate.[/#0000ff]
Was fishing a small farm-pond years ago. As per our customary practice, I started in one direction around the shore, and my wife started around the shore in the other direction.
This was MANY years ago and we were both fishing out of HD "doughnuts"... those with a truck inner-tube used as flotation.
I was about half-way around when I heard my wife scream. I turned to see her with her hands on the sides of her tube, kicking like Hell towards our launch point.
Not much I could do from half-way around the pond... but by the time I got there, she had already crawled on shore.
Apparently she got up against an under-water, barbed-wire fence. Thank God it didn't get her, but it did tear the tube covering and punctured the tube pretty good. The air was coming out pretty fast...
She was wearing a PFD, but her FEAR was that the water would fill her waders and "sink" her. It was VERY SCARY... but in retrospect, we think that the waders would never have "filled", as least not in the same sense as filling the waders when on land. We THINK that some water would have gotten in... but only to the point of neutral buoyancy. We THINK that the tube wouldn't have completely deflated, thus actually adding some flotation provided by the PFD.
Our thought is that she would have gotten very wet, maybe got her equipment wet, etc., but she wouldn't have drowned. We don't THINK that the water would have gotten any higher than it would have had you been in the water "swimming" while wearing a PFD.
Thoughts on this assumption???
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[cool][#0000ff]You are thinking in the right direction. It is better to take decisive action in the right direction...trusting in the natural floatation of your craft and most of your gear...than to panic and start thrashing wildly. Unless the tube is completely flat deflated there will be some remaining air for a bit of floatation. And, if you are in compliance with most state laws, you will have a PFD aboard, even if it is not fastened on your body. Very difficult to sink a human that is essentially positively buoyant to begin with.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Water in the waders sinking you? Common fear but not likely. Water inside the waders does not weigh any more than water outside the waders. But, the waders do have some weight. So do your rods, reels and tackle. If you truly fear being dragged down, ditch some gear. But the waders are not likely to take on water unless you sink really low. Even then, you can lay over backwards and propel yourself pretty good with fin power...keeping you and your craft above water and moving well.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have a humorous story about TubeBabe too. When we lived in Arizona we sometimes balanced our round tubes on our heads while hiking short distances from where we had to park to where we wanted to launch. Those trails often took us through spiny trees and cactus plants that had plenty of non-friendly protuberances...not good for float tubes. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]On one trip I successfully launched first and was starting to kick out away from shore as TubeBabe sat back in her tube. Even from a few feet away I could hear the sound of bubbles and could see a couple of streams of them coming up from one side of her tube. She had bumped into something stickery on the way to the water and her trip was over before it got started. The plus side is that she found some crappies close to shore and still got some nice fish from the bank.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There were other times when we got leaks in our craft simply from setting them down on the waterline without looking. Floating cactus spines would gather at waters edge and of course they always pointed up to catch the descending tubes. Arizona was not always tuber friendly.[/#0000ff]
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Last year I had to replace two fubes due to destructive forces. One was while I was inflating it the seam popped. The other had a inner tube in it and we were at camp and next thing I heard from the tube sitting in the grass was a pop and then I saw all the air deflate. So now both tubes have new bladders and ready to go. I will always watch where to tubes end up now so that now pops happen, always put in shade when not in use. On the other hand last fall I had a hold show up in my toon cover. At least the bladder still safe.
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I would think outright pops where you have instant deflation with no trapped air remaining are rare while in water. This is because of the cooling effect of water lowering pressure while immersed, even as direct sun would raise pressure somewhat.
The greatest immediate danger is anything that would interfere with someone getting air to breathe. That's not likely to happen because of trapped air and PFD. You would have to be dragged down or flipped upside down for that to happen. Things that might possibly drag you down would be getting a foot snagged in high speed current or suction in grade 5 whitewater. Flipping not likely to happen.
Hypothermia would be next after air shortage. This is a more likely danger, because even if you have air with a no sinking possibility, you can't survive beyond a certain period even in slightly cool water. So it would seem having a plan to get to shore within a reasonable amount of time is a necessity.
Pon
[quote ydoc]TubeDude wrote: Quote:
[#0000ff][/#0000ff][#0000ff]Stay away from the shoreline unless launching or beaching. There can be unseen underwater dangers as well as shoreline barb wire, sharp branches, etc. No need to tempt fate.[/#0000ff]
Was fishing a small farm-pond years ago. As per our customary practice, I started in one direction around the shore, and my wife started around the shore in the other direction.
This was MANY years ago and we were both fishing out of HD "doughnuts"... those with a truck inner-tube used as flotation.
I was about half-way around when I heard my wife scream. I turned to see her with her hands on the sides of her tube, kicking like Hell towards our launch point.
Not much I could do from half-way around the pond... but by the time I got there, she had already crawled on shore.
Apparently she got up against an under-water, barbed-wire fence. Thank God it didn't get her, but it did tear the tube covering and punctured the tube pretty good. The air was coming out pretty fast...
She was wearing a PFD, but her FEAR was that the water would fill her waders and "sink" her. It was VERY SCARY... but in retrospect, we think that the waders would never have "filled", as least not in the same sense as filling the waders when on land. We THINK that some water would have gotten in... but only to the point of neutral buoyancy. We THINK that the tube wouldn't have completely deflated, thus actually adding some flotation provided by the PFD.
Our thought is that she would have gotten very wet, maybe got her equipment wet, etc., but she wouldn't have drowned. We don't THINK that the water would have gotten any higher than it would have had you been in the water "swimming" while wearing a PFD.
Thoughts on this assumption???[/quote]
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Float tube reseal - I have a bucks bag HI-n-dry that is at least 18 years old. It served me well all over the western states. 10 years ago I moved to the island of Hawaii so i kept it hi-n-dry in a duffel bag in storage.No sense in feeding the tiger sharks. I moved back to cali. 2 years ago,and have been buisy with largemouth bass in Clearlake. I pulled it out yesterday for the first time in years and upon inspetion of the innertube saw that the sealer coat inside the innertube compartment was dried up and peeling off where the nylon made contact with tube. can anyone tell me if a suitable replacement sealer is easly obtainable? The nylon bag itself looks OK and im going to replace the innertubes. Safty First. Open for ideas. [fishin][/b]
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[cool][#0000ff]I have no idea what that stuff might be. Most modern tubes are simply nylon shells with no added sealers or treatments on the inside. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you are concerned about simply treating the cover to keep it protected against water and UV light there are spray materials for tents that might do the job. Otherwise, I don't think you need to worry about replacing it if you get new air chambers.[/#0000ff]
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I know that clear colored "skin" on the inner surface of the polyester cloth.
It's a waterproofer that keeps the rain and splash out, and it's more of value on the tackle pockets than in the bladder compartment.
I think it is a urethane solution painted onto the weave.
I wouldn't worry about it myself. I used a tube for at least 5 years after the inside began to peel.
If you want to find a supplier and re-coat it, the people who do awnings and truck covers use it to seal the seams, backpack and carrier bag makers use it to waterproof, and the folding kayak people use to to make their own urethane coated fabric, like the one at www.yostwerks.com
Look up the raw materials pages and you will find it.
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I had a scary incident with my first Cardiac Canyon, which used the Outcast ferrari cloth tubes. When I purchased it I specifically asked if I could pump the tubes up rock hard for maximum weight capacity since I would be using a trolling motor and battery combo that weighed 75lbs. I was told that as long as I wasn't going to a significantly higher elevation and using a hand pump I'd be fine. So I pumped them up hard using my double barrel pump.
On my fifth outing I was back in a cove and suddenly heard this loud boom, almost like a gunshot. My right bladder was ballooned out to the side in an arc above the water level, still inflated. The force and sudden dropping of my right side ejected me into the water. All I said was "Oh shoot" and as I was in the water I briefly contemplated whether or not to inflate my lifevest and use up a CO2 cannister. I did and then struggled to kick in an upright position to the shore, which was about 20-30 ft away.
I got to the shore and assessed my kickboat and realized I had a total stitch failure, almost the entire length of the tube. The bladder had not burst, but had expanded severely. The force of the blast had almost completely broken the U-arm that supported the bladder along its inner side. One back and forth movement and it came completely off. I had my black padded Outcast storage bag strapped to the right rear portion of the frame and inside the bag was the plastic visor protector for my sonar. It was about 3/16-1/4 inch thick. The upward force from the stitching rupture cracked it in half.
Fortunately, a father and his two kids were fishing from a boat beached up on shore and I was able to take apart the frame and put it and all my gear - 7 rod/reel combos, tackle bag, battery, tm - into the boat and get a ride to the boat launch.
I eventually received a replacement, although it took several months due to backorder, and have been using it for 7 years. I now make sure that the tips are soft enough to compress easily with my hands. In that 7 year period I've had some mishaps - stuck the rear of my right tube with a buzzbait (easy fix with small adhesive patch) and suffered a 2 inch gash on the outer pvc with a rock. Fortunately the inner bladder didn't get punctured and I fixed it by gluing a swatch of pvc on both the inside and outside.
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Actually it was Aire bladders which Outcast also used. Made up in Boise.
Man that had to be loud...those things are solid when full.
Personally, I have gone to the air gauge and what a difference. You can tell is one side has more air than the other...just a little FYI
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[quote flygoddess]A very long time ago, I had an inexpensive U tube. I pumped it up and set it in the driveway to load....it exploded.
On the water...never. I pack a waterskiing vest, whistle, compass, and a strobe light. Radios are a must.[/quote]
What type of radio are you referring to ?
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Walkie Talkies. These:
http://www.midlandradio.com/Two-Way-Radi...GXT1050VP4
I like the waterproof, headset, and weather alert feature. Never go out on the water without.....#4-9.
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[quote flygoddess]Walkie Talkies. These:
[url "http://www.midlandradio.com/Two-Way-Radio.BS3/GXT1050VP4"]http://www.midlandradio.com/...Radio.BS3/GXT1050VP4[/url]
I like the waterproof, headset, and weather alert feature. Never go out on the water without.....#4-9.[/quote]
Thank You ...
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Friend just got a new toon, so this was a helpful article. When you talk about pimping out your rides, and then bringing a radio along - I thought you meant something more like this (see attached):
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