Maiden Voyage (FC4 Dx)

[SHigSpeed]

Well, I finally dished off the kids to the grandparents and made a run out to a somewhat nearby community pond. Been itching to try out the new toy.

For background I've only ever tubed out of a round jobber up to now so the V hull is new to me. Kinda warm out so the neoprenes were somewhat stifling and they were uncomfortable with all the junk in my pockets. Note to self: Bag all that stuff up first!

I used my felt soled hiking boots and Caddis fins. Some people preach using water shoes instead of full blown wading boots, but I think for the Caddis fins a nice rigid boot is better.

That said, I can't wait to get my breathable waders - should be this week some time...

Anyway, the rod holder worked great!:



The butt of my flippin' rod did drag in the water though, so I may either redo the rig to ride higher or maybe encapsulate the bottoms somehow.

I didn't finish the rigid apron mod:



so I fished it flaccid. Not bad for putting small or light "junk" on but I'm going to finish the frame setup for sure.

So, I DO know that I need to get some backpack straps for this thing. It's a bit of a bear to lug full of gear and with four rods. That or a drag setup or lightweight wheels. No different from the round boat for transportation and it surprisingly weighs the same if not a pound or two MORE than the rubber tire tube boat.

Inflating with the 12v pump is quick and easy with a couple of breaths in each bladder to firm it up. MUCH nicer than the truck tire tube. Deflate is just as nice in comparison. I used to lug a 7 gallon 120 psi air tank to the lakes to quickly inflat the tire. No more!

Getting in was a breeze. I won't miss the backwards duck ballet of before.

Sitting completely out of the water is nice as well. Kicking around wasn't noticeably different from the round tube for me. The seat could be softer though. I guess with the inflated seat you balance firmness with rigidity. Maybe next time I'll throw an inflatable cushion over the standard seat.

I definitely need more D-rings on this thing. Sucks that Outcast skimped on some cheap stuff (D-rings, rod holder velcro, bigger pockets) so they could justify selling the FC/SFCs for $100 more. I'll probably just sew some on.

BTW, does anyone know how to get the bladders out? It'd make it easier to run on a sewing machine if it were out...

So fish?

Yeah, got seven LMB, no dinks, no hawgs. Just a fun morning on the lake.








You'll notice that I caught these on either poppers (did that one ever swallow that!), Senkos, or spinnerbaits. I did notice that I would generally run two rods back and forth and have the other two in the tubes. I'm going to think about how to do a better "temporary storage" system for the alternate. Maybe a horizontal rack on the right side to match the vertical on the left? This trip I just laid it across the apron or beside me. Don't know if it's worth coming up with a special mount for this.

All I know is that if I throw more PVC at the boat it's gonna start getting heavy(er)!

I DO want to make some sort of dry storage behind the seat. I was thinking maybe a triangular PVC filler and corrugated plastic shelf or maybe a spiderweb cargo net suspended between the two valves and the two side grab webbing handles.

Anyway, had a great day,

_SHig
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[Bluegillman]

I would want to see how you sew the D rings on. I would want to do one too. I had the shoe guy sew the straps on my round tube and it worked great.
Nice bass![]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Most of our modern tubes come with plenty of D rings to hang our goodies on. But, if you have a special need or application, you can always add them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You will find strapping and D rings in most outdoor stores that have supplies for tenting and rock climbing. Army Navy stores are good for these.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can sew them on with a commercial sewing machine (after deflating and removing the air chamber). Or, if you will not be putting a lot of stress on the connection, you can just glue it on with good contact cement or Aquaseal.[/#0000ff]
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