04-20-2004, 11:54 AM
[cool][blue][size 1]Hey RamGuy, I didn't pick up on your problem with the soft seat from your first post. I also have the inflatable seat in my Super Fat Cat, and I also had problems both with the lower seat and backrest when I relied on lung power alone to air them up. Getting them good and firm with the two way pump makes a world of difference.[/size][/blue]
[#0000ff][size 1]One other little tip. Firm up your two seat chambers before you finish airing up the main flotation chambers. Might seem like a small thing, but it sure does help with the rigid cross-support. There is no stabilizer bar on the Outcast models, so the seat is the primary means of preventing the air chambers from pulling together when you sit down. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Even with a firm seat platform...as with the rigid foam models...there is still some inward rotation. This is something you need to account for when installing a vertical rod rack. I set mine up so that the rods lean slightly outward when the tube is not "occupied" by my substantial body. Then, when I sit down and power up, the rods ride in the full upright and locked position.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]When you get ready to add some rod tubes, we can also show you how to lash them on, with a system that will allow for adjustments if necessary. You will usually have to do some on-the-water fine tuning whenever you start hanging new goodies from your dingbat dinghy.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Oh yeah, for all of you guys that pooh pooh the cold feet thing on Strawberry, I been there and done that. I have fished all over the country...fresh water and salt. I feel qualified to observe that there is a strange anomaly in the waters of Strawberry. There seems to be an X factor that makes the cold twice as chilling as any other water of the same temperature. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I would like to think that I have a pretty good handle on this float tubing stuff. That includes wearing the right clothing and waders to handle the prevailing water temps. But, I have spent plenty of time on the bank at Strawberry doing the Strawberry Stomp, to try to restore feeling to numb lower extremities.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Truth to tell, any "dedicated" tubaholic who tries to take advantage of the great fishing just prior to iceup and immediately following iceout is voluntarily submitting themselves to the potential for severe chilling. Even with the best 5mm neoprenes and toastiest wool socks, you are gonna develop severe discomfort after awhile in water only a few degrees above freezing.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I can only hope that nobody else ever suffers the same thing that happened to me one iceout trip on Starvation. It was about the end of February and I had been "exercising" some nice browns right along the ice edge. A "call of nature", combined with the aforementioned foot chilling, prompted me to make a shore visit. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I chose a stretch of shoreline to get out that was a fairly steep slope. The slope, together with my increasing discomfort, created urgency and frustration. Somehow I twisted and contorted enough to put the final bit of strain on the crotch of my already taxed waders. I was wearing several layers beneath the waders and they were full to the max. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]The strain was suddenly relieved as the crotch simply opened up for a foot down each side...just like it came unzipped. You think cold feet are uncomfortable. You have no idea how fast you can forget about cold feet when several gallons of icewater come flooding into your most sensitive areas. I don't even remember how I managed to get out of the water. I suspect I looked like a missile being launched from a submarine. That trip was over. I do not recommend cold water vasectomies.[/size][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][size 1]One other little tip. Firm up your two seat chambers before you finish airing up the main flotation chambers. Might seem like a small thing, but it sure does help with the rigid cross-support. There is no stabilizer bar on the Outcast models, so the seat is the primary means of preventing the air chambers from pulling together when you sit down. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Even with a firm seat platform...as with the rigid foam models...there is still some inward rotation. This is something you need to account for when installing a vertical rod rack. I set mine up so that the rods lean slightly outward when the tube is not "occupied" by my substantial body. Then, when I sit down and power up, the rods ride in the full upright and locked position.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]When you get ready to add some rod tubes, we can also show you how to lash them on, with a system that will allow for adjustments if necessary. You will usually have to do some on-the-water fine tuning whenever you start hanging new goodies from your dingbat dinghy.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Oh yeah, for all of you guys that pooh pooh the cold feet thing on Strawberry, I been there and done that. I have fished all over the country...fresh water and salt. I feel qualified to observe that there is a strange anomaly in the waters of Strawberry. There seems to be an X factor that makes the cold twice as chilling as any other water of the same temperature. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I would like to think that I have a pretty good handle on this float tubing stuff. That includes wearing the right clothing and waders to handle the prevailing water temps. But, I have spent plenty of time on the bank at Strawberry doing the Strawberry Stomp, to try to restore feeling to numb lower extremities.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Truth to tell, any "dedicated" tubaholic who tries to take advantage of the great fishing just prior to iceup and immediately following iceout is voluntarily submitting themselves to the potential for severe chilling. Even with the best 5mm neoprenes and toastiest wool socks, you are gonna develop severe discomfort after awhile in water only a few degrees above freezing.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I can only hope that nobody else ever suffers the same thing that happened to me one iceout trip on Starvation. It was about the end of February and I had been "exercising" some nice browns right along the ice edge. A "call of nature", combined with the aforementioned foot chilling, prompted me to make a shore visit. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I chose a stretch of shoreline to get out that was a fairly steep slope. The slope, together with my increasing discomfort, created urgency and frustration. Somehow I twisted and contorted enough to put the final bit of strain on the crotch of my already taxed waders. I was wearing several layers beneath the waders and they were full to the max. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]The strain was suddenly relieved as the crotch simply opened up for a foot down each side...just like it came unzipped. You think cold feet are uncomfortable. You have no idea how fast you can forget about cold feet when several gallons of icewater come flooding into your most sensitive areas. I don't even remember how I managed to get out of the water. I suspect I looked like a missile being launched from a submarine. That trip was over. I do not recommend cold water vasectomies.[/size][/#0000ff]
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