08-21-2006, 01:54 PM
[cool][#0000ff]The Fishmaster was one of the first commercially produced float tubes, and there are still a lot of them hanging in garages around the country. Many of the survivors will still float a fisherman, but the inner tubes in some have long since rotted into rubber dust.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Compared to today's float tube covers, the Fishmasters were probably overbuilt. They were made of a tough plastic-coated fabric and had heavy zippers suitable for an army tent. Of course, over time, the stitching on some might have deteriorated a bit. I would want new tubes and a thorough test on any that I planned to take on the water.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I bought several Fishmasters in the late 70's, for family and friends I introduced to tubing at that time. As I progressed to newer models, I handed mine off to my kids or sold them cheap to newbies. I think TubeN2 still has one of the originals hanging in his garage in California.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here's a pic of one of my early FM's.[/#0000ff]
![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9459;]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=9459;)
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[#0000ff]Compared to today's float tube covers, the Fishmasters were probably overbuilt. They were made of a tough plastic-coated fabric and had heavy zippers suitable for an army tent. Of course, over time, the stitching on some might have deteriorated a bit. I would want new tubes and a thorough test on any that I planned to take on the water.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I bought several Fishmasters in the late 70's, for family and friends I introduced to tubing at that time. As I progressed to newer models, I handed mine off to my kids or sold them cheap to newbies. I think TubeN2 still has one of the originals hanging in his garage in California.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here's a pic of one of my early FM's.[/#0000ff]
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