# Too much time on hands!



## bud16415 (Apr 6, 2019)

I thought I would start a thread for others with to much time on their hands and doing a project you could easily do without. Haha.


As a retire, and I know we have a fair amount here, and just enduring a Northern Pa winter I just needed something to fiddle with outside. About 2 weeks ago we lost a neighbor Glen (95) WW2 vet and part of that greatest generation. He lived two doors down and we became friends over the last 6 years. Last week I saw his son over to his place and I went over to say hi. He asked me if I wanted to buy any of his dads junk in the garage as he had to have the property cleared out in 6 months (reverse mortgage). Glen had bought a new lawn tractor last year and his son said half price what a new one would be. Sounded fair to me and I have little need for a 22HP mower but I thought it would be cool to have. So I drove it home and he threw in a 4’ lawn sweeper I also didn’t need.


Holly got home from work and said Oh Gawd what did you do. She then reminded me that we have a quarter acre and half of that is house and garage and driveway. Thinking fast on my feet I said it’s not for cutting grass I’m going to build a wagon and take her two nephews on hay rides Colton and Jaxon. Jaxon is 2 and calls me Uncle Buh. I had this Harbor Freight Big Foot hand truck I got on sale for 39 bucks about 6 years ago and I have a spare to boot. https://www.harborfreight.com/mater...00-lbs-capacity-bigfoot-hand-truck-62900.html So I fired up the welder put a tang on it built a PT box and painted it JD green. Just the right size for two little kids. Of course in the back of my mind I will likely haul other stuff around.


With the wheel way back it backs up nice.


I still have to add a yellow strip down each side and a few reflectors sides and back.
As always total cost of the wagon zero as it was all stuff i had laying around. 


Ok now show me stuff you all built you really didn’t need but had fun doing.


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## oldognewtrick (Apr 6, 2019)

Last couple months I've been stuck in neutral. Can't get the motivation to really start any projects. We just got back from a week in Florida with the camper and my better half decided it's time to take out the old carpet and vinyl flooring and replace it. So...yesterday we picked out some news flooring, order two new recliners, I started taking things apart inside. Old chairs are out, removed the dinette, involved the couch. Now I'm ready to start taking out the flooring. Guess I'm in forward motion now.


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## oldognewtrick (Apr 6, 2019)

Now I just need to get a couple son in laws over to help...


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## bud16415 (May 9, 2019)

Spring is here and I cut down a tree I always hated under the power line and they come thru every year and chop half of it away. The little trailer came in handy hauling all the brush away and now I have some wood for our fire ring. I can almost taste the hot dogs now.


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## oldognewtrick (May 9, 2019)

Couldn't get any helpers, so, it was all me... All done and ready to hit the campgrounds.


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## oldognewtrick (May 9, 2019)

Next project, fabricated some rod holders and outriggers for the kayak.


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## oldognewtrick (May 9, 2019)

bud16415 said:


> Spring is here and I cut down a tree I always hated under the power line and they come thru every year and chop half of it away. The little trailer came in handy hauling all the brush away and now I have some wood for our fire ring. I can almost taste the hot dogs now. View attachment 21970


I'll bet that carts a lot faster with that racing stripe on it.


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## slownsteady (May 9, 2019)

Road Trip!!!


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## havasu (May 10, 2019)

Love the floors in the trailer!


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## bud16415 (May 10, 2019)

oldognewtrick said:


> I'll bet that carts a lot faster with that racing stripe on it.


It's not faster but the little nephews think it's faster. It is all about having too much time on your hands and unused JD yellow. The camper floor looks great. really changes the look.


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## oldognewtrick (May 10, 2019)

Thanks y'all! It seems twice as big inside. Could never understand carpet in a camper. Especially after we took it to Florida last month...


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## AdamAll (May 24, 2019)

bud16415 said:


> I thought I would start a thread for others with to much time on their hands and doing a project you could easily do without. Haha.



Thanks for sharing this. Looking forward to that stage of life where I have more time on my hands. At my present stage between work, family and community commitments I don't have a lot of spare time, but I'm still enjoying this stage of life while I can.


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## oldognewtrick (May 24, 2019)

Got a phone call from someone I know about a cupola. So...took it off the roof, rebuilding the base, doing some restoration and going to try and get it back up on the roof and not kill it or me.


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## bud16415 (May 24, 2019)

@AdamAll Welcome to the forum. I remember those days all too well working 6 days a week and coaching little league and trying to remodel a house and groom a two acre lawn and it seemed 100 other things. Then you retire and kids grow up and you get a little break in the action but then my knees wont work as good along with a lot of other body parts. We watched the two little boy nephews yesterday 2 under 2 and the older one just over 2 was really entertained as he rode around the neighborhood in the homemade trailer behind the JD.


You will get to the point of time on your hands but you are right in not rushing it. enjoy every day you get has always been my motto.


@oldognewtrick That looks like a fun project all except climbing on that roof. When we got the new metal roof last I took the center chimney down and covered the hole. Something like that would have been perfect and functional also. The neighbor has one and he made it with a light in it. really stands out at night.


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## oldognewtrick (Nov 5, 2019)

Well Bud, watching the morning news they're talking 4-6 inches of snow up there in your neck of the woods. Got that snow plow ready?

We've got our last camping trip this weekend at Land Between The Lakes. Highs in the mid 40's lows in the upper 20's. Sure home the heater works.


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## bud16415 (Nov 6, 2019)

oldognewtrick said:


> Well Bud, watching the morning news they're talking 4-6 inches of snow up there in your neck of the woods. Got that snow plow ready?
> 
> We've got our last camping trip this weekend at Land Between The Lakes. Highs in the mid 40's lows in the upper 20's. Sure home the heater works.



Last week I looked at the old GMC sitting there with a bad fuel line and hasn’t moved in about a year. Two different guys stopped and tried to buy it over the summer, but I said no. I told Holly I ether have to get it running for this years snow or sell it and buy something to blow or plow with. So I got after the dreaded job. As it turned out about 5 years ago I cut an access hole in the bed and made a cover for it to change the fuel pump without dropping the tank that made one area of the fix much easier and with a little elbow grease I had it replaced and a new filter located under that same cover. Reinventing a better way on the 20 year old 300k girl. Ten gallons of gas and she fired up like it was yesterday. Took her for a spin only to find out the rear drums were froze up. Jacked the whole rear end up got those monster truck tires off and the drums were not coming. I beat on them till I was blue in the face and about gave off when I thought maybe start the truck up put it in gear and spin the hubs working the brakes and see if they would loosen up. So I tried that and once I got to about 25MPH on the spedo low and behold both drums flew off on their own spinning around in the driveway like 50 pound tops. Cleaned the brakes up and never-seized the moving parts and she worked like new. That got me excited to patch and pop rivet some holes in the body. Then I went to find the old Meyers plow in the weeds. I drug that out with the truck only to find the main 1” pin that the plow hinges on to be bent and broke. I beat on that mess for an hour before I got out the grinder and cut it off. Not being able to get it out as it was welded into the one side I thought maybe with my mad welding skills I could attach the new pin to the stub of the old. I made a pin got it in place rolled the welder out and the new neighbor I only met once came walking up the driveway, saying I didn’t know I moved into a fun neighborhood and that he heard all the pounding. I asked him if he ever welded and he said yep for 50 years that was his job and he really missed it. Tom Sawyer couldn’t have asked for more and I handed him the helmet telling him today was his lucky day. He made a few improvements to my pin and went to town making that flux-core wire sing. 1000 times better than I know I could have done.


So the short answer is I’m as ready for the snow as I will ever be. I’m going to put the truck back on the road now that I’m retired gas isn’t as big an issue as it was driving 70 miles a day and I can run around and plow some family.


On a side note I got my colon-scope yesterday and that prep the day before isn’t any better than it was 7 years ago. So I got a clean bill of health on the south 40, but the woman that put me to sleep told me I need to have a sleep study and get one of those breathing machines for sleeping or I might not wake up some day. I told her there are lot worse ways to go, but I would go get the test as I would like to keep waking up in the morning a while longer.


I just had my Alexa go off and tell me it was time to drain the hot tub. What did I ever do before I had 2 women telling me to do work. might as well change the furnace filter before she reminds me of that also.


We had a beautiful fall leaf color change just about to clean up the lawn tractor for the winter and put it away. The vegetable garden did great this summer and we have a pile of squash for the winter and I ate a bushel of tomatoes at least. I have the garden all put to bed for the winter and the compost bin is full waiting for spring to get worked in. somewhere along the line I turned into my granddad.


I love fall camping best all the people will be gone and you should have a great time.


Maybe we will win that snow globe again this winter.

Stay warm my friend.


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## bud16415 (Nov 8, 2019)

oldognewtrick said:


> Well Bud, watching the morning news they're talking 4-6 inches of snow up there in your neck of the woods. Got that snow plow ready?



Well woke up to the sound of the neighbors snow blower. Then the townships plow going up and down my street. Figured I had to look out the window.


We got that 6” dusting of some heavy stuff. View off the hot tub deck. 


The 2019/2020 snow globe race is on.


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## slownsteady (Nov 11, 2019)

...and the contest begins....


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## bud16415 (Nov 11, 2019)

slownsteady said:


> ...and the contest begins....



We are getting 6-12 tonight.. I still don't have the snow tires on. It is great being retired.


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## oldognewtrick (Nov 11, 2019)

Camper heater worked great, Saturday morning was 22*. Warmed up nice. Land Between The Lakes is a beautiful National Forrest. It's on our must go back to list.


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## bud16415 (Nov 12, 2019)

oldognewtrick said:


> Camper heater worked great, Saturday morning was 22*. Warmed up nice. Land Between The Lakes is a beautiful National Forrest. It's on our must go back to list.


Looks amazing and you got to see some color change still. Ours was over a month ago and was very beautiful but high winds and cold rain knocked it down rather fast this year.


Nothing like being warm inside and knowing it is cold outside. The campfire looked amazing.


We only got about 4” over night will see what we pick up today and tonight. It is 24 right now it will be a good night for the hot tub.


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## oldognewtrick (Nov 12, 2019)

Wells shucks, enter Nashville in that snow fall race. We got about 1/10th of an inch last night.


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## bud16415 (Nov 13, 2019)

oldognewtrick said:


> Wells shucks, enter Nashville in that snow fall race. We got about 1/10th of an inch last night.



I will put you on the list. Must be this warming thing i have been reading about.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 3, 2020)

I didn't like sitting so low in my kayak. So, I picked up a cheap stadium seat at Wally World, did a lot of scratching my head on how to mount it. Took a piece of scrape ply and made a platform. I guess I'll coat it in bed liner and see how it works out. Raising my center of gravity will make it less stable, but with the outriggers I hope it's manageable. I haven't tried standing with the outriggers attached yet, but it seems stable enough to try. I'll save that for a warmer day.


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## bud16415 (Feb 3, 2020)

oldognewtrick said:


> View attachment 23231
> I didn't like sitting so low in my kayak. So, I picked up a cheap stadium seat at Wally World, did a lot of scratching my head on how to mount it. Took a piece of scrape ply and made a platform. I guess I'll coat it in bed liner and see how it works out. Raising my center of gravity will make it less stable, but with the outriggers I hope it's manageable. I haven't tried standing with the outriggers attached yet, but it seems stable enough to try. I'll save that for a warmer day.




Looks great and with outriggers you will be fine. That’s the reason I’m looking at a canoe for us. Everyone around us all have open kayaks like yours. French Creek is right in our backyard but much of the year the water is pretty cold and I don’t like sitting in it. I keep telling Holly we can get in it and end up in the Gulf of Mexico. She said Good luck Tom Sawyer I will fly down and meet you when you get there.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 3, 2020)

Getting back in a canoe or a sit in kayak would be a chore. I've never had any water in my Yak other than an occasional drip off the paddle.


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## bud16415 (Apr 24, 2020)

Keeping with the too much time on our hands theme and for the last month I think almost all of that have moved to a new meaning for time on our hands.



I got the garden rototilled and bushes trimmed shoveled a lot of snow that was supposed to be April showers. And even used the little cart I started the thread with to haul quite a bit of brush to the burn pile. As cute as the little cart was it just was better for giving the two little nephews we watch two days a week cart rides around the neighborhood. Well it was even getting a little small for both of them now that they are 2&3. I needed something larger but not too large for sidewalks and such.



You know how cheap I am and when we bought the house (short sale) the previous owner left a mountain of junk behind. One of the items I didn’t toss out yet was a fiberglass bathtub. The time on my hands light came on and I Googled “lawn cart made from bathtub”. To my disbelief I couldn’t find anything on the subject. I saw ponds and hot tubs made out of them even furniture. But no carts at least none I could find. So I had to do it how often in today’s Google world can you be the first at anything.



This tub was one of those with the fake front not a clawfoot. So the first thing I did was take the sawzall to it and cut that off. That part was made of cardboard and had glass shot over it. The bottom is .75 thick plywood with glass on both sides and the sides are solid fiberglass and about .37 thick. After I trimmed it all up to just be a tub with a flange on top I added another 3.5 depth with a 2x4 frame bolted in around the top. Then I scrounged my junk pile and used a road sign post for a tang and welded it to a 2x2 angle to make a T frame. I ordered 2 new Harbor freight wheels and tires. Not here yet because of COVID19 but should be here Monday so I used the old wheels for now. And I had to buy a .625 rod for an axle. All in I have about 40 bucks in to it thanks to HF 20% coupon. I had the JD green and yellow left over as well as raided my bolt bucket. My $50 mig welder got it all together.



Holly was most skeptical but when she saw it finished she told me the boys are going to love it. I have 2 small coolers they can use as seats and that way we can pack lunch if and when they reopen the playground.



I figure it should carry 600 lbs without a problem and I’m thinking about making a top for it for campfires it will work for a table and I can haul the chairs and hot dog and stuff inside. The drain hole will be a good thing as I will be keeping it out back.

Anyway thought I would share.


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## oldognewtrick (Apr 24, 2020)

bud16415 said:


> Keeping with the too much time on our hands theme and for the last month I think almost all of that have moved to a new meaning for time on our hands.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice! How bout adding a hitch to the back and you could pull both carts. Just thinking out loud...


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## bud16415 (Apr 24, 2020)

oldognewtrick said:


> Nice! How bout adding a hitch to the back and you could pull both carts. Just thinking out loud...


That’s not a bad idea and it did cross my mind. Then each kid can have his own train car.



We have an old guy in town he made a train from 55 gallon plastic drums and harbor freight $3.99 wheels. He also made his lawn tractor look like a steam locomotive. He pulls 8-10 kids behind him in the parade every year.



Actually I’m ready to get my hand truck back from the other cart. I have a small wheel one and I didn’t think I would miss the bigger one but I used it a lot more than I thought. I was about to buy a new one from HF when I got the bathtub idea.

My older nephew said I need a JD decal for the tub, but that’s a little fancy for me.


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## slownsteady (Apr 26, 2020)

LOL! I was scanning the thread and went past your pix without really looking hard. I thought it was just another lawn cart. But when I got to the last post and saw talk of a tub, I had to go back and take a better look. Awesome! But I think you should have left the pipe and shower head attached just for fun. I guess if you put a JD sticker on it the emphasis would have to be on the JOHN.


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## bud16415 (Apr 27, 2020)

slownsteady said:


> LOL! I was scanning the thread and went past your pix without really looking hard. I thought it was just another lawn cart. But when I got to the last post and saw talk of a tub, I had to go back and take a better look. Awesome! But I think you should have left the pipe and shower head attached just for fun. I guess if you put a JD sticker on it the emphasis would have to be on the JOHN.


Thanks.



I was transplanting some yucca plants and had the cart full of dirt and plants yesterday. It worked great and after I got it fairly empty the garden hose and the drain hole took care of cleaning it up. Also hauled some wood and tools in it and the flat wood rails made for a great sawhorse to work off. I think it will get some usage. I took the PT wood box off the old cart made from the dolly to get my dolly back and will fill the box with dirt after adding short legs and she can plant herbs in it. I was going to cut the tang I welded to the dolly off but I ended up leaving it as it might be handy to use the dolly with the tractor still and the tang doesn’t get into the way when using it as a hand truck.



As for the running deer, a neighbor suggested I buy a decal set as well, and I told him I was too cheap. He suggested I hand paint it and that would be a mess. Then I thought I could print one out cut it out making a stencil and spray it on. That might just work.



You are right John is the key word.  

Maybe add the shower head when I take it in the parade I also have one of those old hoops for a curtain. Hmmmm.


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## bud16415 (Dec 4, 2020)

There are a lot of new members floating around It is time to bring out some old threads and see what they have to contribute.


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## Sparky617 (Dec 4, 2020)

My latest project.  We are in the final stages of renovating the music room at church.  It had risers that were never really used as the choir practices in the sanctuary.  So we took out the steel framed risers (welded in place, with way too many powder driven anchors into the concrete floor).  Today I applied the first coat of finish on the glued down cork floor.


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## bud16415 (Dec 4, 2020)

Like they say doing the Lords work doesn't pay to well but the benefits are out of this world.


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## bud16415 (Mar 11, 2021)

We have been having a week of pretty nice weather last couple day it was close to 70 out. I was taking a walk around our block and saw a neighbor out and I saw he had a canoe upside down across the top of his woodpile and I asked him how he liked it. He said I don’t know I bought it off a guy last year and never put it in the water. I told him why not and he said wife won’t go near the water and he bought it thinking it would be something they could do together. He said give me 150 bucks and it’s yours. I went home and looked it up and it is a Old Town, Guide 147 and they go new for about a grand and used I found a few around 400 and they seem to get good reviews. So I went back down and bought it and he has paddles and jackets to go with it. It is 14’7” and holds 900 pounds according to the specs. It has 2 molded contour seats that feel pretty comfortable and they come with seat backs that clip into a couple slots with a pin molded in and straps to let you change the angle. Somewhere along the line those got lost. I went to the web pages and they want as much as I paid for the canoe for each seat back. If you know me that’s not going to happen. I looked on line and there are a million kayak strap in seats and stadium seats people use and one big company that makes a $40 canoe attachment seat unless you buy it from LL-Bean and then it’s $80. It looked great and all the reviews said it didn’t last or wouldn’t work with a contoured seat.



So today with too much time on my hands and nice weather I started building a prototype seat back that’s adjustable. This is good enough to try and if I like it I can make two nice ones. I have a neoprene sleeping bag pad that’s really nice foam and I will cut that and glue it to the back. then maybe cut a piece for the seat bottom and a chunk for a kneeling pad as well. But saving that for the finished model and I will find some cheap foam for this test model.



Anyway here is where I’m at so far.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 11, 2021)

Nice score Bud! I bought a new fishing kayak a couple weeks ago, going to the lake Sunday morning and getting it wet for the first time. Spending some time paddling around is soothing to the soul.


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## Flyover (Mar 11, 2021)

@bud16415 
I have an Old Town Guide 160, I saw your picture at first and thought we had the same canoe! Mine's also green.

I've never used it, because I got it while my wife was pregnant and not in physical shape to help me lift it, or to go canoeing for that matter. It's heavy as hell, I can lift it a few feet off the ground myself but it's not easy and I'm pretty sure I couldn't get it up on the roof of the SUV alone, or back down. Definitely not one of those light canoes you can carry around on your head.

Do you have a trick for this?


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## bud16415 (Mar 11, 2021)

Flyover said:


> @bud16415
> I have an Old Town Guide 160, I saw your picture at first and thought we had the same canoe! Mine's also green.
> 
> I've never used it, because I got it while my wife was pregnant and not in physical shape to help me lift it, or to go canoeing for that matter. It's heavy as hell, I can lift it a few feet off the ground myself but it's not easy and I'm pretty sure I couldn't get it up on the roof of the SUV alone, or back down. Definitely not one of those light canoes you can carry around on your head.
> ...


Mine is about 80 pounds so it is all I want to manhandle. I’m in the process of making a roof rack for my KIA soul also and when I get that done I will post some “How to” photos if can manage it on my own. Most of the time it will be two of us and the 147 is longer than the soul so we each take an end and press it up and walk it over. Alone I will have to load it from the back. The antenna is right there but they unscrew leaving the base and the rack will be higher than that. The problem is scraping up the back of the lift gate and I have seen people stick a piece of outdoor carpet in the crack and shut the gate on it. mine has the third brake light right there also so I’m not sure about how to protect that yet. Even then you have to lift one end and lean it up there as you side it on upside down. It has the portage beam and that’s the best way to get it started up there.



I no longer have my pickup on the road and once I sell it the plan is to get a utility trailer and then it will all be easy.



There are also DIY plans for little dollies with two wheels that make moving it around a lot easier if where you park isn’t close to the water.



We live one block from French Creek that really is a river and George Washington called it a creek when he used it to go see the French. Just north of us the water flows north to the Great Lakes and we are on the divide and this waterway ends up in the Gulf of Mexico. The trouble is once we put in say at our town we then need to place a car where we plan to pull out. Depending on the time of year and how hard you paddle you move about 2-5 MPH. You can be in the canoe for 4-6 hours and it is still a short jaunt back to get your car, but you need two cars and if only one can haul the boat one person has to wait while the other one shuttles the cars around. So if I go alone I will put in with her help and give her a call when I have had enough and she can come get me. Otherwise there are lots of lakes and dams to just go alone and paddle or fish.

Your canoe being 16’ is going to be just that much harder doing alone and I would suggest a trailer and dolly.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 12, 2021)

My new kayak is about 75 lbs. I store my old one in the ceiling in the garage. It's about 50 lbs. I have an old work table on wheels that the new one lives on and I can wheel it out to my utility trailer that I made a frame on to hold 4 kayaks. All I have to do is slide it over. We made a kayak dolly out of some spare wheels and 1-1/2" pc pipe that works really well to get the yaks across the parking lot at the ramp when it's busy with boats. My new yak has a wheel in the keel at the stern, anxious to see how that works.


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## tomtheelder2020 (Mar 13, 2021)

I also bought a used kayak (Coleman) that is way to heavy to lift on my own - and my wife's back won't let her help - so I built a canoe loader, based on a youtube video, that uses "stairs" and carrier on top of our van. I just roll it off of the cart onto the lowest plastic pegs then, going back and forth, walk it to the top. When the center of gravity passes the pivot point, the stairs rotate up and I just push it to the center of the carrier and remove the stairs. I also built outriggers that make it so stable I can stand to cast. The system works great!


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 13, 2021)

Heading to the lake in the morning, maiden voyage of my new yak.


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## tomtheelder2020 (Mar 13, 2021)

tomtheelder2020 said:


> I also bought a used kayak...  Ummm, actually, I think that is a canoe I bought.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 13, 2021)

Hey Bud, here's a little something for you canoe.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 14, 2021)

On the lake at sunrise.


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## bud16415 (Mar 14, 2021)

tomtheelder2020 said:


> I also bought a used kayak (Coleman) that is way to heavy to lift on my own - and my wife's back won't let her help - so I built a canoe loader, based on a youtube video, that uses "stairs" and carrier on top of our van. I just roll it off of the cart onto the lowest plastic pegs then, going back and forth, walk it to the top. When the center of gravity passes the pivot point, the stairs rotate up and I just push it to the center of the carrier and remove the stairs. I also built outriggers that make it so stable I can stand to cast. The system works great!


That's a great idea. I haven't come across that one yet. I also like how you made your cart and the bike wheels are a good idea light weight and large enough to get over a bumpy path. 

I watched a bunch of videos on how to flip a canoe up onto your shoulders from the side and they were all young really strong looking folks and i thought I would throw out my back trying. then I saw some where they started at the end and walked it up lifting one end and that is much more to my abilities. The peg ladder is so much simpler than that even and i'm building my own rack so I could have the ends plug into the rack and not need the cross pieces and then just strap them on along side the canoe. This might be my go to system for doing it solo.


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## bud16415 (Mar 14, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> Hey Bud, here's a little something for you canoe.
> 
> View attachment 25344


I saw that cooler setup a few times along with a few similar ones. I don't think I will need outriggers yet but we will see. Our French Creek is all flat water as are all the inland lakes that are no wake lakes at least the ones I will be in at first. It wont be seeing Lake Erie and likely not even the bay. 

Our kayak friends would love the cooler idea as I could haul all their drinks on the big floats. We went out last night and I announced The canoe and the first thing they said was that's great we will load you up.


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## bud16415 (Mar 14, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> View attachment 25356
> 
> On the lake at sunrise.


Oh man that looks good. It is 30 degrees here this morning and the water is moving and ice cold and those flip-flops would have to be arctic boots.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 14, 2021)

bud16415 said:


> Oh man that looks good. It is 30 degrees here this morning and the water is moving and ice cold and those flip-flops would have to be arctic boots.


Water temp was 56. Toes got a wee bit chilly, but better than sitting on the couch watching useless crap on tv.


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## tomtheelder2020 (Mar 14, 2021)

For those of us with a bad spine, large diameter wheels are a must for pulling a cart solo over uneven ground.


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## bud16415 (Mar 14, 2021)

Today it got into the mid 40s but sunny and the canoeing bug is still at me as I can smell spring coming around the corner.



When I had it on the ground the other day messing around with seat backs I noticed sitting in the bow seat was really cramped and I couldn’t picture being up there for any time and liking it. I started reading on this models reviews and two big complaints were the bow seat being cramped and to paddle solo most people like to use the bow seat sitting backwards and paddle the boat backwards as it improves balance. Even then some were saying it is better if the seat is even moved back a bit more for solo. Most people are recommending tossing the front seat and replacing it with a flat cane seat. I took it out and of course it is tapered like the front of the canoe so I put it in backwards to get a look at how it could be made to fit. I made two .75” thick plywood tapered blocks to adapt to the backwards angle and it looks like it will work. The seat is contoured so now we will be facing each other that might be nice for talking on a long float or for fishing. Of course the guy in the back will have to do all the paddling and that will likely be me anyway. I also can make a pad for the bow seat to fill in the contour about 1” deep and then the front person will be able to paddle.



She really wants her own sit in kayak anyway as that’s what all her friends have and they are much easier to manage if she goes out with her girlfriends and if I go along hopefully I can solo in the canoe and keep up. If I’m hauling the adult beverages in the canoe that wont be hard as they will slow down to let me catch up.



My plan is I’m going to wait for Biden to send me that free 1400 bucks in time for her birthday and get me off the hook and stimulate the economy in the process. Now to find a made in the USA kayak.

I will post some pics of the seat mod maybe tomorrow if we don’t get snow.


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## Flyover (Mar 14, 2021)

tomtheelder2020 said:


> I also bought a used kayak (Coleman) that is way to heavy to lift on my own - and my wife's back won't let her help - so I built a canoe loader, based on a youtube video, that uses "stairs" and carrier on top of our van. I just roll it off of the cart onto the lowest plastic pegs then, going back and forth, walk it to the top. When the center of gravity passes the pivot point, the stairs rotate up and I just push it to the center of the carrier and remove the stairs. I also built outriggers that make it so stable I can stand to cast. The system works great!


What do you do at the other end though when it's time to get the canoe off the van and into the water, or out of the water and back on the van? The loader looks too big to take with you.


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## bud16415 (Mar 14, 2021)

Flyover said:


> What do you do at the other end though when it's time to get the canoe off the van and into the water, or out of the water and back on the van? The loader looks too big to take with you.


I’m not sure how Tom handles it. My plan is to follow his suggestion only make the ladder pin to carrier and not extend above. Doing that I could unplug the two rails and strap them on the carrier next to the canoe and take them with me. I think if I design them correctly I could maybe flip them over so the pins were on the backside when taking it off and just let it slide down.



It will be some trial and error I’m sure but is a simple DIY project.

I just ordered a dolly. I was thinking of building one and found one on sale for 40 bucks and it had ok reviews so I will give it a try. I don’t think I could build one for less than that. It comes with 9.5” rubber wheels. If it works I will post a photo of it in action.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 21, 2021)

32 out this morning when we put in. Warmed up as soon as the sun came up, caught a couple little small mouths. Beautiful spring day here today.


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## bud16415 (Mar 22, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> 32 out this morning when we put in. Warmed up as soon as the sun came up, caught a couple little small mouths. Beautiful spring day here today.
> 
> View attachment 25467
> View attachment 25468


We also have been having really cold nights and by 10:00 it is pretty nice being out as the sun feels warm, by noon I’m in a tee shirt.



My little boat project is coming along and I’m hoping a month from now the water will be warm enough to try her out. When I get a chance I will post a few pictures of my progress with the changes I have made.  

Thanks for posting it is giving me some motivation.


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## Eddie_T (Mar 22, 2021)

When I took canoeing at BSA camp we were taught that the proper position was to kneel with one's butt gainst the brace that most call a seat. I know I couldn't handle kneeling now. I built a kayak from a Folbot kit years ago, it had low seats with backs. I gave it to my son.


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## bud16415 (Mar 23, 2021)

Eddie_T said:


> When I took canoeing at BSA camp we were taught that the proper position was to kneel with one's butt gainst the brace that most call a seat. I know I couldn't handle kneeling now. I built a kayak from a Folbot kit years ago, it had low seats with backs. I gave it to my son.


We had a Folbot kit build my father in law built years ago. It was a nice little boat and it lasted a dozen years but poor storage caused it to go back to nature.



I’m planning on a kneeling pad in the canoe but I really think my knees won’t let me use it a lot also.



This canoe is really getting set up to be a number of different boats all in one. We have the creek that will be mostly day trips but who knows I have a lot of camping equipment just going to waist so maybe a few overnight trips as well. So I want it setup for solo but also we will be doing some floats together with big groups where you hardly even paddle.



Then I want to get it in a bunch of lakes around for fishing and I’m thinking of taking Oldog’s advice and have some small outriggers (DIY) I can slap on for stability or even standing if fishing alone or with someone else.



I want to keep the weight down for loading and unloading on the car top and I have the strap on dolly for moving it down a ramp. My plan is to get it on the dolly and then put on the seat or seats I want and outriggers or not and then launch.



I’m also rigging up some bow and stern (DIY) air bags just in case.

Doing all this on a shoestring budget of course.


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## Flyover (Mar 23, 2021)

@bud16415 Speaking of canoes that are many different boats in one, my grandfather had a regular canoe (not designed to accommodate a motor) and managed to get a motor on it, which I believe he basically never used. He also had a canoe that accepted a mast and sail, and used it for sailing.

So, the possibilities are endless. Just figure out a way to install a bar, a casino, and a pool and you can have a canoe cruise ship!


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## slownsteady (Mar 23, 2021)

Been reading along on this. Years ago when the canoe bug was hard upon me, I almost bought a new 147. That's about as light as a good canoe gets. Other things took priority and I never got my canoe, but as I'm reading about your mods I keep thinking on how the wood seats are going to add weight and change you center of gravity. Never forget that canoes can tip.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 23, 2021)

The crab pot noisy I fab'd on my old kayak worked really well for added stability. Cheap, and PC pipe made an easy to assemble frame. Only drawback was it made it harder to paddle. The horizontal pipe slipped into a union that I put a pin in for removal during transportation.


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## Flyover (Mar 23, 2021)

To me that feels like cheating somehow.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 23, 2021)

Flyover said:


> To me that feels like cheating somehow.


Cheating, really? I like the added safety factor.


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## Flyover (Mar 23, 2021)

@oldognewtrick Yeah, cheating! A canoe is supposed to be tippy. That's why it's called Tippecanoe.


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## bud16415 (Mar 24, 2021)

@Flyover You can call it cheating but many canoes come with sponsons built on just below the gunwales. Canoes have initial and secondary stability and one with a flat bottom has great initial but when they flip they flip without warning. Secondary stability is how controlled the lean can be and predictable but lack that easy to stand up feature. It has a lot to do with how you will be using it and skill level. I haven’t even had mine in the water yet, but from what I have been reading the design of my Guide 147 is to try and find a happy spot in the middle. Reviews from first timers talk about it being tippy and seasoned pros find it too flat and stable.



When I’m going down stream or across a lake I don’t think I want the drag of in the water pontoons but when sitting still trying to fish I would rather it not be overly rocky. The reason I’m thinking of a setup where I can leave them off when I want and add them when I want. also they will lift out of the water when paddling and depending on how loaded one or two in the boat up might be a different place. When I get where I want to fish I want to quickly set them just in the water for a stable platform. Part of all this will evolve as I get it in the water but I don’t see a need for the floats to be way outside like an outrigger on a sailing canoe might need. I really think a couple inches outside the gunwales should do it. I see a lot of people use the crab floats like oldog has on his old boat and maybe I will end up with them. To start off I ordered two jumbo pool noodles and I can rig them with PVC, I think.



@slownsteady Yep I’m trying to keep weight down and comfort high and the wooden bench seat is a little heavy for my liking. On the other hand the canoe has a 900 pound max rating and I will never be anywhere close to that. My biggest worry is the bench is at a good height but then I added a folding comfort stadium seat for the ride along princess and that pushed the seat height up a few inches that made it comfortable but also a higher CG. So version 2.0 of the bench might be lower and not a bench if all it does is hold another seat. I should be able to get 5 pounds out of it and lower also. We are planning on kayak paddles instead of being on opposite ends with nothing in the middle my thoughts are we can sit closer with better central balance. Weight difference between the two paddlers should be less of an issue that way.

Time will tell.  But like I told the neighbor that keeps coming over to see what I’m up too, I told him if it never gets wet I’m having fun working on it.


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## Flyover (Mar 24, 2021)

I was joking. 

I'm not an expert canoer by any stretch, but I did spend a lot of time in them as a kid and feel very comfortable in them, so I'm sure I'm biased.


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## bud16415 (Mar 24, 2021)

Flyover said:


> I was joking.
> 
> I'm not an expert canoer by any stretch, but I did spend a lot of time in them as a kid and feel very comfortable in them, so I'm sure I'm biased.


I know you were.

I was once at a professional golf tournament and my son was caddying for a pro and they lost his clubs at the airport. He was in a jam and my son offered him his clubs with hopes the airlines would get his to him at least for the second day. After his first round he was tied for the lead and I said to him looks like the loaner clubs worked ok. He said something I always remembered. He said ya they are high quality amateur sticks but the problem is I can only hit them straight. He said what fun is that. I had spent my whole life trying to hit the ball straight and couldn’t and here these club are corrective he couldn’t hook the ball to save his life. Boats are a lot the same I think.


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## bud16415 (Apr 1, 2021)

I’m making progress on the boat getting it where I want it. First thing I did was reverse the bow seat and move it 8” to become the new stern seat. (running backwards) then I removed the old stern seat from the new bow and added two thwarts 48” from each end and took out the center yoke and replaced it with a thwart. In front of the center thwart I built and added a drop block to each side and a removable bench seat. I also came off the drop blocks and added a footrest rail. Then I cut up a old neoprene sleeping pad and made a kneeling pad and covered the bench seat and the DIY seat back and seat. I should be locked in nicely. Then I bought 2 oblong yoga balls called peanut balls and blew them up for capsize floatation adding about 7 square feet of flotation. I put them inside Army surplus laundry bags. They get locked into each end and strapped down. One of the last things left is to drill the bow on each end and add a line loop.



I’m still working on the roof rack for the Kia Soul also because without that it’s not going nowhere.

Today I applied for a Pa launch permit / sticker 25 bucks for two years I was in the sporting goods store for 2 hours and had to answer a 100 questions about how I came to own a canoe and of course I have no idea how many or who bought it new and other than a number pressed into the plastic side I had no info. He called the state 3 times and finally I told I could have got a number off any canoe or just made one up what difference would it make. While I was there I told him I also wanted a fishing license. He ran my drivers info again and said oh you are over 65 and can get a lifetime fishing license for this amount or one year for this amount. I did the math in my head and asked him do you think I will live 5 more years? He looked me over and said go for the lifetime. So I did. It’s good to know the sporting good guy has more faith in me than the young woman doctor I go see. Anyway now I have another reason to keep going.


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## slownsteady (Apr 4, 2021)

Any thing left of the old boat?.............................


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## bud16415 (Apr 4, 2021)

slownsteady said:


> Any thing left of the old boat?.............................


What’s left will become decorator pieces for the work shop or the man cave.


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## bud16415 (Apr 17, 2021)

tomtheelder2020 said:


> I also bought a used kayak (Coleman) that is way to heavy to lift on my own - and my wife's back won't let her help - so I built a canoe loader, based on a youtube video, that uses "stairs" and carrier on top of our van. I just roll it off of the cart onto the lowest plastic pegs then, going back and forth, walk it to the top. When the center of gravity passes the pivot point, the stairs rotate up and I just push it to the center of the carrier and remove the stairs. I also built outriggers that make it so stable I can stand to cast. The system works great!


Tom:

Thanks again for the tip.  



Got to try my DIY ladders on my DIY rack.

It went pretty good. I had the ladders pinned to the rack and I spaced my steps at 12” but I think I will change that to 6” tomorrow. I got it up there no damage to car or boat or me.


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## oldognewtrick (Apr 18, 2021)

bud16415 said:


> Tom:
> 
> Thanks again for the tip.
> 
> ...


Ok, you got it loaded, did you get it to the water?


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## bud16415 (Apr 18, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> Ok, you got it loaded, did you get it to the water?


Not yet. I did drive around and scope out some nice inland fishing spots. 

We got thrown a curve ball a couple days ago. Her car died in the city and we towed it to a nearby farm garage they use with the farm. That guy had it a couple days and he normally works on trucks and farm equipment and said it was out of his pay grade. So we towed it to my local garage he had it a few days and tells us it went out of time the pistons clobbered the valves bent them and the engine is toast. About 2000 bucks to fix a car worth 4-5k and we spent the last couple days car shopping. Last night I towed her car back home so now I have more lawn art. 

Needless to say we are down to one car and my fishing takes a back seat to her going to work. 

On a good note I have been finding how hard it is to find a kayak for her locally. I ordered her a Old Town Trip 10 Deluxe Kayak and it should be here in a couple weeks. So her new car might just need to have a good roof rack as well.


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## Eddie_T (Apr 18, 2021)

@bud16415 How do you like the Soul? If I get another vehicle I would like to be able to haul a sheet of plywood. If a Soul can haul a canoe it should be able to handle plywood.


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## oldognewtrick (Apr 18, 2021)

bud16415 said:


> Not yet. I did drive around and scope out some nice inland fishing spots.
> 
> We got thrown a curve ball a couple days ago. Her car died in the city and we towed it to a nearby farm garage they use with the farm. That guy had it a couple days and he normally works on trucks and farm equipment and said it was out of his pay grade. So we towed it to my local garage he had it a few days and tells us it went out of time the pistons clobbered the valves bent them and the engine is toast. About 2000 bucks to fix a car worth 4-5k and we spent the last couple days car shopping. Last night I towed her car back home so now I have more lawn art.
> 
> ...


Find a donor out of a junk yard with low miles and swap it over. Sounds like a timing belt failed. Interference engines don't like being out of time.


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## bud16415 (Apr 18, 2021)

Eddie_T said:


> @bud16415 How do you like the Soul? If I get another vehicle I would like to be able to haul a sheet of plywood. If a Soul can haul a canoe it should be able to handle plywood.


 

I love the Soul and I never thought 30 years ago I would like something like this. We got the model with the larger engine and that made a huge difference in the feel of driving it. They come with 16-17-18” wheels and in the summer I run the low profile 18” that came with it and in the winter I switch to 16” snow tires with studs and it goes anyplace I need despite the weather. I added a spare and that moves the foam storage thing above the rear deck still lots of room for $150 worth of groceries. The rear seats fold flat and I often haul 2x4 eight footers inside believe it of not with the hatch closed.



When building the rack 4x8 sheets were on my mind also and I plan on using it for that. If you take it slow there should be no problem. The antenna sticks up in the way, but I found they unscrew and the rack is high enough to clear the base.



The soul has 4 plastic caps you snap out and below that are 4 metric 6mm threaded holes. I cut some PT 2x4 blocks and tapered them to match the roof and added a screw hole painted them black and bolted them down. Then I made the cross bars PT 2x4 and drilled a bigger hole to access the bolts and attached them with 4 each 2.5” deck screws. It will outlast the car and is way stronger than the ones I see on line costing a lot. The on line ones IMO are made mostly for looks unless you get fancy ones made for cargo and when you start looking at the weight rating I think mine will do better. I can add two holes to the cross bars and add a second layer bar that sticks out for two boats or something wider. I kept the design to just 48” as I wanted to leave them on all the time and didn’t want a head knocker. So for a couple bucks I could make a set of bars just for 4x8 sheets with blocks to lock the sheets in.



Will also be nice to haul my extension ladder using the canoe end straps.



People have been doing this stuff in Europe for a long time with little cars.

My friend at work used to like and tell people that I have a “Black Soul”.


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## bud16415 (Apr 18, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> Find a donor out of a junk yard with low miles and swap it over. Sounds like a timing belt failed. Interference engines don't like being out of time.


I'm looking into it. The trouble with Honda products is there is no such thing as low miles. A really good find is 100-150 k. Then there is the re-manufactured engines that cost a bit more but at least you have an idea of what you are getting. The engine swap comes out the bottom so that rules out most of the shade tree mechanics around here and the people that do it charge between 1000-1500 and a decent engine will be at least 1000. 

It would still be worth it as we could drive it or sell it and show some gain depending on what it needs next. 

I talked to two different local garages that flip cars all the time and have used lots. Both told me a few years ago they would buy it do the engine and flip it and make a couple grand. They say now there are lots of cars they can put 8 hours of labor and parts in and make a couple grand They don't want to spend 40 hours to make the same profit. Can't say as I blame them. 

She is kind of past it now and has the bug for a new car again. We like to keep one good car for trips and that was the KIA. So I don't know maybe it's time to list it as is and see if there is someone young and eager for a project. As a last resort send it down the road to the bone yard.


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## Eddie_T (Apr 18, 2021)

@bud16415 Thanks much! I didn't know about the bolt holes, my mind is already designing racks.

When I had a Toyota 22re pickup a 4x8 wouldn't fit so I used bars across to carry plywood sheets. Only about 7 miles to Lowes.


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## bud16415 (May 26, 2021)

Ok to keep y’all updated on my endeavors with too much time on my hands. We bought Holly a new car, well as close to new as we could. We found her a 2020 Kia Sportage with just over 3000 miles on it. The dealer told me if it wasn’t for lease cars he wouldn’t have anything to sell. The car was leased by an older woman and she drove it for a while and wanted something smaller so she broke the lease after 3000 miles.



I also got her a kayak as she didn’t like being the copilot of the canoe. I thought I liked how I retrofitted the canoe to be a solo with the option of a tandem until last Saturday we went out on a good size lake near us with a dam and the wind was pretty strong coming over the dam and I saw how important weight distribution really is and my single seat location was not what I wanted. So like anyone with too much time to kill would do I stripped it all out and started from scratch building what is called a pack boat from a tandem canoe. I got rid of all the molded Old Town seats and even the bench seat I built and built a lighter frame to hold a lightweight stadium seat and positioned the weight just behind the center of the length. I set the seat just a smidge lower. Took out the center thwart and moved the rest around to make two cargo areas one behind the seat and one in front that holds a good size cooler. Place for fish and food and drinks that’s handy to reach. The boat now should keep the bow down and help with tracking in wind.



Her kayak I added bow flotation to with a 15” yoga ball under the deck and it has a sealed bulkhead and hatch in the stern. I couldn’t believe nor could she just how fast and straight and stable the OldTown Trip 10 Deluxe was. I almost wish I had bought 2 of them. I would recommend it with the mods I made for anyone looking for a sit inside rec kayak.

Here are a few pictures of where I am now.


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## Eddie_T (May 26, 2021)

Yoga ball for flotation is a good  idea. My son uses inflatable balls (beach?) to pop out dented plastic bumpers on his wife's Cherokee.


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## oldognewtrick (May 26, 2021)

I'm making a kayak cart that can be disassembled and stored in my front hatch, half way done, I'll post some pics tomorrow.


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## tomtheelder2020 (May 26, 2021)

How are you going to attach fishing pole holder to kayak?


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## oldognewtrick (May 26, 2021)

tomtheelder2020 said:


> How are you going to attach fishing pole holder to kayak?


There's 2 rod holders molded into the hull and I have 2 rod holders attached to a crate that fits behind the seat. I also fabricated a flag pole with a US flag on the back of the crate.


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## bud16415 (May 26, 2021)

tomtheelder2020 said:


> How are you going to attach fishing pole holder to kayak?


The kayak came with two rod holders behind the seat. She will never use them as she hates fishing and only wanted a rec kayak for doing river floats and paddling around the lakes here. It also came with an anchor trolley and anchor and I took all that stuff off. She liked the blue and the kayak she wanted was the OT Vapor that is orange and the same as this one without the bulkhead and cost 100 bucks more and was out of stock. I will be fishing in the canoe though and I haven't rigged the rod holders yet.


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## bud16415 (May 26, 2021)

Eddie_T said:


> Yoga ball for flotation is a good  idea. My son uses inflatable balls (beach?) to pop out dented plastic bumpers on his wife's Cherokee.


Ya the picture shows the foam block I took out compared to the ball. It blew up and the deck has a dash with a cup holder that is lower than the deck and it locks the ball in tight. The kayak has adjustable foot pads each side of the ball, but she said she liked the ball as a foot rest better. I used oblong peanut yoga balls in the canoe for flotation also. they are cheap and tough and come in lots of sizes.


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## bud16415 (May 26, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> I'm making a kayak cart that can be disassembled and stored in my front hatch, half way done, I'll post some pics tomorrow.


You will like that the one. I have one for the canoe was from Amazon, works great. It is nice to take them with you as you never know when you might need it. Looking forward to the pics.


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## oldognewtrick (May 26, 2021)

I made one last year that I cemented all the joints together. I gave it to my son in law. This one I want to be able to bring it with me and when it's time to take out, I can pop it together without having to walk back to the truck. The ramp can get very busy on weekends.


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## oldognewtrick (May 27, 2021)

Here it is assembled, the upper supports with the pipe insulation is glued together at the T. Where it attaches the the axle part is just compression fitted. 



It breaks down and can be stowed in my front dry hatch.



I used 5/8th threaded rod for a full length axle. I drilled a hole in the rod and I'm looked for some push pins to secure the wheels, till then I've got nuts holding the wheels on.


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## oldognewtrick (May 27, 2021)

Getting ready to load up my kayak for a camping weekend. Also, some pics of my yak hauler, fishfinder I fabed a shield for, fishing rods, my flag and tackle tray storage. I dumped my tackle box in favor of trays that can fit under my seat.


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## bud16415 (May 28, 2021)

I will keep an eye out for your flag. Looks great.


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## bud16415 (May 28, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> Getting ready to load up my kayak for a camping weekend. Also, some pics of my yak hauler, fishfinder I fabed a shield for, fishing rods, my flag and tackle tray storage. I dumped my tackle box in favor of trays that can fit under my seat


Great minds think alike. A neighbor came over yesterday and saw the changes and said where will you be putting the tackle box? I told him I’m hunting around for a tray for under the seat. I haven’t found what I want yet something with a snap on hinge lid and some compartments and a way to not have it moving around.


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## oldognewtrick (May 28, 2021)

I picked up 4 Plano hinged, waterproof boxes at Wallyworld. I need to come up with a way to secure my line snips and  a hemistat for hook removals that use to be attached to my old box. I don't really want them attached to my life jacket and the trays don't have a loop or handle to tie to. Oh well, next project.


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## bud16415 (May 28, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> I picked up 4 Plano hinged, waterproof boxes at Wallyworld. I need to come up with a way to secure my line snips and  a hemistat for hook removals that use to be attached to my old box. I don't really want them attached to my life jacket and the trays don't have a loop or handle to tie to. Oh well, next project.


I need to measure my space and then bring my tape measure with me to the big “W” next time we go.



Maybe I should look around the garage first I might just have one.

I also want to find a small box I can use in my cooler to keep my ice and lunch away from the fish I hope to catch.


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## Flyover (May 28, 2021)

Back when I was doing freelance videography work I eschewed the standard $150 videographer's camera bag for a $20 fishing tackle cooler bag from Wally World. It came with two of those clear compartmentalized trays in it, which I removed and used for other things.

That was nearly 15 years ago! I still have the bag (holds music recording gear) and both the trays. One tray holds spare parts for my various guitar building projects, the other has seen much more use holding unusual bits of hardware and has lived in my various garages/basements/workshops/wherever I've done my DIYing over the years.

BTW I don't know if they still have them, but back then Wally World also had hardshell gun cases for like $10. Probably big enough to very comfortably fit two pistols. This was back when I did not own a gun but did own a nice SLR camera, and so I cut out the foam inside to accommodate my camera, accessories, and several smaller lenses.

Long story short, lots of fun improvising and money-saving to be had by getting creative in the Wally World sports/outdoors section.


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## oldognewtrick (Jul 10, 2021)

We picked up electric scooters to ride around the campgrounds. Seems one was always an issue. Battery, connections or just not enough to climb some of the hills.


So, I picked up a gently used 2016 honda with only 572 miles on it. Hills no problem anymore. Fits nicely in the back of the truck.


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## bud16415 (Jul 10, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> We picked up electric scooters to ride around the campgrounds. Seems one was always an issue. Battery, connections or just not enough to climb some of the hills.
> View attachment 26127
> 
> So, I picked up a gently used 2016 honda with only 572 miles on it. Hills no problem anymore. Fits nicely in the back of the truck.
> View attachment 26128


That's one heck of a step up.


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## oldognewtrick (Jul 25, 2021)

Yesterday morning fishing The Duck River in middle Tennessee. 65* when we put in. Caught a couple small mouth bass, son in law got a alligator far.


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## bud16415 (Jul 25, 2021)

Looks like a great spot. We paddled up a small feeder of French Creek a week ago and made it about a mile till we found a beaver dam. I didn’t have my fishing gear but it reminded me of your photos was just covered in floating lily pads. Lucky for me the beaver pond was large enough for the canoe to turn around or I might have had to paddle backwards for an hour.


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## Flyover (Jul 25, 2021)

@oldognewtrick Love those rock formations in the background.


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## oldognewtrick (Jul 25, 2021)

Flyover said:


> @oldognewtrick Love those rock formations in the background.


The Duck River is fairly narrow, it has beautiful scenery. We floated about 12 miles last year and it was all farm land or rock bluffs. We passed a couple camps but no houses.


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## bud16415 (Aug 22, 2021)

Keeping with the too much time theme I was wondering around wally mart today looking for a b-day gift for a 3 year old. I didn’t buy him this but it cracked me up.

Also I added some art work to the front of the canoe so I would stand apart from the rest. I’m not overly artistic so I used stickers.


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## oldognewtrick (Aug 24, 2021)

This is the 4th house I've roofed for this customer. They had a cupola that was falling apart and I volunteered to fix it. Only this I could salvage was the top frame. Finally done with it, going on tomorrow morning, weather came and all.


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## bud16415 (Sep 5, 2021)

Yesterday our local fire department did its 12 mile dice drift run on our local river. Food along the way and chances to win prizes. I had no luck but ate my share of food. For 10 bucks it was a great fundraiser and there was quite the turnout as covid made it a no go last year. 450 people shoved off over about an hour and no reported problems. Different families along the way were out watching or distributing beverages. One family had a air powered water canon and I got nailed when I came around the bend.

Here is a photo of the line at the ramp it was like that non stop and out of the 450 boats about 440 were rec-kayaks and there were 10 or less with canoes You can see my barge sitting waiting on wheels to the right of the photo. The friends we went with were working registration so we went with them as sweepers.


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## oldognewtrick (Sep 5, 2021)

Came home yesterday from a week at Panama City Beach, we survived hurricane Ida. Up till Wed the were 5-8' waves. The beaches were closed till Thurs at noon. 20-30 mph winds, gusts to 50. Am in all, a great trip. 


We did take our scooters and managed to put about 200 miles on them.


Of course, Sat when we left the Gulf was perfect...


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## Eddie_T (Sep 5, 2021)

A friend spent the week prior to Ida at Destin. She left on Saturday just missing it. Her pics confirmed what my boss at the AFETR told me, that the sand is so white it was used it to cut sugar during WWII rationing.


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## oldognewtrick (Sep 5, 2021)

My favorite spot in the panhandle is Navarre, it's halfway between Ft Walton and Pensacola. Nice quiet small town. The bigger towns are just too congested for my taste.


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## bud16415 (Sep 20, 2021)

Yesterday on French Creek and a 2-mile detour up Conneautee creek to see the beaver dam. We had a long discussion if we wanted to go around the dam it looked like some really nice paddling above. The water height change at the dam is about 18” and we wondered what the ride back would be like if that dam opened suddenly. We had 12 more miles till our takeout so we left above the dam for another day.



There was a huge Great Blue Heron sitting on the dam as we approached I was too late with the iPhone to get the perfect picture as it took off.

This was my nephews first time on the creek or in a small sit inside rec kayak. She let him borrow her OT kayak and he is now hooked talking about getting 2 boats for him and his wife. We traveled about 14-16 miles close as I can figure. When we took the car to the takeout point about 10 minute drive to do the car shuttle he said that’s it we will be done in half an hour. He got a new respect for how much a river can snake around.


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## oldognewtrick (Sep 20, 2021)

Looks like a beautiful day for a paddle Bud!


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## bud16415 (Oct 3, 2021)

Well a new way to waste time has found me. Her granddad Pap past away about 9 years ago and was an old dairy farmer when he mostly retired from farming her dad bought the farm and all the big equipment and Pap was left to dealing with the couple acres around the farm house and he bought a Cub LoBoy that’s bigger than a lawn mower and smaller than what her family calls a tractor. Her mom used it to mow around Granny, Pap’s wife place until she ran it low on coolant and it stopped. She took it to Charley to look at and he fixed it up and by that time she bought a smaller JD and really didn’t need it plus Granny told him don’t bring it back she is going to wreck it again. So Charley takes it to the steam engine grounds and uses it for 5 years to trim around the buildings. Then Granny passed away last year and Charley started asking around who wants it as it is not his and the steam engine guys didn’t want it around as it really didn’t belong to them. All her family who are real farmers said no thanks they didn’t have a need for it and We were about last on the list and have a huge quarter acre to mow and already have a JD 48” rider that is almost new and way overkill as it is. I’m planning on selling the 2500 pickup as all I have used it for in the last couple years was plowing the driveway and it needs some work I don’t feel like doing. I knew there was a snow blade and chains for the LoBoy and it sounded like more fun fixing the old tractor than an old pickup, plus it held some sentimental value for Holly as it was Pap’s last “tractor”/lawnmower.



So I got it home pulled the 60” mower deck and installed the plow, pressure washed the whole thing, bought a new battery, new rear lights, replaced a dozen missing bolts and bought a quart of Cub yellow. I likely will never put the deck on it again unless someone gives us a new house with lots of land to mow and I don’t see that happening soon.



So this will be my new winter toy for battling the northern winter snows and something to putter around with using up some of my free time.   

When I get it touched up I will post a after picture.


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## oldognewtrick (Oct 3, 2021)

If you don't want it, I'll take it. We could use another tractor at the deer lease. Does it have a PTO?


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## oldognewtrick (Oct 3, 2021)

Oh, and yeah, we're back at my favorite beach.


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## bud16415 (Oct 3, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> If you don't want it, I'll take it. We could use another tractor at the deer lease. Does it have a PTO?


Yep it has a live PTO. I almost bought a LoBoy when I was a kid but it had the ground speed PTO and you had to be going balls to the walls to get it to mow. This setup is much better.



Looks beautiful down there. Our leaves are starting to turn and it’s archery season on white tails now. Hoping to get a little fishing in yet before it involves boring holes.

Say hi to SnoopDog for me when he comes up the beach and hands you a cold one.


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## oldognewtrick (Oct 3, 2021)

Archery season started two weeks ago in Tennessee, haven't been yet. We did spend last Saturday bush hogging. Can't get too excited about sitting in the woods till the first frost hits. The bugs, snakes and spiders disappear then. We do have a fair amount of snakes, rattlers and cotton mouths. There's been sightings of a black bear not far from our lease. The guys next to us have a big cat on a trail cam. We've seen some big paw prints. I'm half expecting sometime soon well encounter something special.


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## BuzzLOL (Oct 4, 2021)

bud16415 said:


> Yesterday on French Creek and a 2-mile detour up Conneautee creek to see the beaver dam.


Went canoeing on Huron River north of Ann Arbor a few years ago with my high school buddy. It was fun when river was 50 - 100 feet wide and we seemed to be moving right along... portaging over log jams and around dams... ducks and geese following us... but when the river widened into a lake we didn't seem to be moving at all... just a lot of rowing...


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## oldognewtrick (Oct 4, 2021)

Crappy morning...


Beautiful afternoon...


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## Eddie_T (Oct 4, 2021)

Is that sand or sugar?


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## havasu (Oct 4, 2021)

...or cocaine?


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## oldognewtrick (Oct 4, 2021)

Eddie_T said:


> Is that sand or sugar?


It's actually sugar sand. If it was cocaine, I'd be buying a Lear Jet and living on a private island permanently.


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## bud16415 (Oct 9, 2021)

I got the old LoBoy cleaned up have the deck off now and the plow installed with a fresh coat of Cub yellow on it and added a snow deflector to the blade making it about 6” taller. Still working on cleaning the carport so it will fit. I put new two way marker tail lights on the back from tractor supply and bought two new LED replacement headlights for the old sealed beams from the 70s. They were the 3.5” round ones. Amazon had them to me in 2 days. Wow are they nice. Half the power and I’m guessing 4 times the light. They have 16 clusters of LED in them. I would recommend them from what I know so far.


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## Eddie_T (Oct 9, 2021)

@bud16415  Looking Gooooood!


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## bud16415 (Nov 2, 2021)

So long old friend.



For the last 3-4 years I have kept the old GMC 2500 around just for plowing snow. I took it off the road as feeding it was crazy expensive and now it would be even worse. With the Cub for plowing and the truck needing work it was long past time to let the old girl go.



I paid $25k for her in 2000 and now have 250,000 miles on her. That comes out to 10 cents a mile for ownership. If I don’t add in the million dollars I spent on gas, tires, repairs and insurance to mention a few. But I’m saying she doesn’t owe me anything and she needs a oil line fixed, new power steering pump, fuel line, floor replaced, emergency brake cable, wipers, plow mold board, I could go on. I put an add on CL with make an offer as is. The neighbor kid offered me $1000 and I didn’t really want to sell it to someone I know and hear him complain forever. A guy from NY state offered me 700 to the ad and I told him I had a offer of 1000 and he came back with $1050 told him come and get it or look at it and it was his for that price. He brought a mechanic with him and I started it up and they crawled around under it taking pics and texting them to someone. About an hour later he comes over with a stack of Franklins and said I’ll take it and he will be back later in the week to do the title papers and will bring his flat bed.



Makes me feel good someone will put her back to work. 

Getting that out of my driveway will be amazing.


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## oldognewtrick (Dec 31, 2021)

Took advantage of the last day of the year to chase the fishes around. Unseasonably warm here.


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## bud16415 (Dec 31, 2021)

oldognewtrick said:


> Took advantage of the last day of the year to chase the fishes around. Unseasonably warm here.
> View attachment 27261
> View attachment 27262


Fantastic. We are also benefiting from your warm air heading up to us a day later. Quite a few were out fishing our river but from shore. Water temp is keeping me from launching the canoe. It is about 50f today.

Looking forward to pork and sauerkraut tomorrow.


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## slownsteady (Jan 11, 2022)

Damn, oldog! That scowl will scare the fish away


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 12, 2022)

slownsteady said:


> Damn, oldog! That scowl will scare the fish away


It did...


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## Fireguy5674 (Jan 12, 2022)

We are heade to Lake Talquin in early March for Crappie.  Any pointers for the area?


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 12, 2022)

Are you looking for fishing tips, places to stay, sightseeing, best oyster bars, best bikini beaches?


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## Guzzle (Jan 12, 2022)

Or some combination???


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## Fireguy5674 (Jan 13, 2022)

We have a cabin reserved.  My cousin and her boyfriend will be there in their small motorhome.  I am looking for fishing tips.  I could spend the whole week fishing with no problem.  I am sure we will need to find other things to do as the women will be bored.  I have never been able to do oysters.


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 13, 2022)

I lived in Florida for a couple years near the Space Center. Anywhere in Florida you'll find fresh, brackish, or salt water options available. We use to fish the St John's near Cocoa and always caught a cooler full of brim, shellcrackers, crappy, threw the bass back. Stop at a local bait shop and ask advise on where is an easy place to get to and get the right liscense. Salt and fresh water are different.

We usually go to the panhandle near Pensacola and the condo we've been staying at is directly on the Gulf. Walking out the back door and early morning surf fishing is so relaxing.


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## Fireguy5674 (Jan 13, 2022)

Lake Talquin is about 10 to 15 miles from Tallahassee if you're not familiar.  We will be a short walk from lake.  Really looking forward to warm sun and frisky fish in early March.  
Wanted to rent a small fishing boat in the area but not having any luck finding one.  Don't want to charter every day for a week.
Thanks for the info.


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## Guzzle (Jan 13, 2022)

A group of women will never be bored.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 16, 2022)

Weather's been too crappy to do much outside, so... I decided to get some old RC airplanes out that have been sitting on the shelf since the late 80's. The one on the right was given to me when I bought a radio from another member our the flying club I use to belong to.


It has a broken leading edge and several broken ribs. I found some balsa sheets at Hobby Lobby for repairs. I started piecing in the leading edge,


I sanded down the edge to a rough dimension and will do a final fit when I get all the ribs replaced.


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## Eddie_T (Feb 16, 2022)

slownsteady said:


> Damn, oldog! That scowl will scare the fish away


I think I will copy that mustache trim pattern the next time I trim.


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## bud16415 (Feb 17, 2022)

oldognewtrick said:


> Weather's been too crappy to do much outside, so... I decided to get some old RC airplanes out that have been sitting on the shelf since the late 80's. The one on the right was given to me when I bought a radio from another member our the flying club I use to belong to.
> View attachment 27550
> 
> It has a broken leading edge and several broken ribs. I found some balsa sheets at Hobby Lobby for repairs. I started piecing in the leading edge,
> ...


RC is a great hobby and a way to burn up a lot of spare time. I have a nephew but we grew up more like brothers that really took off with RC starting as a young teen. He then became an aircraft mechanic and always kept up with the hobby. Then about 10 years ago he got into rockets and goes out once a year to a big rocket event in the salt flats. Here is a picture of him launching his V2. that rocket had to break down to two sections to fit in his truck to get it out there.

Post more pics when you get the skin on.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 17, 2022)

bud16415 said:


> RC is a great hobby and a way to burn up a lot of spare time. I have a nephew but we grew up more like brothers that really took off with RC starting as a young teen. He then became an aircraft mechanic and always kept up with the hobby. Then about 10 years ago he got into rockets and goes out once a year to a big rocket event in the salt flats. Here is a picture of him launching his V2. that rocket had to break down to two sections to fit in his truck to get it out there.
> 
> Post more pics when you get the skin on.  View attachment 27552


Your cousins not named Elon is he?


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## bud16415 (Feb 17, 2022)

oldognewtrick said:


> Your cousins not named Elon is he?


No but I think he knows him or has meet him I forget the story. They hold this event called Balls out west in Black Rock Desert every year and they shut down the flight paths and people show up from all over the world. It is the week after Burning Man and I always tease him he just goes to see the end of the freak show. Some of these rockets do mach 4.



My nephew told me a couple years ago to check out National Geographic as they did a thing on this Balls launch. There he was his photo or him with his rocket in NG.

BALLS 30


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## BuzzLOL (Feb 17, 2022)

oldognewtrick said:


> Weather's been too crappy to do much outside, so...


Weather here in N.W. Ohio jumped up from zero to around 50 degrees, now may get 11 degrees and snow tonight, then back up around 50 degrees... hope that's it for winter... back in 1979 was unusual,  went from winter to summer mid February... 1978 was also unusual, our only 'blizzard'...


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## bud16415 (Feb 17, 2022)

BuzzLOL said:


> Weather here in N.W. Ohio jumped up from zero to around 50 degrees, now may get 11 degrees and snow tonight, then back up around 50 degrees... hope that's it for winter... back in 1979 was unusual,  went from winter to summer mid February... 1978 was also unusual, our only 'blizzard'...


Same here. The Cub Lo-Boy woke up with a flat front tire this morning. I saw it was 50s and said good day to work on it. Took the tire to the shop and he didn't even look at it grabbed a tube and had it fixed in under 10 minutes. He never said one word except 30 bucks and I handed him the cash and was out the door. Now it can snow all it wants.


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## BuzzLOL (Feb 17, 2022)

bud16415 said:


> Now it can snow all it wants.


Friend of mine just gave me a great deal on a powerful used snow blower, but don't know if I will actually need it now this year... waiting to see how much snow arrives... had been considering picking one up after my brother threw the snow plow away for my truck when my deceased Mom's house was sold...


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## bud16415 (Feb 17, 2022)

BuzzLOL said:


> Friend of mine just gave me a great deal on a powerful used snow blower, but don't know if I will actually need it now this year... waiting to see how much snow arrives... had been considering picking one up after my brother threw the snow plow away for my truck when my deceased Mom's house was sold...


My guess is you will get to try it out. I would be mad if someone tossed my plow without asking.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 6, 2022)

Hey SNS, only happy faces today!


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## bud16415 (Mar 27, 2022)

Last year we got into paddleboats and I got the canoe and she got her kayak. They spent all summer on saw horses when not in the water and were a pain to mow around. In the fall I built a cantilevered rack off the boardwalk between the house and the garage for storage I could rake and mow under and free up some yard in the process and this spring before we went back to winter I wanted to fiddle with the canoe and quickly found out it was a PITA to get it off onto the ground and then back up on saw horses. When I would lift one end onto a horse and then in lifting the other end my horse would tip over or something.



I took a look in my scrap pile and an hour later this is what I had built.

They come off quickly when not needed or I can fold them up for mowing around and such.


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