New to me clam guide

[bart]

ship of fools, sounds awesome to me!

For me Florida is a great place to visit but I could never live there, it's flat, hot and humid...

[hardwater diehard]

ship of fools, sounds awesome to me!

For me Florida is a great place to visit but I could never live there, it's flat, hot and humid...

Only two seasons Tourist season and Hurricane season ....

[river rat78]

back home now, got a hay field lawn to take care of, gardens full of weeds, no fishing for awhile. I did look at some new tents for the guide. A guide tent for $169.00 also a nanook for $149.00, and a nanook thermal at $229.00. Anyone use a thermal, My clam pro isn't insulated, and I don't run a heater all the time I'm out,and never had condensation problems. Anyone use a thermal, and have pro's and con's about them.

I used to own a 2 man non thermal and did like it. However the cons I had about it was condensation when running a heater, wind flap, and wouldn't retain heat well. I currently own a thermal and the only cons I have is the weight.

[Uncle Al]

I used to own a 2 man non thermal and did like it. However the cons I had about it was condensation when running a heater, wind flap, and wouldn't retain heat well. I currently own a thermal and the only cons I have is the weight.

I don't care about weight as I tow the clam pro I'm using now with a snowmobile, a two man won't be a problem. anyone else using a non thermal, and not much heat and having condensation problems. I don't run mine all the time I'm in it, and never noticed dripping.

[hardwater diehard]

I have a two man Frabill Adventurer ...300 denier fabric . On windy days ...sounds like a trains-a-coming . On brutal days with it bundled up and heater going full boar and long hours ...have to air it out upon getting home due to condensation/frost.. most times I don't use the heater or I am  in/out or the door is open  so condensation is a minimal hassle . If I upgraded to even a top thermal I am sure wind whip would be eased as well as limited heater use except on brutal days ...the extra weight may be a problem as I drag quite a bit the last two season based on snow fall...but with a Smitty could ease it some I suppose .

[Uncle Al]

Temps were in the 40's so it's time to work on the guide. Cut a piece of plywood the size of the tub, put my stuff on top trying to decide where to cut holes. There's not much room under the plywood, only 6in, not a lot of room for anything, so my stuff will stick out of the holes. did find room for my buddy heater, small cooler for minnows, tackle box,using a gun case for a rod box, that will lay flat behind the seat, and one compartment for misc. Seat is going in the center and will have a compartment under it for a 12v battery, that will run the vex, led lights, and what ever else I can use. going to use a ram mount hooked to the corner brace for the vex, also going to hook up a tail light for the tub as the one on the sled can't be seen while towing.

[hardwater diehard]

Just a thought about the Vexilar placement for fishing ...I like it directly behind the hole with the tip of my rod in the center of the Vexilar ..that way you go from watching an approaching "red line" you then can move your eyes to the tip of the your ice rod for the "bite" and hook set w/o moving your head. Also have you considered cutting a round hole in the plywood to accommodate a 5,6 or 7 gallon bucket instead of square might offer some more space for tip ups, rod or Vexilar transport .

[Uncle Al]

set the seat in place, sat on it and was just about eating my knees so I got the clam pro out of storage and measured from the bottom of the seat to the floor, then measured where the guide seat was sitting, there was 5 inches difference. I was hoping to just use the seat with the swivel on this build, but it doesn't look like it will work. I put the rails on the plywood where they would normally sit, and put the seat on top of them, and that made up 4 1/2 in. I don't want to put the rails back in like they're supposed to be,I'll play with it tomorrow, supposed to rain all day.

[Uncle Al]

made some changes, going to get a new guide cover from clam in the mail this week so I have to get the corner's, and the tubes back on, This, I think, is how I will travel with the junk I carry on the ice.

[Uncle Al]

Fast service, I ordered a new cover online monday morning from clam corp in minnesota , and the fed-ex truck dropped it off this morning. Can't beat that for service.

[Uncle Al]

made some changes, going to get a new guide cover from clam in the mail this week so I have to get the corner's, and the tubes back on, This, I think, is how I will travel with the junk I carry on the ice.

Not liking what I've done so far, there's only 6in of space under the deck, not much room for anything.  I put my vex in the compartments but the lid wouldn't close. I took the deck off and put milk crates on the left side where I had hinged compartments, I may like this better as I can use the milk crate to put the vex on while fishing. Still have room for the stuff I take out. Need to make a power box, was going to carry a car battery in compartment under the seat, that was taller than the deck also. Oh well still have a couple of months to play with it.

[Nodakjohns]

I use milk crates for all my storage in my otter. I even cut out a notch on one side and lay my auger head in it. It doesn't roll around. As for batteries I ended up using a spare vex battery for my led rope light and spot light. I usually put my vex on an upended milk crate when I fish also. The vex fits into a 5 gal bucket which is my trash bucket.

[Uncle Al]

I've decided to go that route with the milk crates. The vex has a genz pac and won't fit in a bucket but fits well in a milk crate that will be used upside down to hold it while i'm fishing. I've made a power box with a spare vex battery that has 2 12v power outlets, 2 rocker switches for some lighting, and whatever else can be used. I've been playing with some old cordless drill batteries, running computer fans, LED lighting, I was surprised how long one would run hooked up to a roll of LED lights. May use them in the power box instead of the vex battery. I don't spend all day on the ice, but I'm usually out before light, and again after the sun goes down. So I don't need much in the way of battery power.