Fishnwire

I'll admit I didn't read the whole thread...so I might be repeating what others have said. I fished with no flasher/finder for years, and when I started taking my HB 565 portable out on the ice, it changed the way I fish. You want some kind of sonar when you ice fish...of that there is no denying. This idea that a fishfinder is not "real-time" is garbage. Jig your bait and watch the display...there is no perceptible delay. As far as display history goes...that part is actually quite nice, and I miss it a little bit now that I'm using an LX-5. I still prefer my flasher over my finder for ice fishing though, for a couple of reasons. First of, the puck is designed to hang straight up and down, unlike on my finder, where I was often friggin' around to get it to point straight down. If it wasn't just right, I'd get a weak return (or none at all) off my jig, and I'd have this hassle every time I moved it from hole to hole. Also the flasher is just more powerful...I can usually tell from the width/intensity of the return whether or not I still have bait on my jig. If I had neither flasher nor finder, I'd probably look at the x-67...I'm pretty impressed with the performance for the money, and you can get transducers in both puck and transom-mount styles (I believe) so you'll be set for summer too. All that said...the LX-5 is beyond awesome. I'll get the LX-7 when my LX-5 dies or whatever, but like everyone I've ever talked to that has used one will tell you...it's a sweet machine.

Thanks folks...for some reason I thought the law distinguished between folding and non-folding type knives, with non-folding ones having certain restrictions. Now I know...OFC comes through again. Only if the biker gang you belong to is weak. Being a scab might increase your chances of getting punched out though.

2x3s every 24 inches and 1/4 plywood glued and screwed is what I used. Two guys can pick up a completed 12x8 wall no problem, but it has little flex.

Is it legal for me to carry my fishing/camp knife in it's sheath on my belt while in town? It's the non-folding type and has a 6 inch blade. The only time I would do this is on my way to or coming back from camp, but I sometimes stop at the gas station or grocery store or whatever and realize I have it on and wonder if I'm doing something wrong.

Cool design. I wonder though just how warm inside you're going to be able to get with that much ice surface exposed. I had a lot of people tell me that the 8x12 I'm building is going to be "too heavy"...maybe they're right, I guess I'll know by next spring.

Good question...on a different forum (ice fishing related only) this topic came up on another poster's thread and a few people warned that dark coloured shacks tend to melt the ice and snow around the hut faster than light coloured shacks. It would seem to me the opposite would be true...the light and heat being absorbed by a dark shack as opposed to a light shack which (one would think) would reflect that light and heat back onto the surrounding ice and snow. Who knows? I went with a shade of stain I thought was sort of neutral, plus I just liked that colour. I'm real happy with how it looks dry...the grain of the wood is not covered up but enhanced, and the bluish-gray has an arctic feel to it. Besides, this hut is going to be tight and well-insulated (walls, ceiling and floor)...if the stove is going, a lack of heat probably won't be a problem. Two guys exhaled breath alone will probably bring the temp up a degree or two. As far as the overall weight goes...I'm "concerned" too. But I want a certain type of "ice-hut" experience, and am willing to put up with a lot a friggin' around to have that.

More progress...a little anyway. First of all, we're finally getting a bit of winter weather here in Sudbury. This was the view outside the garage by about noon yesterday. I swept off my walls and then shoveled the driveway for my Brother-in-law. I'm really grateful for the use of his garage...and he did say it was "taking a little longer than I thought"...so I want to hurry up and get out of there while trying to be a good guest at the same time. One thing I forgot to mention was that we cut groves in the west wall to accommodate the runners. Check it out. That was yesterday. I cut them before I stained so that I could stain along the cut edges. Anyway... When we got there today, We were finished framing the east wall, so we cut the opening for the door and then glued 'n' screwed the plywood down. Then the stain... We let it dry for a couple hours while we got supplies to build the door and had a bite to eat. Then we leaned it against the garage door with the west wall. I'll cut the footer at the door opening once the walls are up so there's nothing to trip over. I need it for now to maintain the structural integrity of the wall. After we moved it I realized I forgot to cut the notches for the skis. The stain was a bit tacky still and I didn't want to generate the sawdust so that will have to wait until later. Next we built a simple door. We made it out of the same quarter ply and 2x3's the rest of the walls are made from. It fits like a glove and is remarkably rigid, considering it's components' relative flimsiness. I figure it'll stiffen up even more once I fit and glue the insulation down. The doubling up along the sides was structurally unnecessary, but that way it gives me something meaty to attach hardware to. I had some time left after my Father-in-law went home so I went ahead with an idea I've been playing with. Guys have told me to use 2x(whatever) blocks between the runners and ice to keep the hut from freezing in. Someone else mentioned styrofoam blue-board is good because it resists freezing in. I figured I'd combine the two. I bought a one inch thick 2'x8' piece of blue-board and two pressure treated 10 foot 2"x8"s. I cut the insulation into three 8 inch wide strips. Then I took the 2x8s and applied foam board adhesive to the tops, then the foam board on top. Then I made a "double foam-board on pressure treated" sandwich, and clamped it all together. When I take the clamps off, I'll have two pieces, each ten feet long (will fit inside shack for transport) that I can put under the hut, insulation side down and running perpendicular to the skis. If they don't work it will have cost me around $40 to find out. I've had more expensive lessons that taught me less. I figured it was worth a try. I'll let everyone know how they work out. I go back to work Friday but am on night-shift, so I'm hoping to get some work done in the morning. The problem is that the next step is insulating the floor, and I need to organize a time when I can get 4 to a half-dozen men over there to flip that heavy such-and-such over. It'll take some effort, but I'm sure it's do-able We have to pull it out of the garage (we have dollies) flip it over, put it back on the dollies and wheel back inside. I'll be happy when that is done, except that I'll know I have to do it all over again to get it right-side up. Pics of an inverted base to come next...I hope.

After reading some of these comments I'm a little less anxious to lay my hard earned bucks down on one.

If I took that photo, I'd probably sell my camera and stop taking pictures. There's no way I'd ever top it, so why bother? Amazing...seriously amazing pic.

Hey Folks... We worked the last two days but I didn't post an update yesterday...I had non-icehut related matters (also referred to as my life) that I had to attend to. Priorities suck when they get in the way of frivolities. On Tuesday morning we showed up to find the stain dry...but the fumes from it very much still present. My brother-in-law's wife made him change his clothes and shower after he was in there at about 9 pm the night before just long enough to put fuel in the heater and turn off the lights. That stuff is pungent. We opened the garage door and let it air out for a few minutes and then moved the completed north wall out into the driveway. There was only the Old Man and I so we shifted one edge onto a couple of dollies, then picked up the opposite side and walked it out. Then we rested it on four milk crates. Now we had room to start the south wall. So away we went. I picked out the placement of the window (I wanted this one a fair bit higher and off to one side) and we started framing. Then glue, plywood, screws, stain...no buffing or scrubbing, it's just that easy! We'll cut the hole for the window from the other side, once the wall is up. No need to stain there. We left that to dry overnight (cracked a window this time) and I went to Fabricland to look at 4 inch foam, which I thought I'd use for my bunks/benches. It's $65 a meter, and I'd need nearly four meters of it, so I'm looking at other options. Even the two inch stuff (how good a night's sleep would you get on that?) would cost me $140...I think I can find something better and cheaper. My buddy suggested crib mattresses...I might go look at those. I'd also love to hear other suggestions...that's YOU folks. We happened to have four guys first thing this morning, so we each picked up a corner and easily moved the completed south wall outside and rested it on top of the north wall. We began the west wall next. I wanted this window low like the first one and off-centre enough to stay away from the stove that will go in the west-north corner. We finished framing it, put the plywood on (with glues and screws of course)... Then...my camera's batteries died. We finished the screwin' and stained it. Then went for lunch. When we came back, (because of it smaller size than the north and south walls) we were able to lean it against a wall inside the garage. This freed up the space to start the east wall. Knowing I want a 30" bench/bunk along the west wall (anything less will not provide a comfy night's sleep), I put the door so that I'll have room once the inside is insulated and paneled. I wanted a door around 32" wide (I'll have a bulky snowsuit on a lot of the time I'm going through it) so I had to off-centre the opening. Not by much, a few inches maybe. We finished the framing, and were ready to lay the plywood down, but my 79 year old Father-in-law decided he was "tired" and "hungry" and wanted to call it a day...can you believe that garbage? If it wasn't for the fact that his knowledge and experience as a carpenter has prevented me from making innumerable mistakes, some of which would have nearly ruined the build, and at best I'd have a rickety, drafty piece of junk at this point...............On second thought, let's just forget I said anything. Almost done though. All that's left is (not necessarily in order): Cut plywood for door. Lay down plywood on east wall. Stain it. Frame and hang door. Invert base (need at least four guys). Fit insulation to floor, glue it in, let it dry. Re-invert base, load on trailer, (walls too) take to my driveway. Unload it all, level out base. Assemble walls to base. Construct roof. Insulate walls Panel interior walls Build benches/bunk, shelves, etc Cut holes for fishing. Install metal base/backing for stove. Install stove/stove pipe. Attach metal roof. Wire electrics (surface mount). The time it will take is one thing, but nearly every one of those things requires an investment of something other than time, if you know what I mean. I think I have a line on a free wood stove and all the metal I need to back it, but other stuff won't be as cheaply available. I've already got the insulation for the floor, but I don't have any yet for the walls or roof...the cost of that stuff adds up when you buy 24 sheets at once. I'm not looking forward to that hit. I am looking forward to having a well insulated hut to kick back in though, so what am I gonna do...right? I will say that this thing is costing me more than I anticipated. Maybe not so much what I budgeted, because when I thought about how much I could (should?) spend, and then did a preliminary investigation of what I thought it would cost, I figured I'd have a ton of "wiggle room". If a hut was constructed of little more than studs and plywood (the cost of which I concentrated on) I could build three of them for what this thing will cost. I didn't realize just how much things like construction adhesive, screws and nails, insulation, stain, a few tools I didn't have, kerosene for the heater, burning gas in the truck running around...and so on (and so on and so on it seems) adds to the cost of such a project. I've heard you should always make the most accurate budget you can predict...and then double it. I'm not there yet, but I might get close. That's FA...I'm going to end up with the hut I want and it's not going to break me. By the time's it's done, I might have to offer you a cheap brand of beer if you show up...but I won't have have to live in it, so it's all good. More tomorrow I hope. Don't forget to give me your suggestions for bench/bunk padding. I need something no more than 30 inches wide, and it has to provide a decent night's sleep so it should be 3 or 4 inches thick at least. Thanks in advance for your ideas...thanks for just following along.

I want one. If the guy here in town doesn't have too ridiculous a mark-up on them I'll buy one from him...otherwise I'll order it. Ask for my opinion in a month or so.

I appreciate the heads up...I really do. I've gone with things like 2x3s instated of 2x4s and quarter ply instead of 3/8 or half inch that I would have if weight wasn't an issue. I was also talked out of a pre-hung door in favour of just using the plywood (backed with insulation) that I'll cut out for the door opening. Things like that. It's not like I have a total disregard for weight...but with my situation, I can afford to pack on a couple of pounds that others (without plows and Jeeps at their immediate disposal) might not be able to afford. Regardless, nobody said it would be easy. Someone though did say that if it was easy, everyone would do it. I'm sure there will be lots of friggin' around, a few mishaps, and some near catastrophes in the building, transport, and life of this hut. That's the same as just about every weekend at camp for me though...that's part of the fun. My Father-in-law already mentioned something about what we'll do differently when we construct "the next hut"...a sort of shuttle to the mother-ship we are now building...for day excursions to side lakes or back bays. It'll be his turn to pay for that one, and he'll probably take all the advice on lightweight construction he can get.

Yes. I really am building a mansion for the ice. Thanks for noticing from the pics...imagine how my guests will feel. It's being built for comfort and longevity...not for mobility. It will see the highway one time, spending summers blocked up on the shore less than a kilometer from where it will spend its winters. My partner has a 3/4 ton diesel with plow and I a Jeep Rubicon with 6 inches of lift, 33 inch winter tires, and a 9500 lb winch. I'll get it where it needs to go. I can't even begin to guess how much the whole thing weighs either. I know that my 79 year old Father-in-law and I could shift the completed base around the garage floor by ourselves, so it might weigh a little less than you think. I'm sure your 8x10 is solid, comfortable, warm...and that you get the experience you want from it. I want a place I can feel at home for three or four nights at a time...and I want my wife and the Old Man to feel the same way. Wow. I guess I'm coming off as a little defensive...I see that. Maybe I'm way too into this?

Update...Dec 5 - OK...I don't have a lot to show. We made as much progress as possible today. Curing time holds things up. We finished the last of the framing on the first wall, cut the plywood to accommodate the window, and then glued and screwed it down. What sucked was that we were pretty much at a standstill at this point. The construction adhesive needs time to cure, so we couldn't put the finished wall out side to make room to start another. So we went and got the rest of the studs we need, more glue, kerosene for the heater, and and few other things. We came back and picked out our headers and footers (straightest ones) and then cut the rest of our studs on the miter saw. Then we started talking about what we'd do with the outside walls, as far as painting or staining them. I realized that while the adhesive is drying in the heated garage overnight, it would be a good time to stain or paint it, so that it could dry too. I don't know when the next time is that I'll have a heated space and time to do such a thing...finding a place to do it once the walls are up would be hard. Now was absolutely the time. I ran out and looked at a few options. I decided to go with a tinted oil deck stain. It's supposed to be good for at least 5 years, it requires only one coat, and was available in many shades...they take the base, add the tint and mix it up right there. I picked something called "north pole"...seems appropriate. Good thing I only needed a gallon...it was close to $50. If I painted or went with a non-oil based stain, I would have had to prime or do a second coat (respectively) and lost an added a day's drying time to each wall. Plus, once I'd buy the primer plus paint, or two gallons (instead of one) of stain, I wouldn't save any money. Here's the first wall stained. It looks pretty gray in the pics, but has a slight bluish tint to it in "real life". There is one spot were the chalk liner puked out an insane amount of chalk, and although I cleaned it up as best I could, there's a reddish hue coming through...what are you gonna do? It's just an ice hut after all. Gimme a break already. - So the plan is to move that wall outside in the morning, put a tarp on it, and then start the opposite wall. We'll (hopefully) finish that studding (including framing a window) glue and screw the plywood, stain it, and let that cure/dry overnight. If that goes as scheduled I'll have the walls done by the end of my days off. After that I still need to take the base out of the garage, invert it, put it back in the garage, cut and glue the insulation, apply the sliders (still don't have 'em) let all adhesive (foam board stuff and regular stuff for the sliders) dry, take it back out of the garage and flip it back over, put it on a trailer, stack the finished walls on top, drive it to my buddy's with a huge garage (works on semis in there, but will only give me a day or two) unload it, put walls up, build roof, let adhesive dry overnight, load it on the trailer and take to my driveway...(Whew...just thinking about all that work makes me tired) then I can heat the inside while I do the insulation, paneling, benches, shelves, wood stove and pipe, holes, roof exterior, etc. I'll be able to do an hour or two of construction after work, where as now I have to drive halfway across town just to get to the build site. I'm sure there will be sufficient ice to drive a tow vehicle on before I'm done...I just hope it hasn't all melted by then.

Thanks for your praise and more so for your advice. I've given the window height quite a bit of thought and I think I'm going to be happy with them. From the pic you might think they're a little high but that wall is going up so that the window is on the lower half of it, not the upper. You might have to bend over a little if you're standing to see out them, but you won't have to stand up if you're sitting. Thanks for letting me know I'm on the right track and double thanks for giving me a head's up.

You'll get that tomorrow night. I'm off this week Monday to Thursday so I'm hoping to make some real progress. I'm dying to get over there and get back to work in the morning. Being obsessed with something is fun!

"The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character." - Well it appears that someone did something right, that's for sure. He doesn't remind me of too many 19 year olds (myself included) that I can remember meeting. - A little joke I heard is that gays should have the right to get married because they're just as entitled to be miserable as the rest of us. Ba-dom-dom. But seriously folks...

I don't actually get the joke. I know that "vermillion castle" is a rock formation (no?). My camp happens to be near the head end of the Vermillion River...but you probably didn't know that and the hut is not going there anyway. Is this in reference to the little ice village that springs up off 17 on the Vermillion?

Absolutely beautiful fish right there. How come you don't look happy in the pic? I tried drop-shotting for walleye with a leadheaded jig and twister tail as a sinker once, but didn't have any luck and after getting snagged for the second or third time put a drop-shot weight on in place of the jig. I think I'll try it again under more snag-free conditions, and for smallies too...you've inspired me.

I only use it for leaders, so the price is not a big deal. A spool or two lasts a season...relative to the rest of the money I spend on tackle and equipment, it's not that big a hit. I use Fireline on all my spinning reels as main line, but used mono for years and find fluoro is a little tougher. I just have a little more confidence with it so the extra $20 or so a year is fine with me. I did buy fluoro once that was junk...I forget the name but I recognize it when I see it and haven't bought it since. That said, I've bought terrible mono too.

Thanks, folks...Confirms what I was thinking. I actually thought more people would suggest propane is more practical/cleaner/etc. I'm surprised how many people agree that a wood fire, despite some drawbacks, just makes one feel better. I guess I'll be putting in a stove pipe.

Update...Tuesday, November 29/2011 Well I made the decision...I'm going with 2x3s and 1/4 ply. The 2x3s seem pretty light...I think their smaller size means they dry out more and have a lower moisture content. I could be wrong, but they feel around half the weight of a 2x4. Noticeably lighter anyway. You can't get a 12 foot 2x3, four of which I require for headers and footers, so we had to splice them. More on that later. I could have got 3/8 unsanded ply for about $6 a sheet less than the 1/4 "one good side" I opted for. I couldn't find the 1/4 in unsanded, but I'll want to paint or stain it anyway, so it's probably for the best. Also, 1/4 ply is only two thirds the weight of 3/8s. The nice thing is that we have the finished floor to work off of and use to keep everything lined up and square. We want the plywood to extend past the footers and headers of the stud walls so it covers and can be glued and screwed to the floor and roof joists. We're going to use the full eight feet, so we used the eight foot width of the hut to line things up. We started by measuring what we need to extend to the floor joists, and clamped our footers that distance from the edge. Then we did the same with the header, and put the corner joists in. Next we positioned the window where we wanted it, and framed it. Then we had to deal with our splices for the header and footer. The header has the four foot section on the left and the 8 foot section on the right, and the footer the opposite, so that the splices are "kitty-corner" to one another, and not one below the other. Once the studs on either side of the seam were in place, we cut 2x3's to fit, and applied glue. Then we clamped them down and put the screws to them. We left those to set and have about another half an hour of studding left until we can put the plywood on. Then we'll take the finished wall outside and start the next one. We did have a couple things go wrong today. When we went to cut our second stud with my Brother-in-law's mitre saw, the blade guard's auto retract stopped working...it appears some spring is broken. I had just seen a 10" laser sliding compound mitre saw and sale at Lowe's and said, "To heck with it", ran back there and picked it up. I could have done without having to drop the cash but it is quite a nice saw and a joy to use. I was planning on getting one sooner or later...sooner is OK. The thing that really drove me nuts though was my Father-in-law and the screws he brought. When we were making the shopping list he said, "Don't buy 3 inch wood screws...I have lots." The problem was that they were all ones he used on concrete forms and reclaimed. See anything wrong with these? About a quarter of them were bent, and most of the other ones' recesses were either stripped or partially full of hardened concrete. What a PITA! I appreciate him helping me out with supplies, but I would have much rather just spent a couple a bucks and had screws I didn't have fight with. I love having him around and his experience is often invaluable...but when he pulls that kind of stuff (which he does all the time) he drives me freakin' nuts! I'm back at the mine for the next five days, 12 hour shifts...so I probably won't have much progress to report for a while. I'd love to blow off a week or so, but if you added the lost pay to the cost of the build, I'd have to live in the hut to pay for my divorce lawyer. Love the questions and comments from you folks...they keep my obsession focused.

What are your folks' thoughts on the pros and cons of heating a permanent hut with a wood stove vs some kind of propane heater? In the interest of context...The hut in question will be 12x8, and well insulated. It will be used as an over-nighter. Propane certainly is convenient. You can turn it up or down with a twist of a dial. Most propane heaters take up less space than a woodstove, they don't require a stove pipe, and you can put it away when it's not in use. You can cook off some, or just get a separate unit (propane or camp fuel) and cook on that, which you can also put away when not in use. Firewood and ashes are dirty. Smoke can be objectionable. Wood stoves require stove pipes and a fire retardant base and backing. Then again, you can't take a bucksaw or axe to the shoreline and hope to come back with an evening's worth of fuel for your propane heater. Also, wood fires are nice...maintaining and monitoring the fire gives you something to do. The sound, smell and sight of a wood fire is calming and hypnotizing. If your stove has a flat top, you can cook on that. What about safety? Even with a window cracked open and a CO2 detector I'd be more worried about sleeping in a shack with fumes from propane consumption than one with a wood fire and stove pipe. Maybe I'm foolish for thinking that way...but gas just kind of scares me a bit. I'm sure fires originating from wood stoves burn down lots of structures and kill lots of people though, so I wonder which is better in that regard. Hoping to hear others' thoughts on the matter.

I'll see what my local PA has. Thanks.

I've got two insulated double pane sliding windows going in. They're quite nice and I only paid $5 each for them. Thanks again for your input. Every single thing you said was bang-on. A lot of it I had already thought of but if I hadn't, I would have really been missing something and the head's up would have been invaluable. That's what's so awesome about this site. People here know stuff and they'll take the time to share it with you...at no cost! All you have to do is ask. What a concept! I'm fairly certain I will "enjoy"...Thanks again.