Fishnwire

The sliced tomatoes AFTER its cooked are really nice.

As far as I'm concerned it already "looks nice on the outside"...but your point is well taken. I've considered aluminum or vinyl siding. It looks great and adds protection. The outside walls are treated with oil deck stain, but siding makes it look like a little "building" and not a "shack". I've thought about using it in the summer, but the layout is specific for ice fishing and other than a sleep camp, I can't see it being of much use. I have a camp 100 kms or so north, and spend my time in the summer there. It's a huge effort to get in on snow-machines (I have to break trail with my 79 year old Father-in-law on his pig of a touring sled) and the ice-fishing is not good, so the shack is so somewhere comfy to go in the winter. Besides, the river is near deserted in the winter, but has too much traffic for my liking in the summer.

I'm going to try something like that Dave...thanks.

Tuesday is supposed to be launch day. My tilt-and-load guy is getting work done on his truck and hopes (but can't be sure) it will be ready. I guess it would depend on what you consider "a fortune"...but yeah, I've got a few bucks into it. It's funny you mention the windows, because I paid $15 total ($5 each) for them. They're one of the few things I got on the cheap. Good luck on Callandar.

Billy Bob is right. The name is "Ice-9" which is a nod to Kurt Vonnegut Jr, but in honour of my Grandmother.

I've been sitting here thinking about something like that. My Brother-in-law has a crapload of metal stock at his place...I'm gonna go out there and have a look at what he's got and maybe that'll give me some ideas. I'll also go to Princess Auto and get a trailer tongue and look at that. Thanks for the ideas. When you say..."Mark and drill a hole for a large pin like the ones used for securing the ski bars on the old sled trailers"...you mean drill the hole in the threaded rod, right? I've got a set of Greenlee carbide tipped hole saws that I'll have no problem drilling those holes with. I won't need a press...I've made bigger holes through thicker, harder stuff at work using similar bits and a cordless drill.

I guess it is the law. There's no law that says I can't tug it a hundred feet at a time using my winch though. The rigid tow bar was going to happen sooner or later...I guess it'll be sooner, that's all. Thanks for nothing, clear-thinking OFNers...now I've got another little project to spend time and money on.

I wasn't planning on putting one on until next season. The more I think about it though... I really should rig something up before I move it very far. It's only going a couple hundred feet from shore on Tuesday, so I shouldn't have any problems. Once I want to move it downriver I'll need something to keep it from slamming into the back of my jeep when I stop. That would suck for both my Jeep and the shack. I wish I knew how to weld.

It has been tightened since the pic was taken. Good eye though. Thanks.

The plywood is treated with high quality oil deck stain, including the edges. I plan on re-staining it this summer and every season or two after that. I might do something with the interior OSB paneling later too. I'll keep an eye on things and see what needs to be done. To be honest I had considered (still am) something like what you suggested...cladding the bottom 6 inches to a foot with some kind of metal sheeting. It will probably have to wait until next year though.

I was going to put a GFCI on the outside and wire the rest through it so they are all protected but was worried about nuisance tripping. As an electrician I see it all the time. I might try one later and see how it goes.

Thanks. Yeah...that's a can crusher. And not one from the dollar store. This one crushes cans, instead of being crushed by cans. Unlike the shack, its already been tried out a few times.

X1

OK...so here's where I'm at now. I put up two 16" x 8' shelves. I made them to accommodate my hole inserts on the top shelf and my open lap-top on the bottom. I put up the reflector for behind the stove... There's a few inches clearance at the bottom and where it's attached to the walls I spaced it out the width of a 1/4 nut. It should keep the corner from catching fire, and doesn't look too bad, considering it was a piece of scrap I got for nothing. I still need to cut the hole for the stove but will wait until it's on the ice. I'll transport the stove in the back of the truck, not in the shack. I'm done all the wiring. It's all 120V, but my lighting is LED. My buddy (another electrician) got me the fixtures at a price that made me not ask where they came from. There's one at either end of the shack and they are independently controlled. I also put in a switch and ran a cable for an outside light, which I'll install later. There are five receptacles on the inside and one on the outside. If you plug a generator, inverter, or power-pack into any of them (with a male/male cord) the whole shack is live. I need to mention that OFNer Spouph made good on his intention to stop by and lend a hand. His presence was of great value on the job, and we had a great discussion and good-spirited difference of opinion, the subject and content of which I'll not bring up here...for fear of getting the thread locked. Fun time though. Thanks for your help with the wiring and I'll make sure you get your strippers back, Jeff. In the second pic you can see I put the framing for a couple more shelves in the corner. You may also notice my satellite radio boom box...which I ran the cord for the receiver to the outside when I ran my exterior light. Three bars! Howard Stern rules. You can also see on that pic that I framed the door, put all the hardware on it and installed a door stop. There was a little bit of air getting through the crack around the door before, but now not even light gets through. It's a good, tight seal. I finished a 6'2" permanent bench/bunk, and started the (approx) 5'6" flip-up bench/bunk. It started with a (almost) 12 foot 2x4 screwed to the back wall at a top height of 18". I had to notch it where the cable is... Once I framed it (nothing in the middle...might put one in later) I screwed some 1/2 plywood the Old Man had laying around down and here it is. Sorry about all the stuff in the way. With only a few more little things to finish inside, we turned our attention to mounting something solid to the skis to pull from. I took out the last bolt on each ski. There's still plenty and a ton of glue in there, so I don't think they'll be missed. Then I reamed out the 1/2 holes to one inch, using a step-shaped spade bit. Then we cut 1 1/4 inch pipe to fit between the skis, and inserted 1 inch (that's right) threaded rod from one ski, through the pipe, and out the other, then put washers and nuts on. Then I put one the exact same on the other side. They'll give me something solid the pull the thing from until I get an actual tow-yoke installed (next year?). I can also use them as somewhere to put my Jack-all when I need to lift the shack. The first thing I'll need one for is as a winch point when I lower it down the boat launch, so I'm ready for that now. I even got my Ice Hut Registration from the MNR in the mail yesterday, so I'll be all nice and legal. Tuesday should be the day. I have to work until Sunday, so that will give me Monday to prepare, all day Tuesday for the move, and leave me Wednesday and Thursday to set things up. Then I have to work five night-shifts followed by 14 days in a row off. By the end of that time I'll have got some use out of it, I'm sure. Don't worry. I'll take a bunch of pics...maybe even try out the video function on my camera. Thanks for checking in. F>W

I'll I can tell you is that I have a Marcum LX-5 and it blows away my buddy's Showdown. He admitted he's on the verge of buying one himself. You'll get a lot of great use out of either of the units you mentioned though. All high-end flashers are good. The dual beam transducer is good if you fish deep water...you can narrow your sonar cone so that you're not reading too big an area at bottom. One advantage of the LX-5 over the others is that you can zoom into any portion of the water column you want...not just the bottom. It's a handy feature when fish are suspending.

There's an article in this month's Ontario Out of Doors about that. It doesn't tell you a whole lot (like most of their articles) but might be worth a look.

Does the cement board hold up to getting wet? The piece on the roof might get bit of water where the stove pipe goes though the roof metal. I'd seal it with silicon...but if water can get it, that's where it'll happen.

I don't know what that is. Google didn't really help. I suppose I would need to go to a store that specializes in this kind of thing, and they'd be able to help me out. I'm hoping to not get soaked another hundred bucks or whatever. I sure don't want to burn the thing down either though.

No worries about not dropping by. I suppose you were sort of joking, but I'll keep your company's services in mind. What kind of bike did you get?

Some of you might know I'm building an ice shack. I have yet to cut the hole for the stove pipe. I had planned on putting it out the top, but could be convinced through the side is a better way to go. It's a six inch pipe. The problem I'm having is in finding a good solution for insulating the pipe where it exits the shack. It's plywood on the outside, three inches of insulation, and OSB on the inside. I bought an insulated collar ($65)...but it's a foot long and there is no good way of affixing it to anything...it will basically be held in place by the stove pipe it rests on, and it's pretty heavy. It's not really meant for this application, but an actual residential structure. It can be purchased separately (which I did) but comes as part of a $300 kit with a bunch of other stuff. I suppose I could build something out of tin and fire-proof insulation, but I'm not exactly a tin-smith...I don't even own a pair of snips. My neighbor does duct-work installation for a living. Maybe he could help me out. Any suggestions appreciated.

Since the last update, some shelves are up, the shack is wired, the reflector for behind the stove in installed, and the inside of the door is paneled. I'll take some pics once I clean up a bit in there...it's a real mess. I still need to install a tow bar at the front and back so I have somewhere to pull it from. Eventually I want to install a yoke at the back end with a tongue for a trailer hitch, but that will probably have to wait until next year. I couldn't get what I need for the tow bars on Saturday, so I'm hoping to pick that stuff up tomorrow morning and bang it off by the afternoon. There's a far amount of friggin' around involved...it'll be easier to show you some pics later than explain it now. I had planned on moving it this Tuesday...but am thinking next Tuesday will be better. That way I'll be doing it at the beginning of my days off, and not at the end. It will give me time to do a few more things too. Thanks for your interest and I'll try to get some pics up in the next day or two.

I only fished there a handful of times, and it's been hit or miss. - One time I was supposed to meet my Father at a particular spot I'd been told was good, but got stuck at work when stuff broke down near the end of shift. He fished for a couple hours and got five in a 45 minute period. The very next night we attended the same spot at the same time of day and didn't get a bite. - The hour or so before sundown seems to make a big difference there. Big tip for walleye fishing, eh?

I guess you were being sarcastic...but what's truly amazing to me is that they elected Obama even one time. I don't remember Clinton being hated on the way the Republicans (and mainstream American media) do Obama. They call him everything from a closet Muslim to a communist. Look at the whole Tea Party "movement"...those guys are convinced his very goal is nothing less than the destruction of America. He didn't have it much better leading up to the last election, and (I thought miraculously) managed to make the process of democracy work for him. Let's just say I wouldn't count him out based on what Fox News claims are his chances.

I think the "no fire on the ice" rule has to do with debris presenting a hazard to snowmobilers, and it being unsightly. Just like I could throw a chunk of wood in the open water, regardless of whether or not its burnt...I couldn't leave chunks of wood on hard water, regardless of whether or not they are burnt. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong...I'll ask a CO next time I see one.

Ramsey is open all year now...no sanctuary period anymore. Don't bother asking at Ramakko's...you're getting as good if not better advice right here. If you have a sled there are lots of places to go. The guy who suggested heading up 144 towards Cartier has the right idea. Lake Wanapitei and Penache rarely disappoint as well. If you see a place with about a million huts...don't fish there.