Evolution of an Alaskan DipShip

[stripperguy]

No need to bail out, I was enjoying seeing snippets of your setups, brought me back to my roots as a toolmaker.
And I found the whole dip netting concept fascinating as well as the descriptions of where you are…incredible area!

 

[lowangle al]

Be sure to show us the fruits of your labor next summer.

 

[Jatfomike]

@Alasgun....Though I will probably never have the opportunity to fish in this manner, nor do I have the fabrication skills of yourself
or many of the other members on here, I have still enjoyed following along. Keep in mind in the lower 48, we are in prime paddling season....many of the members here use the winter to go back thru threads and get caught up. Speaking for myself, I haven't been very active as this past summer found both of my kiddo's getting married.....many threads like this find new life in the off season....

Mike

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I’d of thought outfitting and using a canoe as a tool (much like the forefathers did) would have generated more interest.

Alasgun, you're posts are getting a lot of interest. This thread has almost 600 views in three weeks, which is significantly above average. The thread doesn't have a lot of replies probably because the people—who are obviously reading it—do not have any experience with the type of DIY project and technology you are engaged in.

Most significantly, you already have a positive reaction score of 25 points in only 21 posts. That's a positive reaction ratio of 120%. I'm not aware of any other member on this site being over 100%. For example, my positive reaction ratio is 35%.

This all means that, while not many folks feel may feel qualified to comment on the particular project you are documenting in this thread, you are getting not only a lot of views but also extremely positive reactions from the viewers to your posts.

 

[Alasgun]

Well, now im embarrassed; i just stoped back in for a minute today and see a lot of encouraging conversation. I’ll dip my head and stick around.
The last thing i’d want would be to be a PIA and thoroughly bore a bunch of folks with no interest in my Projects.
Im not savvy on all the reaction score etc, so it looks like a got a gold star!

Im about done with the fall butcher thing and will come back with some yakking about that seat back soon.

Thanks and Sorry!

 

[jffdejongh]

I've been following your thread because it allows me to dream what composite canoe parts are possible. Keep it coming.

 

[Alasgun]

Most of you probably see trim boards as a stylish addition helping give a room that just right look. Not me; i see them as a way to cover my boo-boo’s! I tell folks as long as they got 12 inch trim boards; i can do passable carpenter work.

Today i got to apply a “trim board” on the dip ship. My carbon seat came out 3/4“ longer than i expected or maybe it was the angle i put on the seat front; anyway i had to re-drill one hole or the other and decided to do the front side then come up with a way to incorporate the “d” rings for the seat back supports, hoping this would hide the extra hole. The spacing was too close and adding d ring’s made it look far worse.

So i made a pair of brackets that accomplish both task. This took roughly 3 hours but im fond of the results!

first pic Shows the problem, second pic- the solution. Then some of the machine setups, building them together saves a bunch of time.

 

[Alasgun]

So after a bit of time setting in the corner saying” what a good boy am i” i mounted my bow pudding; and before you spew your coffee look at it objectively! In this case, beauty is more than skin deep. It does give a nice look to the bow and i guess i could stretch it some by telling you it will protect your boat if i come barreling into you some time?
But the real benefit for me is the lazy factor. At 13 ft, the boat fits perfectly in the bed of the truck, no racks needed; and im only traveling a few miles to ”the fishing hole” and the State Police are very tolerant of folks with dip nets hanging all off they’re rig
Here’s the lazy factor; when i shove it up in the truck, right into the corner of the bed the canoe contacts places that will leave marks in time. Well; at 72 im not going to be crawling up there to position something to protect it every time and the bow pudding is absolutely perfect for it’s intended use. Throw a little money at it once and ignore it the rest of my life; win win!

 

[Boatman53]

And here I thought you did a little marlinspike seamanship and made your own bow pudding.
Jim

 

[Alasgun]

That takes a whole nuther level of patience, something i don't possess. I bought this from a nice lady in Rhode Island, possibly one of your neighbors?

Bow Pudding, came from https://marlinspikeartist.com/. In Rhode Island. Very nice and accommodating older lady who seemed happy someone was actually using this as the fender it was designed to be.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

bow pudding

One of the many things I've never heard of that I've learned in this thread.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Early on, I moved this thread into the Fishing and Hunting forum because it seemed that fishing was the focus. However, since there has been so much creative DIY-ing going on with the boat, outfitting and now paddles, I've moved the thread to the DIY forum.

In fact, because making a DIY composite paddle is such a rare and interesting project, I have split off Alasgun's paddle-making posts and pictures, and other members' related posts, into a new thread called "Making a Composite/Carbon Paddle" in the DIY forum for the benefit of future searchers and researchers. Alasgun can others can continue discussing the paddle-making project in that new thread while continuing to post about the dip net boat itself in this thread.

 

[DougK]

Today I made a mobile cleat that can be positioned on either end of the center thwart, dependent on which side I'm fishing.

that's a neat idea.. I have a fixed cleat on my whitewater boat thwart, used for clipping in a rope while rescuing involuntarily abandoned canoes ;-)
but a net saver is another good use for a cleat..

I've done the combat fishing on the Kenai, wading in with a flyrod in between the snagging operators.. can image the dipnetting boats can get into a sort of dodge-em boats water polo battle zone, yikes..

 

[Woodpuppy]

That takes a whole nuther level of patience, something i don't possess. I bought this from a nice lady in Rhode Island, possibly one of your neighbors?

Bow Pudding, came from https://marlinspikeartist.com/. In Rhode Island. Very nice and accommodating older lady who seemed happy someone was actually using this as the fender it was designed to be.

I was just sure “pudding” was a typo until you posted the link, I’d never heard of this. Our canoe at work suffers the same indignity of being shoved into the back of a pickup and the bow has taken on a distinctive impact crater from the top of the bed.

For the Christmas season, you can ziptie a Santa hat to the bow deck to complement the beard

 

[Alasgun]

I’m sure you’ve all seen these on the front of a tug or other push boat. Most of the time it’s a whole string of used tires down the side or out front; which would work fine minus the cool factor. Then “pudding’s” started showing up on numerous other craft as mostly decorative items. This little guy is the smallest i’ve ever seen but fit’s the bow of a canoe perfectly with a happy balance of style and protection.

At first blush it appears a gaudy after thought such as an eccentric old man might display on the front of his canoe, something so completely un-stylish as to be almost irreverent to “the purist” and lover of fine canoes. To the untrained eye it’s probably about as stylish as my socks that don't match. Yep; all that fit’s me! Getting old doe’s have a few perks.

 

[Alasgun]

The net bag was sewn on the hoop today and the dip ship hoisted back to the ceiling where it will remain till the water get’s soft again.
At this point; the only remaining bit is the back rest which i can fit where it’s at. I’ll include some pictures/info on that back once it’s done.
Id like to thank any of you who followed this project. Of course; there will be fish pictures in mid July; if i get any!

 

[memaquay]

I'm looking forward to seeing pics of the dip ship in action, I don't believe I have ever seen anything like you describe. Our hard water is about a week or two away, it's late this year, I am waiting impatiently for the ice.

 

[Alasgun]

Today i took on a little side project and now have a nice fish holding bag. In use; it’ll hang over the side of “the dip ship” and as the salmon come out of the dip net; they’ll go right into the bag where they’ll remain alive. During slack periods i’ll bonk and bleed several at a time and move them to the soft cooler and onto ice.

 

[Alasgun]

We’re getting close to dipping season, as long as the escapement is high enough they’ll open it in the next couple weeks. Today i took the dip ship for a spin around the block on the transport cart. It’s not going to be a cake walk loaded; but manageable.
Tomorrow i’ll go down to the stream and do a dry run to get a better feel and am hoping it’ll put a smile on my face.

 

[Alasgun]

It took 4 days to get the limit of Red Salmon (35) but they were fun filled days and i got to mentor a young family along the way.(detailed elsewhere)
All the previous mods to the Discovery were very acceptable but as always (in my world) there will be a few tweeks for next year.
My chain anchor had another 5 lbs added, the net bags will be shortened to 2ft. (the legal limit) right now they are well over 4ft. Deep and a chore to get fish out after all the twisting!
i discovered 1.5mm Hydroskin neoprene wet suit pants under my Piragus are far more comfortable than waders and considerably lighter. And the Chota water shoes were great for general canoeing but not worth a hoot for walking on the slippery bottom. For this work they were replaced with a Simms felt sole boot.
The Buffalo fish kill bags are perfect for containing the fish in leu of a cooler except the zipper pull caught in the net bag frequently so a little change is in order there.
The bow pudding protected the boat while ridding in the truck and generated numerous conversations on the fishing grounds.
All 3 of the carbon paddles saw some pretty severe service digging into the rocky bottom in the upper stream and not one shows tip damage after 4 days of service. This little thing made me quite happy. The carbon dip net functioned flawlessly also.
In all im very pleased with the performance and am looking forward to next season.
I did put some very noticeable owwie’s on the bottom of the dip ship but like a told one young man along the shore, “hey; im 72 years old and wont live long enough to wear it out!”.

Next up will be some rod and reel Silver fishing and some lake/Rainbow trips. This next month is the reason i plow and shovel and sweep and cuss at the snow!