And the next generation truck camper goes back 54 years

I've been looking into building a new camper for fishing trips around the countryside, someplace to keep dry, sleep, and eat on occasion. Unfortunately the cost of a new camper that will be obsolete in 10 years is way more than I am willing to spend. Also I plan on trying to keep this for at least the next 40 years, at which time I'll be in my late 70's. So I referred back to some books I received from my grandfather's bookshelves years ago.

And inside I found the following article... House Trailer

Above is the framework and drawing of what the structure is made of.

Below is what the frame work is made of and how to load it era 1955.

Last is the sheathing and suggested layouts, along with sealing the roof and other tips.

Hopefully I'll get this going within the next few months... around my fishing schedule.

The Fly Fishing Show cometh.....

It's that time of year again....

Yep, the Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough MA

January 16th-18th 2009

And the best part is when this arrives in the mail....

The Rod is done....RECoil guides

Well, I've finished the rod, here's a pic with the Hardy St. Johns 3 7/8 reel. This is going to be my rod and reel for freshwater fishing all of 2009. Now I just need to get out. Check out the guides though.



RECoil Single Foot Guides available at www.rec.com

They Flex, can be crushed......

And spring right back into shape. These have become my preferred guides on any rod.

Nice part is when they Ice up, you just crush them and the Ice falls off as they spring back into shape. The perfect guide for winter fly fishing.

Rod finishing... My Rod is done!

Here's a picture of my home made rod dryer. A 3/8" square piece of key stock inserted into a 1" rubber chair leg cap. the Blue tape is there to prevent the motor from falling off the table. Also I wrap the end ot the rod with tape to make a snug fit between the rod and the cap. The motor is a BBQ rotisserie motor I purchased from Lowes. Turns the right speed to apply the finish to the wraps and dry the finish without the sagging of the finish to the bottom of the rod.



Another picture of the motor and cup assembly.



This is the other end of the support system for the rod, also my rod wrapping box, cut 2 notches and pull the tread through a bobbin pushed through the cardboard. The books under the box are to keep everything level. The rod in the picture is my 4' 6/7 wt 1 piece custom rod I built to fish freshwater this year as a challenge, this will be the only rod I will use to fish freshwater in 2009.



And finally some of my rod storage, an old gun cabinet converted to a rod cabinet. (Someone commented that I have too many rods awhile back) The 9 foot 2 piece rods don't fit as well as the other rods, so they sit across the doorway at an angle. Best part is the bookshelf underneath for the fishing books, from rod building to travel to writings by Gierach. Also what fly fishing bookshelf would not be complete without a copy of "The Compleate Angler" by Sir Issac Walton?

Rod Building Guides and Spacing

So now I have the grip on and started on the guides.



I used a couple computer programs and finally ended up with the guides placed where they needed to be, especially when I flex the rod. To accomlish this I used a white china marker and ran it up and down the inside spine of the blank, then measured from the tip the recommended spacing and marked the blank with the china marker. The marks can be seen on the right and a finished wrapped guide on the left of this picture.



And an overall view of the tip, 1 guide, and the remaining marks for the other guides.

With that, now I am going to see about getting one of these.....

Joff's Backyard Bar-B-Que in Bellingham,MA. A delicious Stacked Burger, Chili Cheese Fries, and a tall Root Beer. Enough to keep you full for the day if not longer.