2017 Fish House Build

[Elm Creek Local]

Okay, I'll throw my 2 cents in the mix.... End of the day you could float this entire assembly, only mount it by your pins at the desired height you want and don't introduce a sliding mechanism into the system. 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

As promised, I finished up the house for the weekend.  I had to have it done to leave at 7am on Saturday to camp in for a family reunion this weekend.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I put in 100 hours the last week to get it done.  At least 3 nights in a row went to 2-3am.  What I don't have is finished pics...yet!  As a stop gap, I do have a few more progress pictures. 

I lined the furnace compartment with acoustic foam, both the inside, and the underside of the base cabinet where the ducts run.  It made a big difference in sound level.  I don't expect to use the furnace a whole lot, but if/when, I like it to be really quiet.  The manufacturer said to use spray adhesive, but it didn't have much holding strength at all.  I ended up using some small staples.    

I kept this cabinet fairly open.  It'll hold two good sized garbage cans, one for garbage, another for the empty Busch Lights.  I was going to work up a drain system for the sink, but after thinking about it, a bucket works really well, is simple, and doesn't let in cold air.    

I've not done a wood edge countertop before, but they really add a nice look, and won't chip or lift like the laminate edge. There is a bit of technique to routing the edge, but nothing terrible.  Tip: Don't buy cheap router bits.  

The layout is similar to the Ice Castle Lake of the Woods Extreme, with some improvements to the sight lines, storage, and walking space.    

I'll see if I can get some finished pics posted tonight.  

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Kinda leaving us hanging, what ever happened with the sliding bunk??

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

38 minutes ago, Moon Lake Refuge said:

Kinda leaving us hanging, what ever happened with the sliding bunk??

A couple tweaks so far to get it working.  Not to a level of acceptability, but good enough for right now.  I have elk and antelope hunts coming up, so I'll get this perfected in October.  

[JbuZZo]

Very awesome bud... Thanks again for posting and answering some of my questions... Enjoy your shack! 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Here are the completed pics.  The lighting was causing some weird things to happen with my phone camera, so I had to close the curtains.  

All cabinets and benches got lighting triggered by a magnetic switch.  

One thing I've noticed that barely any fish houses have is drawers.  This one got 3 of them.  

There's way more gadgets in this fish house than I planned.  The top one is for monitoring the temps for the incoming and outgoing water.  Below that is the switch for the gas/electric/combo for the water heater.  And the lowest is a Victron BMV 700 battery monitor.  It monitors voltage, incoming and outgoing power, projects how many hours of battery life you have left, and a bunch of other stuff.  Super cool.  

The inside is 99% done.  I just have to get the toilet in place and make a couple electrical connections.  The outside just needs the stickers put on.  

[JbuZZo]

Nice fit and finish LRG. 

[perchking]

Great work as usual, can't wait until we all get to follow the 2017 summer build:)

[Dexter#1]

Awesome build LRG! Couple questions.... forgive me if you've answered these in previous threads. I haven't had the time to read all the pages  

1 - Looking at your pics I noticed the entrance door appears to be shorter than a standard door. If it is, why did you decide on a shorter door?

 

2 - I see slide outs are very popular with RV'rs and see some wheelhouse mfg's adding them now. Did you consider building slide outs for your wheelhouse? 

Thanks for sharing your work!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

1 hour ago, Dexter#1 said:

Awesome build LRG! Couple questions.... forgive me if you've answered these in previous threads. I haven't had the time to read all the pages  

1 - Looking at your pics I noticed the entrance door appears to be shorter than a standard door. If it is, why did you decide on a shorter door?

 

2 - I see slide outs are very popular with RV'rs and see some wheelhouse mfg's adding them now. Did you consider building slide outs for your wheelhouse? 

Thanks for sharing your work!

The door is the traditional 32x68 as used in all the builds, but looks shorter because of the tall ceiling height.  These are full 8' walls.

Not interested in a slide out, personally.  If I can't fit it in an 8x21'+V fish house, I don't want it! 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

In the spirit of other cool gadgetry, I remembered the gas springs I had for the benches and upper horizontal cabinet doors.

If you've ever had one of these bench tops come down on your hand or head, you know the instant anger it can bring to your life.  For about $3, you don't have to worry anymore.  The bench plywood is cut 6" from the wall to account for the two pieces of 3" foam, and allow it to hinge 90 degrees, and hold the cushions in place perfectly.  

Similar for this horizontal upper cabinet.  This is where all the flashers and cameras will be charged.  The cabinet was built with a lip on the base to keep anything from falling out while going down the road.   

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

10 hours ago, rl_sd said:

I like it! Where did you get your shocks from and what stroke did you go with?

They are Apextone 100N/22.5lb Gas Struts found on the big A site.  Currently $27.99 for 10.  Travel 3.54", compressed distance 6.11", extended 9.65".  

[RiverChuckNorris]

A+ build as expected LRG.  Super excited for your upcoming season in that beauty and a bit jealous   Congrats!

[jerkbait]

Awesome job LRG!!!! I can't wait to hear how the infloor-heat works this winter.

[grasshopper]

Remember I want to know the weight.

 

[rossco1418]

Any updates on the 24ft rv house?

[Grainbelt]

On 5/9/2016 at 4:11 PM, Lip_Ripper Guy said:

Saturday I was able to get the roof finished up.  The trim is 1/4"x2 1/2" aluminum bar.  It really holds the edge of the rubber down nicely, and the clearance lights get installed on the trim.  This is a much cleaner look than having them on the siding.

Up next is a whole bunch of wiring.  

What guage diamond plate did you use and where did you get it? On my older house the green treat floor corroded my  aluminum siding 3/4" high. I had foam blown in it when I built it and was pondering how to fix it, then along comes your post.

Thanks! 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

.063" diamond plate.  A lot of places call it "tread brite".  

It is available from literally everywhere.  Do some online searches for "aluminum supplier Minneapolis MN" or the like. I believe mine came from Midwest Steel & Aluminum.  

Edited October 8, 2016 by Lip_Ripper Guy

[kudu63]

On ‎9‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 8:40 AM, Lip_Ripper Guy said:

They are Apextone 100N/22.5lb Gas Struts found on the big A site.  Currently $27.99 for 10.  Travel 3.54", compressed distance 6.11", extended 9.65".  

I think I need to get me some of these - how difficult are they to install ?  Any tips on installing them ?  So it looks like you only installed one on the long bench - is that sufficient ?

Thanks,

 

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

4 hours ago, kudu63 said:

I think I need to get me some of these - how difficult are they to install ?  Any tips on installing them ?  So it looks like you only installed one on the long bench - is that sufficient ?

Thanks,

 

Very simple.  You just take a measurement from the hinge for your first support, attach the one end, and then just visually place the 2nd support where it needs to go.  It's about 3 minutes.  

The pictured bench is 4' long.  One is sufficient on each of these for sure.  I did install (2) on the 6' front bunk so that it is supported evenly.  Even on that one, one was fine, but I have a 12 pack of them, with no real other use.  

[Grainbelt]

On 10/8/2016 at 8:34 AM, Lip_Ripper Guy said:

.063" diamond plate.  A lot of places call it "tread brite".  

It is available from literally everywhere.  Do some online searches for "aluminum supplier Minneapolis MN" or the like. I believe mine came from Midwest Steel & Aluminum.  

Thanks!

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

New idea for the lift bed!  The aluminum on aluminum just plain isn't going to work, so I figured I'd run this idea by all the experts, first!  The idea was born from a garage door track concept, and I actually went out and bought nylon garage door rollers.  That has potential, but I think this is better...

The verticals (mounted first to the flat material and then to the wall) will be strut channel.  I can get this material in 12 gauge, so plenty of strength.

Bolted to the aluminum bed frame will be a strut trolley.  

Which rides in the channel, like this.

There needs to be some sort of a bearing, roller, gear, or wheel in the system, and I think this accomplishes that nicely.

Stopping there could be sufficient, but I'm also thinking of incorporating a really stiff spring into the system.  The side walls are really close to the same width, but the spring could help with any minor inconsistencies, and potentially help eliminate any binding if both sides aren't lifted perfectly evenly.  (in theory) 

What do we think??

Edited October 13, 2016 by Lip_Ripper Guy

[Musky hunter 82]

I have used these before for different projects at work and they work great if you can keep the trolley in the grove part of the track.  You can accomplish this if you have a heavy enough spring around the bolts, one thing I would do is use a threaded rivet on the trolley and use a Phillips head bolt that way it makes it easier to adjust the tension you are placing on the spring.  You can find the threaded rivets at menards and the tool for crimping them.  The other nice thing about using a threaded rivet and having the screw head exposed is you can now micro adjust the centering of the bunk a lot easier.  I would just use Loctite on the bolt after you figure out where it needs to be, but with the spring pushing on it, it shouldn't vibrate loose.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

5 minutes ago, Musky hunter 82 said:

I have used these before for different projects at work and they work great if you can keep the trolley in the grove part of the track.  You can accomplish this if you have a heavy enough spring around the bolts, one thing I would do is use a threaded rivet on the trolley and use a Phillips head bolt that way it makes it easier to adjust the tension you are placing on the spring.  You can find the threaded rivets at menards and the tool for crimping them.  The other nice thing about using a threaded rivet and having the screw head exposed is you can now micro adjust the centering of the bunk a lot easier.  I would just use Loctite on the bolt after you figure out where it needs to be, but with the spring pushing on it, it shouldn't vibrate loose.

Thank you!  One of these?

To clarify, you'd suggest putting one of these threaded rivet nuts in the actual trolley, and flipping the bolt (from the drawing), and going through the bed first, and then into the rivet nut?

[YettiStyle]

It's a good idea but personally I think you're going to have the same problem you had before.  The trolley wheels will prevent any binding you have from any lowering inconsistencies from end to end (head and feet).  The problem I envision is that you will still have trouble with tilting from side to side (sides of the bed, basically front of the shack to rear of the shack motion).  This will lead to the sides of the bearing wheels on the trolley to bind against the sides of the strut channel. 

Your problem is that you are tilting on two different axis/planes when lowering/raising the bed.  The trolley in the picture will only solve binding for one of those planes.  Easy way to visualize this is to hold out your flat.  Tilt your hand side to side (pinky to thumb), this is the motion and binding the trolley will prevent.  Now hold your hand out flat again and tilt is front to back (palm to fingertips), this is the problem motion I'm referring to and think will cause a binding problem with the sides of trolley wheels and strut channel. 

Edited October 13, 2016 by YettiStyle