trot line bucket float improvments

[b dog]

made a couple of minor adjustments to shaggy's 5 gal floats . i made a pair sunday and came out nice. 1st ref. his float pic's and than you will see quick the minor changes i made. after you pass eye bolts thru bucket slip on 1- 3/8 flat washer ,than put on 2 - 3/8 nuts , now do same on other eye bolt. now after put togather back washer up to bucket with first 3'8 nut. next run second nut up on coupling to act as a jam nut. do both sides the same. washer and first nut will stop all thread from pulling back and forth if and when you drag line to move or debait. second nut acts to stop coupling from backing off . a dab of same sealer you are going to use on lid ,on threads also a little extra protection from backing off. mine were so air tight when lid went on it domed up,can't wait to try shaggy's floats and that orange bucket should make it easy for boaters to see. thanks shag. bdog gone.

[Team Fountain]

I was having my coffee this morning and figured out what I'm going to use. I just sent two bottles from the water cooler downstairs to be filled with foam. If someone runs over them, they get what they deserve.

[dimide00]

Better yet, spray the inside of the water bottle with bright yellow or orange spray paint. Then fill it with foam.

[rrr]

Team Fountain, are you from the Cecil County area? Better yet The Villages of Elk Neck devlopment? I've seen a truck (Ford or Dodge) in there with Team Fountain and a ton of stickers-is that you?

[Neighbor Dave]

OK, What am I missing here guys...why not put a top on the 5gal bucket and clip your line to the handle?

I am considering using 5gal buckets this year for storage reasons (I use 5 gal buckets for culling, lights, females, etc). One more bucket in the stack makes little difference in storage.

ND

[POLECAT]

I did the 5 gallon bucket bit about 20 years ago; just a little different than illustrated in the other post.

I cut a piece of 1/2" plywood to fit inside on the bottom of the bucket, then drilled 2 holes to accommodate a 2" "U" bolt. The "U" bolt had nuts and washers both inside and outside the bucket.

The holes in the bucket were drilled 1/4" and the holes in the plywood were drilled 5/16" to accommodate the 5/16" "U" bolt. There was never any water intrusion in the bucket. A little 5200 could also be used at this point to ensure dryness.

After the lid was secured the bucket was stored in the boat upside down where it was more stable due to the larger diameter of the top.

When attached to the anchor line it floated upright . The handle could either be removed or left in place. The only cost was for the 5/16" "U" bolt.
Couldn't be any simpler!

[Mugsmaster]

Im going to use flat washers on the outside and put some silicone behind and around the eyebolt as it comes out.

Maybe do a dry run next week or Sunday just to get the kinks out and test my pvc puller. I have never run a line before. A friend of mine has but it has been a long time.

Mark

[Mugsmaster]

Dave I dont think the handle would be strong enough and pull through the bucket.

Mark

[POLECAT]

I was having my coffee this morning and figured out what I'm going to use. I just sent two bottles from the water cooler downstairs to be filled with foam. If someone runs over them, they get what they deserve.

Keep those bottles out of the sun as much as you can when storing them. U V rays kill them quickly. I experienced this with other foam filled 5 gallon containers. The plastic becomes brittle and then breaks into a zillion pieces. The foam lasts forever.......

[b dog]

mugmaster, dont forget the flipflop washer/filler as shown in photo layout.
polecat why did you stop useing buckets for floats?