A little fish camp

[Southside]

In those two it's ANY vehicle over 8,000 lbs.  

[SwampDonkey]

They barely check trucks let alone campers here. I have not seen a 'green hornet' in spring time during 80% restrictions for at least 15 years. The portable scale pull over place out by Deersdale has been long abandoned. The road is all broke up to, I don't recommend the drive. Same goes for the Plaster Rock - Renous highway. Nothing out that road for 60 miles. I only see the Harvey exit one and one near Fredericton actively used. They don't check campers. We pretty much have near 0 highway patrol here on the 4-lane.

[sumday]

In those two it's ANY vehicle over 8,000 lbs.  

That would mean I couldn't pass a weigh station in my empty Ford Excursion...

[Southside]

Yup - my dually with the the bed tank full tips just over that weight. SD just waves you through, MD on the other hand HATES trucks.  

[21incher]

I got flagged into the portable scales not far from my house once with my F350. They were choosing vehicles with commercial plates but not all of them. I was empty but they questioned why I didn't have a dot number with my 11000 pound gvw registration.  Luckily it was for personal use only. I think in NY they flag you in to look for other problems they may find. 

[Southside]

NY was hammering guys with heavy pickups a few years ago, they made a big push on DOT #'s.  All about revenue  safety. 

[Resonator]

If you write "Not For Hire" on the side of a truck, you are considered a private carrier. Meaning you are not hauling paid freight for other companies, only your own freight. And are not required to have a DOT-ICC #.

[Crossroads]

After my moose hunt in Alaska this past fall, I have been churning ideas about buying a piece of land up there to build a getaway cabin on. I like the direction your going. 

[tule peak timber]

The little fish camp is a short term answer to high hotel and car rental costs. Kodiak is very expensive.

Longer term I am putting a lot of thought into how my investment there will pay for itself, cover taxes and insurance and upkeep and still provide me a place to get away. Simply owning it is the first part of the romance, being able to hang onto it and enjoy it, is another matter. 

I looked for 2 years all over Idaho, Montana and Wyoming for a sweet spot where I could kill fish and have a getaway. I just didn't connect. I did however see a whole lot of moose in a valley just above Kemmerer, WY on the rise into the Tetons. Whole lot of moose, very few people, but no ocean! I stepped off the plane in Kodiak, smelled the ocean and I was a goner.

[tule peak timber]

Dry fitting the work surfaces, folding bench/bunk and finishing out the head with teak trim and the shower plumbing. The kitchen sink I chose is 13" deep and I'll be able to wash clothes as well as large crab boiling pots, but not together, ! The folding bunk is a lightweight carbon panel and the hinge actually weighs more than the carbon panel. It folds up to allow access to the freezer and maximize floor space for throwing junk/groceries in the back of the camper. 
I hope to have things tied up with this project pretty soon, but this first quarter has begun to load in a tremendous amount of work on the boards. Back to working 7 days/week. 
On another note; I am seriously considering building a boat next. It would be a 3-4 year commitment and make the fish camp look easy. We shall see!
 

 

  

 

  

[Walnut Beast]

Looking spectacular!!

[tule peak timber]

The little 4.5 KW diesel set finally arrived and we are figuring out mounting, then ducting, then wiring. It is the smallest 1800 rpm set that I could find. Still fixated on building a boat to take up north as the one I bought to go on top of the camper is going to be too small to be safe. Plugging away.

 

[21incher]

I am surprised it's legal to buy them in your area  . Cute little generator. Can't wait to see the boat build.

[tule peak timber]

In my area it seems like anything that works is scheduled to be going away. With a lot of grunt and shoving we got the little genset into the camper this morning.

 

[LogPup]

Please be careful with your exhaust routing.  I got gassed a couple of times by other trucks that routed their exhaust out the side of the truck instead of to the rear.  It would blow under my sleeper.  I had mine so it went out behind the sleeper about 2 feet.  If you can get back by the bumper corner the better.
David

[Nebraska]

What brand is that little generator?  I may have developed a minor infatuation.
It looks like a good option for a small backup generator on a cabin.
A boat build, perhaps? I am interested in how you would envision a custom fishing boat for around Kodiak.  

[tule peak timber]

We worked on the exhaust routing today with safety in mind for sure. 
The gen set is a 4.5 KW Southeastern Power Products out of Pompano Beach, Fl. It's an 1800 rpm continuous duty, small Kubota engine that should run the rest of my lifetime. The last set I bought from these guys was a 7kw Kubota and it's still powering the ranch today, 22 years later. To my knowledge, it is the smallest low speed set around. Northern Lights builds a similar set, but only in a marine version and I had one of those on my last boat. Very hard to get gen sets with supply chain issues.
As far as thoughts on a boat; it's actually 2 boats. One for the top of the camper and one to get real with. The little fish camp needs to have some way to get off the beach and at least catch dinner and a few a crabs. I'm running into a balance issue of safety, size and weight.
Stay tuned. I haven't quite figured this out yet. I did buy a new 12' aluminum jon boat and will probably just put it up for sale as it's going to be too small for AK.
As far as a real boat; I bought plans for the boat below but instead of outboards, I am going to go with a diesel stern drive, 22 knots cruise with a 500 mile range and at least some creature comforts to keep the wife happy. Lots of things to work out before I actually start the build. This is my friends boat in Oregon ,a Glacier Boats Great Alaskan Kodiak model. I'm meeting up with him next week to get motivated......

 

[21incher]

So the question  is do you want to spend the next 5 years of your life  building a boat or fishing? 

[caveman]

I was thinking the same thing.  The old Island Hopper 30's look good to me with a single diesel engine.  Taking a good hull and customizing it to your standards could be a time-saving option.  You and your projects are inspiring.  

[tule peak timber]

I got the little gen set mounted and running and am very happy with the low frequency growl I was hoping for. The next couple of weeks will be wiring, plumbing and then sound attenuation. My approach to soundproofing is to take what is on the market and home brew it on steroids. A picture of the side air intake vent that I'm cooking up. Still thinking about building a boat, but I went ahead and put an Esquif Rangely 17 on order that should get here later this summer. It's about as large a boat as can I manage by myself to hoist on top of the camper.
Now to designing some outriggers.