# Ideas on how to improve TinBoats



## Captain Ahab (Sep 10, 2009)

i am always thinking of ways to make things better and this site is no different. I love the group of members that we have - lots of active participants, great answers to questions and funny as all heck!

BUT......................... there is always a way to make things better! There was a suggestion made a few months back about an organized index to help find "how to" stuff regarding boat mads - i like that and think we should follow up a little.

I would also like to see some organized fishing journals - so you can go back and look at what was cuaght when. maybe broken down by region?


Who else has ideas??


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## bobberboy (Sep 10, 2009)

I wonder what you think of a category called "resources" where members could post where they get hard to find items. Everybody knows about Lowe's and Cabela's but there are a lot of stores and vendors out there that aren't so well known. I spent a lot of time on line looking for parts for my modifications and found that if you really look around you can find good deals. It would save other members a lot of time if they could go directly to sources that others have already found useful or dependable. Right now that information is in the posts but you have to look a little to find it. A separate category would just make it easier to find - like an Angie's List for fishermen.


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## Captain Ahab (Sep 10, 2009)

GREAT IDEA Bobberboy

Keep them coming


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## poolie (Sep 10, 2009)

Captain Ahab said:


> GREAT IDEA Bobberboy
> 
> Keep them coming



Now that would be very useful!


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## Loggerhead Mike (Sep 10, 2009)

CASH prizes :mrgreen: :mrgreen: 

i'd think some sticky's on the most common "how to's" would be a great idear


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## Captain Ahab (Sep 10, 2009)

Loggerhead Mike said:


> CASH prizes :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
> 
> i'd think some sticky's on the most common "how to's" would be a great idear



We are willing to do that - I trust you will supply the prize money?


BTW - just so you all know, Jim supplies the prizes at his expense, these are not donated - he pays for each one


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## Bubba (Sep 10, 2009)

Captain Ahab said:


> BTW - just so you all know, Jim supplies the prizes at his expense, these are not donated - he pays for each one




We all know Jim makes the big bucks....So I vote for bigger better prizes! Lets see some St. Croix rod giveaways.... :mrgreen: :lol:


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## Jim (Sep 10, 2009)

Bubba said:


> Captain Ahab said:
> 
> 
> > BTW - just so you all know, Jim supplies the prizes at his expense, these are not donated - he pays for each one
> ...



Yeah I wish!


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## Bubba (Sep 10, 2009)

Jim said:


> Bubba said:
> 
> 
> > Captain Ahab said:
> ...





:LOL22: 



I do agree tho, Stickies of the "common" questions would be nice. Or even maybe something like a "read only" FAQ section.


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## ben2go (Sep 10, 2009)

Captain Ahab said:


> i am always thinking of ways to make things better and this site is no different. I love the group of members that we have - lots of active participants, great answers to questions and funny as all heck!
> 
> BUT......................... there is always a way to make things better! There was a suggestion made a few months back about an organized index to help find "how to" stuff regarding boat mads - i like that and think we should follow up a little.
> 
> ...




I am a stuffy old snob mod that is set in his ways and refuses to change. [-X 

:LOL22: 

I vote for the resources addition and a section dedicated to painting tips and techniques.


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## bassboy1 (Sep 11, 2009)

Captain Ahab said:


> Who else has ideas??




Ban Ahab. :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :LOL22: :LOL22:


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## Andy (Sep 11, 2009)

bassboy1 said:


> Captain Ahab said:
> 
> 
> > Who else has ideas??
> ...



LOL and maybe he'll take that pesky little bug with him, but then again, what would we do without the Capn'.....

I like the resources idea. I'm not quite sure how the "search" function is set up, if it searches a particular section or the whole site, but when you would go to resources, type in what you're looking for in the search bar and have it only search the resources section...??

About the prizes for tournaments, Could there be "donation" tourny's? People send Jim rods, reels, tackle, electronics etc that they don't use and he then sends them out for prizes? Just 'cause stuff is second hand don't mean it don't work, just make sure it DOES work....


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## BYOB Fishing (Sep 11, 2009)

Andy said:


> About the prizes for tournaments, Could there be "donation" tourny's? People send Jim rods, reels, tackle, electronics etc that they don't use and he then sends them out for prizes? Just 'cause stuff is second hand don't mean it don't work, just make sure it DOES work....




I wouldnt mind donating some lures. I can make up a few of my popular patterns.


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## FishingCop (Sep 11, 2009)

Now, I thought that the sponsors donated some of the gifts/prizes for the monthly drawings/tournaments, etc. ??? I didn't know that Jim paid for all those prizes. Back about 2 years ago, we took up a collection to provide Jim some cash to offset some of his expenses (or maybe it was a Christmas gift - I don't remember anymore). Maybe it's time for our members to join together and make another donation. This is a great site, with lots of members now (only 100 or so when I joined, now really growing large) - a couple of bucks from each member would really help out with the operating/mainteance/gift expenses that Jim has to handle. I'm not going so far as to recommend an annual membership fee - just maybe a small donation to help offset his costs. Any thoughts?


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## Jim (Sep 11, 2009)

FishingCop said:


> Now, I thought that the sponsors donated some of the gifts/prizes for the monthly drawings/tournaments, etc. ??? I didn't know that Jim paid for all those prizes. Back about 2 years ago, we took up a collection to provide Jim some cash to offset some of his expenses (or maybe it was a Christmas gift - I don't remember anymore). Maybe it's time for our members to join together and make another donation. This is a great site, with lots of members now (only 100 or so when I joined, now really growing large) - a couple of bucks from each member would really help out with the operating/mainteance/gift expenses that Jim has to handle. I'm not going so far as to recommend an annual membership fee - just maybe a small donation to help offset his costs. Any thoughts?



You guys are the best! :beer:

But I refuse to take any donations and will never charge a membership fee. The advertisers pay a small monthly fee which helps offset the costs for the "fun and cool" stuff we do. If you really want to help out the site............. 

1, make a few (at least 4) posts per month.
2, If purchasing anything, please consider and support the sponsors first.

That's it!


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## FishingCop (Sep 11, 2009)

Jim said:


> FishingCop said:
> 
> 
> > Now, I thought that the sponsors donated some of the gifts/prizes for the monthly drawings/tournaments, etc. ??? I didn't know that Jim paid for all those prizes. Back about 2 years ago, we took up a collection to provide Jim some cash to offset some of his expenses (or maybe it was a Christmas gift - I don't remember anymore). Maybe it's time for our members to join together and make another donation. This is a great site, with lots of members now (only 100 or so when I joined, now really growing large) - a couple of bucks from each member would really help out with the operating/mainteance/gift expenses that Jim has to handle. I'm not going so far as to recommend an annual membership fee - just maybe a small donation to help offset his costs. Any thoughts?
> ...



Jim's da man :!: =D> =D> =D>


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## huntinfool (Sep 11, 2009)

I like the resources idea and the index idea too. I noticed that some of the same questions are asked over and over again. I wouldn't want to exclude anyone, but if there was a section that answered these questions then we could just link to that thread. 
Also the boat mods are all through that section. It would take weeks to go through every thread and look at everything that is there. I wish there was a way to link some of the more noteworthy mods (ones with very detailed writeups and pics). That would make it easier for everyone to look through. 

I know it is a pipe dream....but it sounded good at the time :LOL2:


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## river_wolf (Sep 11, 2009)

Jim,

I know that I am not that helpful to all, but have found this site very useful in my own build as well as fishing tips and all. 

Thanks for a great site, and thanks to all that have shared their knowledge and answered my questions without making me sound stupid. I know, "There is no such thing as a stupid question" but still feel that I test the waters with this theory....

Regardless, Thanks for all the help and imput!!!


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## Captain Ahab (Sep 12, 2009)

bassboy1 said:


> Captain Ahab said:
> 
> 
> > Who else has ideas??
> ...




Alright that took much longer then usual - I blame Flounderhead for teh delay!


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## Deadmeat (Sep 12, 2009)

I, too, would like to see a "how to" section. I have a notebook full of posts I've gotten off of this site for a yet-to-be-built boat. Whenever I see a post on something I think I will be able to use at a later date but know I will never again find, such as what gauge wire to use where, what kind of paint to use, or how to repair a crack in aluminum, I print it and keep it in a notebook. I find that sometimes I just can't locate it again although I know I've seen it somewhere in the site. It could be that I'm not using the right search words or maybe I'm just having a senior moment, but when I need it the most sometimes I just can't seem to locate a post I know I've seen. 

A section on "Electrical", for example, is fine, but it covers everything from outboard to trolling motors, boat wiring, and trailer wiring. Maybe breaking it down further with subsection on each of these topics would help refine a search and make it less time consuming. Regarding the front deck, maybe a section on "Hatches" and how to build them would be useful. I see this question asked from time to time, but doing a search on "hatches" turns up lots of posts that mention hatches peripherally but have no information on how to build them. Just a thought and it may be too time-consuming to even consider.


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## Jim (Sep 12, 2009)

Deadmeat said:


> I, too, would like to see a "how to" section. I have a notebook full of posts I've gotten off of this site for a yet-to-be-built boat. Whenever I see a post on something I think I will be able to use at a later date but know I will never again find, such as what gauge wire to use where, what kind of paint to use, or how to repair a crack in aluminum, I print it and keep it in a notebook. I find that sometimes I just can't locate it again although I know I've seen it somewhere in the site. It could be that I'm not using the right search words or maybe I'm just having a senior moment, but when I need it the most sometimes I just can't seem to locate a post I know I've seen.
> 
> A section on "Electrical", for example, is fine, but it covers everything from outboard to trolling motors, boat wiring, and trailer wiring. Maybe breaking it down further with subsection on each of these topics would help refine a search and make it less time consuming. Regarding the front deck, maybe a section on "Hatches" and how to build them would be useful. I see this question asked from time to time, but doing a search on "hatches" turns up lots of posts that mention hatches peripherally but have no information on how to build them. Just a thought and it may be too time-consuming to even consider.




The site wiki that was mentioned awhile would solve all the problems, the problem is the horsepower (server, bandwidth,Traffic) would kill the site. For sure I will do it when the site is on a dedicated server ($200 per month :shock: ) one day.

I did try to start some sort of organization with this thread. It lists the boat mods and at the bottom of the first post it lists other cool stuff that I thought would help people. You think it might be helpful if people add links to this thread and I keep on updating it? https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3156&start=0

My issue is I cant keep up with all posts anymore. =D> So I miss allot of good and innovative stuff.


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## Deadmeat (Sep 12, 2009)

Yeah, I though that would be a problem. Even as often as I check out this website I can't keep up with all the neat stuff I'd like to know and to take the time to organize it into subsections would take an inordinate amount of time.


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## Waterwings (Sep 12, 2009)

All good ideas suggested by members, however, after taking into consideration what Jim mentioned above concerning the band-width useage, and other factors, such as the $$ cost of a dedicated server (never crosed my mind until he mentioned it), recommend we stick with the updating of the current thread that currently exists in Jim's post above. Probably the most time I spend as a mod is trying to keep up with the posts and seeing that they are in the forum pertaining to the posted topic. As an example, I believe that anything to do with trailers (wiring, tires, framework, bunks, winch posts, trailer hitches, etc) should be in the Trailer forum, so if anyone has a trailer question/proposal they can readily go to that forum. Another example would be the Boat Talk forum. If no modification/conversion has been done to a boat, and someone is thinking about doing mods, then that topic would go in the Boat Talk forum, not the mod/conversion forum. Perhaps once a conversion has started, a PM to one of us that work has started, we could easily move the topic to the conversion forum, just as long as a link to that particular thread is provided. Just my thoughts. 8)


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## Jim (Sep 12, 2009)

Deadmeat said:


> I, too, would like to see a "how to" section. I have a notebook full of posts I've gotten off of this site for a yet-to-be-built boat. Whenever I see a post on something I think I will be able to use at a later date but know I will never again find, such as what gauge wire to use where, what kind of paint to use, or how to repair a crack in aluminum, I print it and keep it in a notebook. I find that sometimes I just can't locate it again although I know I've seen it somewhere in the site. It could be that I'm not using the right search words or maybe I'm just having a senior moment, but when I need it the most sometimes I just can't seem to locate a post I know I've seen.
> 
> A section on "Electrical", for example, is fine, but it covers everything from outboard to trolling motors, boat wiring, and trailer wiring. Maybe breaking it down further with subsection on each of these topics would help refine a search and make it less time consuming. Regarding the front deck, maybe a section on "Hatches" and how to build them would be useful. I see this question asked from time to time, but doing a search on "hatches" turns up lots of posts that mention hatches peripherally but have no information on how to build them. Just a thought and it may be too time-consuming to even consider.



Deadmeat (and to all actually),
You can bookmark any topic you want to save for later reference. When reading a post, right underneath the Reply button on the top left is a bookmark topic link. If you click on it it will save it in your profile bookmarks. Whenever you want to revisit them, click on the User control panel (underneath the TinBoats.net banner at the top) and then Manage Bookmarks. Any bookmarks you saved are all located there.

Hope this helps someone.


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## Waterwings (Sep 12, 2009)

> Hope this helps someone.




It helped me! 8) . I always forget about the Bookmark capability.


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## BassAddict (Sep 12, 2009)

bassboy1 said:


> Captain Ahab said:
> 
> 
> > Who else has ideas??
> ...



best idea EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Jim absolutely refuses to take any "donations", on numberouse occasions I have tried to offer him free stuff/discounts and every time I get threatened with being banned :shock:


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## huntinfool (Sep 12, 2009)

I understand the bandwidth issue. Perhaps you need to up the sponsorship to help cover the cost of this. But I'm assuming right now you don't have enough sponsors, and if you upped the price you would lose those that you do have. However with this site being nationwide I can't see why there couldn't be more sponsors...(unless you have kept them to a minimum on purpose)

This site will grow, there is a growing demand for tin boats and especially for modifications.

Perhaps another one or two Moderators to help spread the load and to help move the threads. Then it all wouldn't fall on one or two guys. That should help at keeping it more organized as suggested above. 

Just a thought.


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## Jim (Sep 12, 2009)

huntinfool said:


> I understand the bandwidth issue. Perhaps you need to up the sponsorship to help cover the cost of this. But I'm assuming right now you don't have enough sponsors, and if you upped the price you would lose those that you do have. However with this site being nationwide I can't see why there couldn't be more sponsors...(unless you have kept them to a minimum on purpose)
> 
> This site will grow, there is a growing demand for tin boats and especially for modifications.
> 
> ...



I wish I could get more sponsors! (working on it on a continuous basis)

More moderators are coming shortly too. 

:beer:


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## poolie (Sep 12, 2009)

On the bright side, even if nothing changes and the site stays just as is, it's still one of the most enjoyable places on the internet to visit. This is like our version of 'Cheers'. I rarely stay at any given website very long because there's always the typical personality conflicts that happen when you get a bunch of more or less anonymous people together. I love talking politics as much (or more) than most people, but it sure is nice to have a haven to get away from it all and just talk about something that we all have in common which is the love of fishing and our cool tin boats.

So to Jim for providing this site and the mods that keep us all in PG mode, I say thanks and good job! :beer: 



-- Poolie, who's been on the internet since Al Gore invented it ;-)


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## Henry Hefner (Sep 12, 2009)

Jim said:


> I did try to start some sort of organization with this thread. It lists the boat mods and at the bottom of the first post it lists other cool stuff that I thought would help people. You think it might be helpful if people add links to this thread and I keep on updating it? https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=3156&start=0
> 
> My issue is I cant keep up with all posts anymore. =D> So I miss allot of good and innovative stuff.



I have that thread bookmarked, and commonly send people both the main page link and that one when directing modders to the site. It would take a lot of work on the part of someone with more knowledge than I have, but how about a boat mod FAQ page? One that answers the very common questions like: 
What guage wire is required for (blank) amperage?
What is the best thickness for wood decks?
What is the best way to repair cracks in aluminum?
Should I use rattle can paint?
Is flotation foam really necessary?
Will removing seats weaken my hull?
What is the best way to waterproof wooden decks?
Can I use screws or should I use pop rivets?
etc.


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## FishingBuds (Sep 12, 2009)

What about this, is this still posible?

https://tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8214


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## Henry Hefner (Sep 12, 2009)

I suggested in another thread that we should all try to put links to our mods in our signature lines and huntinfool thought that suggestion should go in this thread. I got to thinking... is the site software compatible to adding this in our profile so that links to member's mods would show up under their avatar? Often I read a member mention "I did it this way", and I wish he had a link to his mod in the post. There are just too many mods for me to remember which mod was whose.


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## huntinfool (Sep 12, 2009)

I plan on adding a link to my mod threads in my signature...once I figure out how. I like that and think it is a good thing that we the members can do with out costing any money.

Jim what is required to become a sponsor? What are the guidelines? I might have some connections that I could get some more sponsors.


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## Jim (Sep 12, 2009)

huntinfool said:


> I plan on adding a link to my mod threads in my signature...once I figure out how. I like that and think it is a good thing that we the members can do with out costing any money.
> 
> Jim what is required to become a sponsor? What are the guidelines? I might have some connections that I could get some more sponsors.



PM sent!

Thanks for the effort :beer:


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## Henry Hefner (Sep 12, 2009)

huntinfool said:


> I plan on adding a link to my mod threads in my signature...once I figure out how.



Go to the top left of the page and click on "user control panel", then choose "profile", then "edit signature"


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## FishingBuds (Sep 12, 2009)

Jim said:


> huntinfool said:
> 
> 
> > I plan on adding a link to my mod threads in my signature...once I figure out how. I like that and think it is a good thing that we the members can do with out costing any money.
> ...




Can I have a hit from that PM to Jim?


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## Ouachita (Sep 13, 2009)

How about a separate section under boats for the following type posts:
_"Should I buy this boat?"_
_"Is this boat a good deal?"_

These seem to clog up the boat section at times. Just a thought. Love the site Jim and thanks for all the hard work and time you put into it.


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## bobberboy (Sep 29, 2009)

I wonder whether a forum loosely called "inventions" or something like that might be possible. This might be for little gems of ideas that are otherwise hiding inside the bigger rebuilding stories. I was just looking at Riverdawg's thread and saw the very cool rod holders he made for himself. One of the things that made me join Tinboats is that the people are very creative and inventive. My project wasn't really a challenge because I started from new (it seems like cheating in a way). A lot of the guys here have taken rust buckets and made the Queen Mary out of them. If necessity is the mother of invention then not having a lot of dough must be the father. Hat's off to all you creative guys out there that can just figure stuff out and do it yourself. Some like the challenge, some don't have the $ but in the end everyone is making it work. That's pretty cool.


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