Hello, and a couple of questions

Hey guys, just happened upon this awesome forum while surfing the net. Pretty awesome thing this is!
Just wanted to say hello and ask a couple of questions.
I have a hand me down trout traps round belly boat. When I got it the tube was trashed so I looked around and found a "universal" replacement tube that looked pretty good and was actually cheaper than a tire inner tube, and included the head and back rest tubes. It all fits pretty decent except its a little too big and the fill valve doesn't like up with where the zipper is so I can never really fill it up all the way. The last time I had it out I noticed although starting out quite taut(or as much as it will and still be able to stuff the valve in and zip up the cover) after about thirty minutes I noticed it starting to have that crease you get about the middle of the tube when you don't have enough air in it. Would cool water cause this or do you guys think I might have a pinhole leak in it ALREADY. I have only used it about 4 times.
2nd question: my fins are also hand me downs, the straps on them seem to loosen during use so much that if I kick hard I can feel them clicking out. To help with this, I looped velcro around the strap and them around my ankle. This worked extremely well! Until the Velcro wore a hole in my waders. So now I use the Velcro over gravel guards, which keeps this from happening, but the whole thing is really unfomfortable, and the Velcro kind of cuts off the circulation lol

Any tips? Can you purchase new straps or some kind of strap lock?
Thanks and sorry for the long post!

Welcome Sbowman glad you found us, ya cold water can cause that but keep a close eye on it make sure it is not losing to much air to fast. But my first thought is the cold water issue, as for the fins I think you would be better off with new fins that fit better. Make sure you take your fins with you when you buy some new ones. That is my 2cents again glad you found us.

welcome to the forums ya would say its the cold water also doing that if u can fill the tube more then u need and then when u get in the cold water it shrinks and for the fins get new ones or try some big rubber bans friend did that once and it worked but get new ones your best bet

Alright thanks guys! I was afraid I would need to get new fins. Oh well
Lol gotta hate that cold water shrinkage! If I suspect that it is actually losing air, what's the best way to try to find pinhole leaks? I use windex on bike and car tires, but would that hurt the tube material?
Thanks again

Welcome Snowman,
you will like this site and the people on here. It is good that we continue to have new members. I have Bat F1 fins and the straps are actually stainless steel springs with rubber heel guards. They are a little pricey but they work great. Buy yourself some fin savers and they will keep your fins with you when you are out there. Just do a search for fin saver or go to your nearest dive shop. You will find that this is a lot more comfortable than what you have been doing.

Sbowman wrote:Alright thanks guys! I was afraid I would need to get new fins. Oh well
Lol gotta hate that cold water shrinkage! If I suspect that it is actually losing air, what's the best way to try to find pinhole leaks? I use windex on bike and car tires, but would that hurt the tube material?
Thanks again

You can use a diluted dose of dishwashing soap. It'll make bubbles if there's a leak.

hey and welcome i heard the round tubes are dangerous please get another tube

yep soap and water your best bet

Thanks guys ill give the soap and water a try.
About the round tubes, they are a little harder to climb into ill admit, but they are no more dangerous than any other tube if used responsibly. Watercraft, be it float tubes or speed boats, are only as dangerous as their operators in my opinion. It's what I have, so I'm gonna use it. But thanks for your concern anyway i guess lol.

Welcome to the forum

Don't worry about the round tube being dangerous. I used one for years and never had ANY problems. Like you said, they are just hard to get in and out of, especially while wearing fins.

Welcome to the forum.