jb_adams

Dude, wet sanding is nothing to be scared of. I did it. It's so easy (well. ...labor is a pain) that anyone can do it. The vids posted above are a good explanation along with his instructions in the post above. Wet sanding takes off the dull material, hi speed polishing will bring it back to life. I took off 30+ years on my boat. People can't believe it's 35yrs old. I had a lit of spots that were white with oxidization but yours appears to he just faded. Sometimes, a hi speed polish is all you need. Use a buffing compound and then polish for rough areas. Sand paper will work best. Your boat will shine line New again. Best thing to do is wipe Tue boat down after every usr and spray a nano wax or polish or "boat protectant" after every use. That helps keep the polish for years to come. If you don't, you will need to ''re-sand all over again.

Looks really nice. Proof that you get what you pay for. Quality carpet = quality job. Quality adheasive = long life and carpet not coming loose. I hate my carpet but it still beats what I had. I'll probably replace it again one day within the next year. Too many other improvements to be made in the meantime.

It gets better. Use a wire wheel on a grinder to remove the old glue. Just be carefull and do not remove the gelcoat. Just the glue. They make a wire brush that's cupped with swirly bristles that works great. Won't eat into gelcoat but takes off glue fast. Be sure to vacuume really good and clean up mess thoroughly with wet wrags to remove first and debris.

Very true about tight lids. I made a deck extension for my boat. Had the lids cut to anticipate the carpet thickness but was still too tight I'm the end and I had to remove some.

I would wait for warmer weather unless you plan on keeping it in garage till spring. Glue needs warmer weather to cure. I wouldn't chance it.

It was a 1/16" trowel. The carpet I had was terrible. And thin.

Having recent experience with carpet and carpet disasters..........i can tell you this. It MUST have a backer on it. If not, the adhesive can ooze through the carpet if even slightly over applied. It also MUST be a marine grade carpet with a backer. I used indoor outdoor carpet because it was super cheap and it did not have a backer. I used indoor outdoor carpet adhesive because it was also super cheap. I read some reviews online where people had used it on their boat with great success so being a on a super tight budget, I pulled the trigger. I also used a carpet adhesive trowel with nothes so I did not over apply the adhesive. I troweld it on carefully and laid it down like I was about to tile a floor. Not having the backer allowed the adhesive to work it's way through (super thin carpet didn't help). The carpet got wet after about 5 days old and due to winter, the water froze. The indoor outdoor adhesive went from dry to wet (still does to this day over 2mo later!) and it's not a water proof glue. I was standing on the wet carpet and left foot prints with the glue. Now, I'm going to have to replace the entire bit and do it all over again. Lesson learned. I spent $50 carpet, $25 adhesive resulted into a total practice run for when I do it with real marine carpet. Old saying goes........you get what you pay for. As for where to buy? There are tons of places. If you don't have a hard color to find, it makes shopping way easier. You can expect to spend up to $100 quick on carpet. At least $30-50 on adhesive and possibly more. And this is on the cheap side mind you....

$2,000?? Um no. A 16-18ft glass boat around late 70's to early 80's with a 115hp outboard that is in good working order with a fully functioning motor is worth $2,000-$2,500. If upgrades are added like moder fish finders, newer modern trolling motor, new batterys, carpet, good seats, etc. you can get up to $3,000-$3,500 but that's about it. My boat is a 79 model and I paid a little over $2,000 for it and it was in really good shape for it's age. Today, it's got a rebuilt outboard (last year), new carpet, deck extension, 65lb thrust Minn Kota TM, 3 new marine grade deep cycle batteries, Lowrance Elite 5DSI, Eagle 320, Lowrance x86(?) (basically 3 fish finders), anchor and winch, new tires on trailer, replaced bearings, upgraded to all LED lights, trailer boat buddies (retractable transom straps), etc. I could go on and on.... My advice is to ask for around $1,000 and see what you can get. If i were to sell mine today, if I asked more than $4,000.......people might laugh at me. In my mind, it's easily worth over $4,000 but I doubt anyone would pay that. Here is a photo of mine after I just completed the deck extension up front. I removed the old seats and extended the fishing deck. Now I have locking lid in the middle with a gas strut and smaller lids on the sides. Tripled my storage capacity!

Well that's 3 manufactures I've hears but that sounds close to when I was told Shimano. I just can't believe how light they are compared to other rods in same price point. I haven't broken one on a hookset yet either. Awesome rods for the money. I wish they could expand their line to include a few more options like a heavy action rod. Maybe some longer lengths too.

Reviving an old thread. Just wanted to give an update. I have been using my H20 rods since 2011 now and I have to say..............they are without a doubt the best quality rod for ME (maybe not everyone but for $59, they are great). I have talked to several people at Academy. I've been told they are made by Shimano and I've been told by All Star. Not sure who is correct but either way, I've always heard they were tested thoroughly both in shore and off shore. I held a $300+ GLoomis in my left hand, my H2O in my right. Both rigged identically for drop shot. For the amount of money spent and for the weekend angler (not a pro), it was just silly to pay $300+ when my $59 rod was just barely not quite as sensitive but just as light as the GLoomis. Sensitivity was so close, it was crazy. Just updating this old thread with a report. The very next rod I'll buy will be an H2O without a doubt.

It's funny, I was just thinking about LBH today. I haven't been on this site in several years sadly. I'm more of a bass fisherman than ever and finally got my own boat. I was bored due to being snowed in and I wanted to look up some fishing videos that a particular member used to post on here. Couldn't think of the name (failing memory power) but I remembered the videos of catching TONS of quality bass using *** (stick baits). Low and behold............I find the users name and find out he's been gone for a while too. Out of the several years I have been on and off this website......I have to say that other than Glenn, Rolo, and a couple of others (can't rememberall the names at the moment)....LOW BUDGET HOOKERS always stood out as a quality guy, great angler, and always willing to share and teach. Glad to see ole LBH is still around and still fishing. Welcome home LBH!! Just wanted to post that and say hi!

I'm looking at the Cardiff or the Bass Pro Shops Nitro. Can you disengage the clicker on larger heavy duty reels like the Cardiff? The bait clickers drive me crazy but when you disengage, the reel is free to reel backwards and I'd prefer to have a brake and not free-spooling. How would the Nitro bold up for an A-rig? I looked at saltwater reels but they seem too bulky and a bit overkill. I looked at catfish reels and I keep coming back to baitcast reels and a more compact size. This reel would strictly be for the A-rig style baits.

I said Vendetta but meant Veritas. The Veritas is the white one that people have been breaking a lot on hooksets right? The H20 is lighter (slightly) than the Veritas but the H20 feels stronger. Yes, having Alconite guides on a rod that's only $59 is incredible. I heard the H20 reels cast a long ways. Good to know. I bet they make a great jig reel for easy pitching. I like a reel that's effortless and allows you to thumb control eaaier without having to worry about backlash. I will say after trying the composite crankbait rod, I like the feel of a graphite crankbait rod for smaller tight wobble cranks like rattle baits. I can feel more. The H20 would be awesome for squarebills and med to deep divers. The rod can cast a 1/2 oz rattle trap about 50-60yds. I was impressed. Feel is a bit light but loads up well. Wider wobble baits will solve the feel issue. I was using 12lb Seguar flourocaron Red Label by the way on my test with 5:1 ratio reel.

I picked up two more of these H20 Express rods today. I got the 7' graphite/glass combo cranking rod and the 6'-6" med. spinning rod. I was leary about the cranking rod because I've tried a KVD Signature series crankbait rod that was a graphite/glass combo and I didn't care for it. The loose tip didn't transfer much feel to the rest of the rod. This H20 Express however, DOES transfer plenty of sensitivity and feel to your hand. If you're chunking big crankbaits (DD22 and such) all day long, you will want a seemingly weightless and comfortable rod in your hands. In my opinion, this new H20 rod fits the bill and for the price, well that's just gravy! I looked at a lot of rods and settled on this one based on feel, weight, balance, and my recent experience with my first H20 rod (med-heavy). I figure for $59, if it breaks I'll take it back and get another. If not, I'll enjoy it and I'm not out $200 for a single rod. I got the 6'-6" spinning rod paired up with a Shimano Sahara 6lb spinning reel with 8lb Seguar flourocarbon line. This little rod is lighter than an equal size/type Abu Vendetta and it's supposed to be the "ubber light" rod nowadays. The H20 Express is every bit as senstive with as my $200 7'-6" St. Croix Avid rod with an extra fast action tip for drop shotting. My St. Croix rod makes small perch feel like 12-14" spotted bass so it's extremely sensitive. Until now, it was the most sensitive rod I had. My buddy doesn't care for the bright blue finish but I don't mind it. I like the rods and I like the feel. The H20 reels however did not feel as high quality. Felt a bit rough and I can't get past the whinning noise they make when free-spooled. Hopefully with have more news/reports/feedback on these rods soon. Ready to go take them out and use them!

I now have 3 of these reels now and I love them. Just picked up the 3rd earlier this week while they were on sale. I bought all 3 on sale for $50 and I'm quite pleased with them. I have used the other 2 reels for at least 3-4yrs now. They've never been professionaly services/cleaned. I don't fish tournaments, don't fish more than once a week on average so they have seen weekend use but I use them pretty heavily when I do use them. If you want a good affordable reel that feels like it's top quality and as good or better than more expensive reels, these reels are the way to go.