beware condo builders

[sam1]

ok,i have a problem.I built 5 bamboo condos--one 14 footer--one 17 footer--and three 20 footers.I put them in 5 gallon buckets and put between 19 and 22 bamboo in each and the bucket is slam full of concrete--ran over in fact.went to the lake today and located my spot i wanted to put the 14 footer [in 19 feet of water] and dropped it over the side,and guess what?It only went down about 9 feet!!!!!!!!!!!!the other 5 feet is still above the surface.what did i do wrong?????????need help.

[driller]

Misread your depth finder ,is what you did. You only thought it said 19 feet when it really said 9 feet.-----lol.

[Tight Line]

You put too much bamboo in the bucket. The only thing you can do is get a hand saw and remove some stalks.

I only use about a dozen spread out real good and never had any trouble.

[pappacrappie]

fished out of a buddies boat on time that read 36ft in water i KNEW(from diving) was 24ft deep...his transducer was angled(bout 45 deg) outward...not straight down...may check just too see...

[NIMROD]

If you use lots of cane , or really large diameter canes. They are really bouyant as each section traps air. Always put enough weight in the buckets. We use sand in the bottom and several inches of concrete. This adds weight and saves concrete. In your case tie a concrete block to condo or cut off bamboo. We use large condos in shallow areas by weighting top and laying then on sides.:D

[percher]

Same thing happened to me. The lakes have been low and I noticed some nice large rocks on the bank. After loading a few on the bow of my boat I cut anchor rope and added weight to each one. I don't think sand is any heavier than concret but I"m no expert. Next time I"m gonna cut and build one day and sink the next. The green cain should not float as bad as some that has had several days or weeks to dry out. My first ones sat around for 10 days before I got around to sinking them. Green ones seem to work better. A frest cut, green tree top will sink with little or no weight. I've done it for years. Seeya, Don

[gabowman]

I filled the buckets slam full of reed canes and had no problems. Matter of fact most of my buckets were only 3/4 full of cement. The reeds I used werent any bigger than your first three fingers, most were even smaller. There's plenty of cane with much bigger stalks but I havent used them. All of my condos parachuted straignt to the bottom and all are still standing. I placed them out in January of this year. They range in height of 12-17 feet tall.

Next time you're at your condo drop a weight on a string to check your water depth just to make sure your sonar is reading right.

[Crappie Reaper]

I only stuck 7-8 stalks of bamboo in mine, 17' tall, and used about 60# of crete. Mine sunk just fine. Run over them with a graph and it looks like you're flying over downtown Manhatten NY.