canoe blind / cover ideas

C

Clifton Rogers

New member
I have a 17' canoe that i plan on hunting alot from next season. I just got 17' full length sponsons to help with the extra load of gear / cut down on bow splash / and make that much safer. now im planning on making my own cover / blind. the one's sold online are two low, and i really just dont like them. Im thinking about bolting pvc "rod holders" to hold 1'6" wooden dowls (probally 5 per side) at a slight angle in. The blind is going to be some probally 900D duramax fabric. drapped over the wooden dowls and over the canoe just below the sponsons sinched down with a sewn in drawstring. in the top im going to have holes over the seats in the canoe for 2 hunters. the whole idea is lightweight, eazy on and off, warmth (mr heater going inside), and concealment. i want to be able to sink in to the hole and be able to pop up and shoot. + be able to paddle the canoe with it still on to get a sail'd off bird. Ive been searching online for a few days now for something better, or another idea. im open to any ideas'..... what do you have?

-ive considered two rolled up 17' x 3' "walls" that i could stab in the mud and put the canoe inside, and just scoot out and get a sail'd off bird. but thats just too much weight in the canoe to and from my spots. what do you have? anyone try something like this or my other idea?

(this past season i was just using my canoe to get to my spots and stashing it back off in the marsh with a section of burlap and whatever natural grass matts i could lay over it to hide it. and was hunting from a beach chair down in / under the marsh grass all camo'd up....and it worked... great...)

View attachment 19canoe.jpg
View attachment 19canoe.jpg
 
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Hi Clifton,
I like the Deer stencil on the side of the canoe.
It gives the whole thing an old time look.
A long time ago, I saw a canoe blind in Outdoor Life magazine. They put 2x4's across the gunnels of the canoe and clamped them on with "C" clamps. The 2x4's had holes drilled in them where they could push wooden hand rail dowels down through them into the marsh to stabilize the canoe. This allowed them to sit upright and sideways in the canoe, like you would in a regular boat. Then, they had a homemade pop up blind on top of the canoe. If you are planning on hunting alone, then I would use the canoe to make a sort of layout type blind. Cover the fore and aft of the canoe with fast grass and have a couple of doors that you can throw open, just like the field layout blinds have. I would definitely recommend stabilizing the canoe though. Especially if you hunt with a dog. I have a 15' fiberglass v hull fishing boat that I use and I still use poles in the mud to stablize the boat. It keeps it level and prevents it from tipping when the load isn't equal. Plus, it's hard to shoot from a moving platform. I think some fast grass and either some pvc pipe or conduit and you can come up with a great blind for your canoe.
 
Thanks... i have been sika deer hunting via that canoe for years... thats why its not camo'd up or anything. i just get to my area and walk to my spot.. + its way eazyer to canoe one out instead of draggin.! this is the first year i used the canoe for duck hunting ... and mainly it was used to transport a load of gear and i would walk the canoe along the bank and throw decoys out / pick up from it. +++ its a great tool for breaking up ice... standing in the water at the stern of the canoe i slice a line with the keel strait out then cut out another like 17-20' away.. then with the canoe sideways i used the keel to grab the ice and push it under the main sheet. its supper quick and two 20' x 20' holes in the ice is a deadly technique.

that sounds like alot. I do like the idea of having the canoe pinned to the mud. I planned on having a spot or two where i have dowls jamd in the mud to pin the canoe against the marsh bank. typically i hunt with 1 other person & no dog. and we prefer to face eachother. im a lefty and he's a righty so we just set it up so the toll is perfect for both of us. i do like the idea of sitting sideways in the canoe on the gunnel. sounds alot more comfortable but just a little more higher up than what i want to be. Im all about low profile and no taller than the marsh itself.

last night i did wake up from a dream with an idea to help support the top of the fabric/cover/blind. the foot and a half dowls will have a horizontal bar on a hindge so the bar on top supports the the top of the blind .. instead of it having to sinch down the cover under the sponsons. i dont want the top to droop too much...
 
The really neat thing about building a duck hunting rig, is that it only has to suit your eye and work for you. Plus, it's a lot of fun hunting out of something that you made yourself. You could also make some outriggers for your canoe to make it more stable while moving to and from your hunting spot. The last thing you want to do is tip over in the marsh. That pretty much ends the day's hunt right then and there.
Good luck with your project and post some pictures when you get it done.
 
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