Duck boat blind options

Ernie Roberts

Ernie Roberts

Member
Congrats to Cheech for a gorgeous build on his rig.. That style of blind is something I've wanted for many years with boats I've owed from 14' and now running a 20' Alaskan with 75hp tiller, yet I remain apprehensive to buying a spool gun and aluminum stock..

We gun primarily the big waters of Long Point Bay and also Lk St clair out of Mitchells Bay here in Ontario and wait for those blustery days that true waterfowlers dream of, but the thoughts of having gale force winds hitting that blind and having no boat control out there stops me every time from starting a solid boat blind project.. I love the idea of being out of the howling winds with the cook stove and heaters going inside a spaceous rig like that, but that "sail effect" and obvious inherent dangers keep me halted from moving forward with a solid blind project..

What other ideas if any have you seasoned waterfowlers either built over the years or heard of that will suffice for my situation..

I've thought of a scissor type blind that folds down, but have never had a decent set of plans for one, but then I don't think they are wind proof....It needs to be rigid enough and anchored at gunnels to keep from blowing around on gusty days.. I've also thought of 4 or 5 separate inverted rectangular "U" hoops per side bent from thin walled metal 1/2" or 3/4" conduit that would sleeve into a female type connector screwed to inside of gunnel..

In my opinion, a blind for my needs, Must go up and down quickly, block the wind and water, have no cross members to step over, get in and out of with minimum effort, least amount of hassle for setting and retrieving decoys, and be out of the way when not in use

Hope to get some other ideas from veteran gunners who've been in my spot already

thank you in advance, Ernie

Ernie Roberts
 
I built a blind on a 14 ftr that folded nicely.If you can picture a bimini top,except it went from bow to stern and snapped along one gunnel.I had a front panel hinged on the other gunnel that flipped down to shoot.The problem with the 20 ftr is the long span bow to stern,you will need intermediate supports once pulled up.It took me 2 minutes to pop it up or down,I covered it with canvas,then grass.I went back to a sneak box this year.I don't think I have a pic.
 
ERNIE, LOOK UP A WEB SITE CALLED POP UP BLINDS ,THE CO. MAKES A CUSTOM RETRACTABLE FOLD DOWN BLINDTO FIT YOUR BOAT SO YOU CAN RUN YOUR BOAT TO & FROM YOUR HUNTING SPOT WITH OUT ANY DANGER OF CONTENDING WITH SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS .THEY WORK WELL UP HERE IN N.J. IN ROUGH WEATHER CONDITIONS. PAUL
 
There has been some improvements done, especially on the front end. The grass is attached to camo cloth top and bottom to 3/4 PVC. The bottom is attached to the hoop with clamps, the top is held by pins. When we are moving the boat the blind is rolled down and strapped in place. The hoop is actually one piece and can be removed after season and we fish. My wife likes the hoops, she holds on when its a little rough. I would change the position of the hoops a bit for easier shooting.

This is it without the bow covered.


The next time we're out I'll get some new pics. These pics are two years old. These were from the first time out, there's been a lot of improvements.
 
Hi Ernie. Sounds to me like you need a clamshell blind. Whats that you ask? Pretty much everything you stated you need in a blind. I designed it for my Snow Goose and built the first one out of 2x2's with plywood gussets (what Cheech likes to call Blind 1.0). Somewhere on this site are pics of it, although when I tried searching for them, I couldn't find any.

In a nutshell, the blind folds down onto the gunnel for road transport and in use folds up. There are 2 pivot points bow and stern that allows hunters access to the boat without having to climb over cross pieces. The blind is held in place prior to shooting with a single rope that is tied to the top of the port side and led to a sailboat cam cleat on the stb side. Tug on the rope, and the blind drops instantly. In under 10 seconds you can have the blind erected again for the next group of birds.

After using the wood version of the blind for a couple of years, I gave it to an aspiring hunter with the admonition that if he gets tired of it, he has to give it free to an aspiring hunter.

Version 2.0 is basically the same thing only done in welded up conduit. It also has a fast grass covered tarp over it (like 1.0).

If anybody out there can figure out the right search string and post either the thread or pics, I'd appreciate it.

John Bourbon
 
Thank you Chad. That pic will allow Ernie to see what I meant by the attachment points and the way the pieces pivot into place for hunting and down on the gunnel for travel.

Admittedly, the blind was a little wiggly with all the loose fitting wooden pieces, BUT, it never broke, and I hunted it for 4 or 5 years like that.

John
 
Ernie,
I used an 18' Starcraft on LSC for several years with a Pop Up Blind mentioned above. It has two settings. Full up,it covers you out of the elements but there are obvious straight lines that I never liked. We used it in the lowest stage which left an open top but protection from the wind. It is easy up and down, but quite expensive.

It seemed that the guys with cedar blinds actually did better than anyone else who used a cover blind, but those are not easy up and down.

I now live in South Carolina, and think back fondly to riding out into the chop of Mitchells Bay to the Martin Islands, the Walpole Stake line and Tick Tack.

You've got a great base boat for out there. Enjoy it.
 
Last year I built a solid aluminum blind for my Alaskan 1600. Befor that I had canvas and wood sided blinds on my 16' Smokercraft. If a blind material is strong enough to hold up to the winds then it'll probably blow the boat around whether it's aluminum, wood, or canvas. With my boats out on Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes the "sail effect" was noticable but not to the point that I'd consider it dangerous.

I like using solid materials because there's no raising and lowering necessary, it's always there. If built right, guys can climb over the sides, and it could prevent you from taking water on over the bow. If you want to minimize the sail effect, I'd recommend keeping the blind lower (I like it right at my nose height when seated in the boat) and angle it in a bit (hides you better and may shed the wind a bit). I didn't put a roof on my blind as we are often hunting divers and I like to have the option of hunting over the port or starboard side. Also keeping the blind light (aluminum or canvas) should minimize any top heaviness.
 
Ernie & John~

I like a rigid-sided boat blind - but am also well-aware of the "sail effect". On the one I made for my Sneakbox - which only has a few inches of freeboard, the increase in windage is significant. On the other hand, since an Alaskan is already much taller, you could make much lower sides. With the gunning flaps down, it's easy to tend stool, etc. Mine folded (hinged) at 34" up from floor. If your hull is, say 20 inches deep already, your sides only need to be another 14" above your gunwales. Photos of it in use are elsewhere on this site and also at http://stevenjaysanford.com/sneakbox/

One thing I like about the fold-down flaps is that the grass is well-protected when under way or on the highway. And, as another commentor said, it's nice to be able to fold down any flap to shoot all sides.

I also want to second John's point about angling the sides inward. It provides a better hide, spillls some wind, and functions like tumblehome in a workboat hull, i.e., it make it easier to see and handle overboard gear. (And it's inherently stiffer because it won't "rack" as much as a square-sided box.)

I just did this measured drawing for another duckboats.net member. Obviously, yours would be longer and wider, but height of hinge and width of opening might be worth mimicking. (BTW: My actual blind is ready for the scrap heap - because lauan plywood delaminated - I would use 1/4" AC next time - but I kept it just for measurements and hardware.)

Measureddrawings_zps09d50bb4.jpg


Looking forward to your design.

SJS
 
Ernie,
I'm right across the lake from you. Here is my lake/bay boat. It is only 14' but the blind idea may work for you. When the sides are down the blind is nearly flat but is very manageable with the sides up. I hunt with most of the canvas on and only remove enough for a shooting hole. a heater inside works well and will thaw things out for tomorrows hunt.
Just another option, John
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John- Nice rig. Any chance you have a close up shot of how you attached the wood sides to the gunwhales?

Much appreciated.

Chad
 
Here is what I did with my jon boat. The base is a northern flight clamp on blind. I slotted the cross members so they can be adjusted for different boats if needed. I also added a northern flight flip top. However the flip top would lie outside the gunnel so I installed an extra set of bolts lower on the frame so the flip top can be lowered and held in place with the plastic appliance knobs. The plastic handle over the nut things (not sure the proper name. Wind blocker was installed on rear only. Blind was covered with Mud Buddy Ghillie Panels and grassed out with Killer Weed. Ghillie panes cover front deck and rear area while hunting.
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Works well and rolls up tight for travel.
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Rolled up for travel
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This has been an evolution thing - starting with home built panels - then Avery products in the 90's to this. One thing I dislike about fabric is that it beats in the wind. This set up is heavy enough and tight enough it will not beat in wind.
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Good Luck
 
Chad, The sides are aluminum I salvaged from a disasembly at work. It is simply screwed to the top rail of the boat with lath screws(large head). The frame is all 1" pine and is not fastened to anything. I can take it off completely in 15 minutes and it's in three easy to handle pieces. Hope this picture shows something. If not I'll take some. John
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Wow guys, thanks so much for all the great replies.. I wish this site had the feature that I could be emailed when someone responds to the thread, if it does, i'm not able to find it, but sure would be handy..

Snowing and blowing outside here today, makes me wish I was on the bay waiting for those big bull cans flying low single file over our blocks..

John, this setup reminds me of my16' Bankes Chesapeake I had years ago, with the tapered rolled in sides off the gunnel... that makes perfect sense to help keep water out, and take the profile of a wide boat and really helps narrow it down, plus then is a ideal platform to hinge the upper flip down doors off.. I feel this is still my favourite style of blind yet, even though the lower section is rigid and a spot to allow the howling winds to grab hold of, it's still superior to a solid upright blind with no flip down doors..

I've looked at some of the Guides rigs down on Lk St clair which are welded from 3/8"-1/2" Re-rod, fold back doors on each side, inside decoy storage, wrapped with chicken wire, then woven with cedar, and completely flat tops on them...sure they look good, but they keep their boats all season in boat slips, and normally don't have to run them up and down the highways as I need too... I feel they are way too heavy, even though someone could break dance on the roof of them, just not for me, even though I've considered the design many times..
 
Ernie,
I used an 18' Starcraft on LSC for several years with a Pop Up Blind mentioned above. It has two settings. Full up,it covers you out of the elements but there are obvious straight lines that I never liked. We used it in the lowest stage which left an open top but protection from the wind. It is easy up and down, but quite expensive.

It seemed that the guys with cedar blinds actually did better than anyone else who used a cover blind, but those are not easy up and down.

I now live in South Carolina, and think back fondly to riding out into the chop of Mitchells Bay to the Martin Islands, the Walpole Stake line and Tick Tack.

You've got a great base boat for out there. Enjoy it.
Click to expand...




I've been out on Lk St clair (Walpole side of Martin Island) and all setup in hopes that the gale force winds predicted would not shift, and one day about 4 yrs ago, we were set up along a steel break wall, with about 200 diver blocks out, and the wind switched only slightly and pounded us in on the wall, and once we retreated in behind the Lee side of the island, got the blind down and put away and boat organized we ran out to start to pick the spread up and my 230 lb buddy was leaning over the front of that big lund to grab decoy lines and it was all I could do to keep the boat from getting slammed into that steel wall..Needless to say Todd was soaked by the time we got the decoys loaded as the 4'-6" waves were pounding hard and it made me once again aware of how thankful I was I didn't have a solid blind on that boat....YET, I still want something to keep the inside of the boat dry and warm on those dirty days... I only hope I don't loose my life over trying !!!! :)
 
Ernie-

You can get setup to receive reply notifications.

Got to Edit Profile. Select Use Profile. Below signature are four items with drop down boxes. One says send email notifications for PMs, select yes. The other says send reply notifications by default, select yes. That should take care of emailing you when people reply directly to your post and when someone sends of a PM.

Chad
 
Not much wonder Chad I wasn't receiving notifications when I had my old email address being used... lol.. Got it figured out now.. Thank you
 
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