SN BX w/ wall to wall sisal carpet

[Scott Farris]

I thought I'd take a novel approach that so far has taken a huge amount of time and has me caught up on dozens of shows I probably never would have watched but I like the results. The boat is one of John Kuhn's aluminum sneaks. The material is unraveled sisal rope tied mainly to some plastic garden fencing. I ended up using two half hitches as my knot of choice. It leaves one end down parallel to the netting for coverage and one end aimed up for loft.

The bow piece is crazy, it has 33% additional strands tied in. The bow piece which I did first is stained with wood stain. At this time it looks the earthiest. The aft deck is stained with a transparent brown deck stain which I hope will help protect it. The rail lines and the spray shield sisal has been dyed with Ritz dye. I plan on sewing some additional strands to the motor cover.

Aft view

The grass rails and the spray shield's grassing straps can still be stuffed with local grasses or leafy branches to further blend in and break up the outline.

So why did I go so crazy? The aft deck I felt it was important to have a surface my pup can come up on, drain and not freeze to. This carpet should work great. Better than brown indoor outdoor carpet? We'll see but I hope this does a great job looking like a natural marsh surface.

Scott

 

[Bob B]

All I can say is holly cra%! You tied every one of those strands? You are the man when it comes to duck hunting Gillie Suits for boats.
Will the Lund to be fully equipped for the RI hunt so we don't stand out next to Andrews "Rock"!

 

[Gene R.]

Bob, I'm not familar with product could you post picture of what it started out as prior to unwrapping? Love the color on back deck! I woouldn't mind trying that on bow of Sneakboat for when pulled up on tumps. Another fine looking rig. All these preseason photos we should post, postseason photos and see how everyones ideas have held up and worked?

Gene

 

[Scott Farris]

Gene,

To quote Wikipedia "Traditionally, sisal has been the leading material for agricultural twine (binder twine and baler twine) because of its strength, durability, ability to stretch, affinity for certain dyestuffs, and resistance to deterioration in saltwater" It's resistance to deterioration made it the material of choice on the old sailing ships. The adds also claim UV resistance, so hopefully my dozens of hours of work lasts a long time. I will post more pictures and feedback over time.

I grabbed this picture off the net, but it is similar to what I was using. It unravels into 3 strands which in turn untwist into about 5 (15 total) individual twisted strands. It was these individual twists I was working with. A 50 ft rope would yield roughly 750 ft. I also used heavier rope and that broke down into 3 strands of 9 twists. The cheapest sisal rope was very loosely twisted while the better quality had much tighter twists.

Scott

 

[Gene R.]

Not what I was envisioning. I have a bunch of bale twine from sq. bales I've put out to cows. Some is natural most is syn. stuff anymore. All my round bales are red &white syn. You have to have some serious hours into making all you did. I think I'll wait for your feed back from season.

Thanks,
Gene

 

[Scott Farris]

Gene,

If I knew how long it was going to take I wouldn't have done it. The lines to break up the boats edges and the spray shield went fairly quickly but the fencing was crazy. I'm just sharing, not recommending, unless you have access to 3rd world kids willing to tear up their hands for $10 a day.

Scott

 

[Gene R.]

Damn I did, but they just deported them. Boy, I miss them lil' buggers. Keep me posted on how it wears though.

Gene

 

[JimG]

Scott,

I think you should have used longer strands so they'd lay over......You should re-do it.....

 

[Tom Scholberg]

Scott, I also am a big fan of the "gihlle" look, but I start with good old baler twine I get at Fleet farm here in
Minn. The only problem is it is a sponge. Sure looks good after a few highway trips wet though.