duck boats and blinds

[WestKyHunt]

I like that!

A guy I hunt with got a beavertail 2000 this year and we had a lot of fun in it. Floats in minimal water and is super stable for such a small boat. You can attach a trolling motor and there is an aftermarket setup for outboard he is considering. They also have a one man sneak boat called the final attack that has wheels attached to it. Pretty fun.

Not being a boat kinda guy I like these simpler/stable options for smaller marshes/lakes/ditches etc.

I have seen videos of beavertails with small longtail motors on them, cool concept

As much as I'd like to have a bigger boat, only having the smaller options has led me to search for places bigger boats are not necessary. This tends to keep me away from having to deal with too many people, which I enjoy lol

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Cool, pirogues in Alaska?! Sounds like you built then, can you point to the source of the plans? All plywood, or covered or taped with fiberglass?

I have also occasionally used jet sleds to lay in, and give the dog a place to sit. On a hunt about 5 years ago I only had a sled for the dog, I had planned to sit on a stool in the reeds. But the mud was so bad I started sinking, so I knelt in the sled with the dog, it was a tight fit and a muddy mess, never want to do that again!

We have 3 pirogues and leave them stashed at duck camp year round...very rot resistent...
1/4 plywood, then fiberglass.
http://www.unclejohns.com/boat/plans/p12build.pdf
I ordered the ribs from http://www.unclejohns.com/boat/

 

[jrabq]

We have 3 pirogues and leave them stashed at duck camp year round...very rot resistent...
1/4 plywood, then fiberglass.
http://www.unclejohns.com/boat/plans/p12build.pdf
I ordered the ribs from http://www.unclejohns.com/boat/

Thanks!

 

[mplane72]

My oldest son and I were able to get some work done last weekend.

First order of business was to do away with all the cross pieces of the frame that required ducking or crawling under, I'm getting to old for that. The blind was still feeling solid but we added a couple more vertical supports.

We also made what used to be covers for 3 separate shooting spots into a large 1 piece cover. It works same as the other doors. Doing this makes what will be 1 large black hole when the blind is brushed up so we'll be adding some front cover that will flip away when rising to shoot.


We also opened up a portion of the wall of the front deck for the dog. This will allow her to better mark retrieves and enter and leave the boat on her own. Kicking around plans for a dog ladder in my head right now. There will also be a door to make the front deck her own space so she can't shake on me if I so chose.


Also adding another door for loading guns and gear while on the trailer.

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

I have had two hard sided boat blinds and I like Beavertail Boat blind the best. Why easy to get into and out and a lot easer to put out decoys.
I run a Lowe 1648 MT with a 30hp Johnson and hunted the Mississippi River the last 20 years and the Missouri River valley for 44 years. I go there every to see my Father. Here he is with my Son

 

[WestKyHunt]

I think I'd like the beavertail much more than the Avery QS. The flip tops are quite annoying

 

[BrentD]

Like the OP, I am an Iowan. I'm also going to graduate from strictly walk-in hunting using a boat as well. I'd rather walk but there are some places (assuming we get water again). I'm watching this thread with lots of interest, but I'm thinking of going a very different direction with my boat (a 14 ft. v-hull fishing boat).

My boat will be mostly, or exclusively, a 1-person, 1-dog boat.

I have a motor, but don't plan on using it. Propulsion will be oars and pole. I'll put a dog step made from a tree stand on the transom instead.

Concealment is definitely the tricky part. Iowa duckboats look unmistakably like duck boats. I can spot them from miles away. I gotta believe the ducks wise up.

Has anyone here thought of maybe throwing a blue-tarp over themselves and boat and looking like a common piece of trash instead? Hiding in plain sight if you will? I will wager that ducks have never been shot at from blue-tarped boats. Might work.

I probably won't go to that extreme, but I may experiment with it a little. What I do want for sure is something very low profile.

I'm particularly looking for a low profile chair that I can use in the bottom of the boat rather than on a boat seat. If it swivels so much the better. Might have to make something myself.

The more pictures the more betterer! I get the strangest ideas after seeing some of the things you guys are doing.

 

[WestKyHunt]

@BrentD while I've never done anything like hunting under a tarp, I have layed down flat in my boat and hunted.
Get a turkey hunting chair and lay some burlap over the entire boat (maybe some natural grass as well?)

My theory is to watch what every other hunter around you is doing and do something different. As you know these birds are seeing mostly the same thing all the way down from Canada.
Be different and shoot the birds that flare off of everyone else's spread

 

[BrentD]

I've got some synthetic camo material from LLBean I think it was. I sit or lie under that when walking in. I know it doesn't blend it, but it doesn't look like anything other an abstract trash. They seem to fall for it well. Something similar is what i have in mind for the boat. I have burlap too, but it gets heavy when wet and does not dry fast. Synthetic stuff is pretty good that way.

Yes, being different counts.

Thanks for the tip about the turkey seat, btw!!! That was a GREAT idea!

 

[Zootownelk]

Hunter Specialties Wheat Field camo leafy netting works really well in cattails. I push-pole into the cattails, then use 8ft garden stakes around the boat. Dog sits in front on the bow. I seat in a swivel low-profile chair ( I like to stand and shoot). Not the best system, but best I've found for my little marsh boat without going full layout hunting. Can't really layout in cattails.

 

[R.K.]

Step 1 is done.
View attachment 172481

Dear god, don't take that thing out in cold weather. And DON'T SHOOT from it! Paint looks good, but those hulls don't like to stay upright.

Sun dolphin are the worst stability kayaks I've ever had the displeasure to try keeping upright. I've been in Ascend, Future Beach, Jackson, Ocean Kayak, Sundolphin, Pelican, and some whitewater I can't remember. I wouldn't even fish out of the last Sundolphin I was in- immediately returned it to the store, no questions asked.

This is my Future Beach Trophy 126- I used it for transport, retrieving birds & decoys, and would hide it in the brush while hunting for probably 4-5 years. Only shots I'd take were head-on at cripples, so I wouldn't risk tipping it. And this thing was a hell of a lot more stable than a Sun Dolphin. If I were still in that area, I'd be looking into the Ascend H12 with blind for something more comfortable.

https://imgur.com/SQSRJTL

Here it is with some birds the first time I took it out.

https://imgur.com/WcVe3N1

 

[mplane72]

I have had two hard sided boat blinds and I like Beavertail Boat blind the best. Why easy to get into and out and a lot easer to put out decoys.
I run a Lowe 1648 MT with a 30hp Johnson and hunted the Mississippi River the last 20 years and the Missouri River valley for 44 years. I go there every to see my Father. Here he is with my Son

I used an Avery blind on this same boat for a few years. I think the Beavertail is a better design. I did like it for running, picking up decoys and getting in and out. No doubt it's easier and safer on a high wind day, on the water and trailering. I didn't think it hid as well especially without grass on it. I also prefer the storage/organization options a hard side blind offers, not to mention heat and creature comforts.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

@BrentD while I've never done anything like hunting under a tarp, I have layed down flat in my boat and hunted.
Get a turkey hunting chair and lay some burlap over the entire boat (maybe some natural grass as well?)

My theory is to watch what every other hunter around you is doing and do something different. As you know these birds are seeing mostly the same thing all the way down from Canada.
Be different and shoot the birds that flare off of everyone else's spread

I believe some ducks learn to avoid large rectangular shaped features as they get shot at from large rectangular shaped features all along their migration.

I enjoy close shooting and rarely have birds flare with a low profile, laying out in a jet sled.
Plus my dog is always behind me so he marks the birds easily and his ears are not in the muzzle blast of the shotgun.

Sometimes I layout in a jet sled in a white parka on a mudflat where there are swans and the birds do not flare.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Like the OP, I am an Iowan. I'm also going to graduate from strictly walk-in hunting using a boat as well. I'd rather walk but there are some places (assuming we get water again). I'm watching this thread with lots of interest, but I'm thinking of going a very different direction with my boat (a 14 ft. v-hull fishing boat).

My boat will be mostly, or exclusively, a 1-person, 1-dog boat.

I have a motor, but don't plan on using it. Propulsion will be oars and pole. I'll put a dog step made from a tree stand on the transom instead.

Concealment is definitely the tricky part. Iowa duckboats look unmistakably like duck boats. I can spot them from miles away. I gotta believe the ducks wise up.

Has anyone here thought of maybe throwing a blue-tarp over themselves and boat and looking like a common piece of trash instead? Hiding in plain sight if you will? I will wager that ducks have never been shot at from blue-tarped boats. Might work.

I probably won't go to that extreme, but I may experiment with it a little. What I do want for sure is something very low profile.

I'm particularly looking for a low profile chair that I can use in the bottom of the boat rather than on a boat seat. If it swivels so much the better. Might have to make something myself.

The more pictures the more betterer! I get the strangest ideas after seeing some of the things you guys are doing.

I spray paint a 20 ftarp with a few marsh colors and use that to cover the entire boat and
layout shoot from my 16 foot river boat for deep water hunting.

I also pull into the cattails so there is at least 10 yards of cover between the boat and open water.


Here is after the hunt, so the main tarp has been rolled up, you can see the tarp on the 60hp outboard and the boat positioned away from the water's edge.

 

[Jwill]

 

[mplane72]

View attachment 173465

My first season duck hunting with high school buddies all we could get our hands on was a Zodiac raft. We made burlap covers similar to that. I will say it was very comfortable laying out in when the weather was good. Woke up to ducks in the decoys more then once.

 

[mplane72]

Like the OP, I am an Iowan. I'm also going to graduate from strictly walk-in hunting using a boat as well. I'd rather walk but there are some places (assuming we get water again). I'm watching this thread with lots of interest, but I'm thinking of going a very different direction with my boat (a 14 ft. v-hull fishing boat).

My boat will be mostly, or exclusively, a 1-person, 1-dog boat.

I have a motor, but don't plan on using it. Propulsion will be oars and pole. I'll put a dog step made from a tree stand on the transom instead.

Concealment is definitely the tricky part. Iowa duckboats look unmistakably like duck boats. I can spot them from miles away. I gotta believe the ducks wise up.

Has anyone here thought of maybe throwing a blue-tarp over themselves and boat and looking like a common piece of trash instead? Hiding in plain sight if you will? I will wager that ducks have never been shot at from blue-tarped boats. Might work.

I probably won't go to that extreme, but I may experiment with it a little. What I do want for sure is something very low profile.

I'm particularly looking for a low profile chair that I can use in the bottom of the boat rather than on a boat seat. If it swivels so much the better. Might have to make something myself.

The more pictures the more betterer! I get the strangest ideas after seeing some of the things you guys are doing.

My first boat with a motor was a 14' V hull. Before I made a small fold up blind on it I used it more like a layout with camo netting and natural vegetation. It worked well. I just used a piece of plywood leaned against the back bench while sitting on the bottom.

As far as boat blinds sticking out I don't think they're any worse than most permanent blinds. Sometimes they stand out like a turd in a punch bowl. I'm sure ducks do wise up to them like they do to calling, decoys, Mojo's, the refuge line or just guys hunting the same spots over and over again. When that happens nothing going to help but new ducks or a major change in strategy.

I think it's safe to say a lot of the crazy boat blind building stems from competing with other hunters for spots. Racing at mid night and then being able to stay warm and sleep until sunrise on state spots. I'm over that but i slept many nights laying in the bottom of an aluminum canoe when i had nothing else, never been so cold in my life. Now I'll send my 20 year old son out early if he wants a spot that much and canoe in. I now prefer to hunt away from state areas on rivers for much the same reason.

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

My thoughts are Ducks see movement which is what I like about my blind as it covers you from above.
When flying in a plane yes blinds are easy to spot of any type from my experience.
When I use to walk in hunt with a Blue Steel gun and my old hunting coat. I never had a problem getting ducks close to me just be still till it’s time to shoot.

 

[WestKyHunt]

My thoughts are Ducks see movement which is what I like about my blind as it covers you from above.
When flying in a plane yes blinds are easy to spot of any type from my experience.
When I use to walk in hunt with a Blue Steel gun and my old hunting coat. I never had a problem getting ducks close to me just be still till it’s time to shoot.

I fall somewhere in between this and that they recognize blinds.

I think they learn where permanent blinds are over a season, or maybe even year to year.

For example, this year I was able to hunt a draw only area and was given a pit blind. For the first 30 minutes every bird that came by would hit the 50yd mark and flare. Now you might be thinking they were seeing us and flaring off of that.
Luckily a couple years ago they opened this wma to where you can hunt within a unit instead of only in the blind. We moved about 100yards down just hiding next to a tree and standing still and had birds within 10yards

 

[mplane72]

Got time to get some more work done. Almost ready to grass it back up and remove it for fishing. Major changes are making the adjustable top all one piece and removing cross bars on frame, adding side doors for ease of loading and access, dog area in front with dog port and front blind screens.

Trailer/storage mode

Driving on water mode


Hunt mode. The front screens can be adjusted a variety of ways and flip out of the way easily to shoot.


I'm glad we're taking the time now to get all this done instead of waiting until late summer when We'd be in a hurry and half ass things. It's been gratifying to see my oldest take a real interest in this project and put some thought and work into it.

After the blind is grassed and removed I have some work to do to the boat including a new floor and adding float pods to the transom before it goes into fishing mode.