20 replies to this topic

[Huntndogs]

I built this blind for my duck boat about two tears ago and it is still working well. It was modeled after the "Mudbuddy" blind sdhunter bought. I will try to be as complete as possible and include pics.
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First you need to decide how long the blind will be and how tall the blind will be. (Height will be limited to the length of the grass you purchase) I bought "Fastgrass" and it is about four feet tall. The material for the blind frame is 1" conduit and 1/2" PVC. You will also need a short section of 3/4" conduit to connect the frame sections. To bend the conduit, I bought a bender an the local home improvement store, used it on a piece of scrap carpetr so it did'nt get scratched and returned it to the store the same day ...

Once you have decided on length and height, you can bend the tubes. Depending on the height of your front/rear decks, you may have to make them un-equal lengths to have the blind somewhat level in the water. The corners are made with the 1" conduit and attached to the long straight 1"conduit by inserting a length of 3/4" conduit inside and through bolting them together. I used stainless bolts throught the build. It will look something like this.
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I suppose you could use one long piece of conduit to make the hoop, but I felt this way I did not have to be exact on the location of the bends because I could cut the bent tubes or the center sections shorter if needed. Your finished hoops will look something like this.
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To attach the hoops to the deck I fabricated mounts using perforated angle iron. By stacking two short sections together, you end up with a channel like this.
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The channel is mounted to the deck either by through bolting if you can get to the underside of the deck or with sheet metal screws. Again, all stainless fasteners here, especially when going into aluminum. This channel will support the ends of your hoops like this. *note: I placed a bolt with "jam" nuts (see pic) in between the channells to give it strength and make them more rigid since there will be a fair amount of stress here.
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I used clevis pins to attach the hoops to the channel. This is so the blind will pivot open and closed like a clam shell.
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At this point, you will want to paint your hoops and channels the color of your choice.

With the hoops mounted on the boat, now you can attach the PVC sections onto the inside edge of the gunnels. I used stainless sheet metal screws. These plastic pipes will hold the bottom of the plastic garden netting that you attach the grass to. The other end of the netting will be attached to the top of the hoops with zip ties. Before you screw the pvc down, weave it through the bottom edge of the netting. (I bought the 1" square plastic netting at Lowe's, It comes in a 25' roll and was 4' wide.) You may also add zip ties around the pvc and netting for more strength. *note: The pvc should extend the length of your boat.
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In order for the blind to stay in the "UP" position, you will need to attach sections of rope to the pvc below up to the straight sections of the hoops and then reaching to the middle of the boat. There will be four of these, two on each side fron and back. They attach over the middle of the boat using a metal ring and snap hook. It should look like this. *note: Leave a little extra on the hook and ring ends, as this will provide you with a way to adjust how much space there is in the blind opening. Some of us need a wider opening.
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When your happy with the above steps, you can attach your grass. I hung my "Fastgrass" with the blades hanging downward and overlapped each section a few inches. It is attached to the netting with zip ties every foot or so. You dont need to go overboard here. On the top hoops, I wrapped the grass mats over the hoops. This causes the grass blades to stand up a little, making the top edges of the blind appear more natural.
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When the blind is in the down position, it should lay along the gunnells like this. When towing with the blind on, you may have to tie it down so it does not flap in the breeze.
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I hope someone finds this post useful. If you have any other questions PM or E-mail and I'll see what I can do.

Happy Hunting

[SpoonySlayer]

Awesome post! im planning on picking up a 14 foot jon with a deck, and it looks like this set up will work well. thanks for the tips and help!

[Evan III]

I agree great post, I think that covers it. Now If I could only get yotes to walk on water I would deffinitly build me one. Hell I might build me one just cause it looks cool.

I take it you tow the boat with the blind in place?

[Arise]

ESS - you taking notes?

Huntndogs – Wow! Great detailed post. How many hours did it take you to tackle this job?

[sdhunter]

Great post Mike, are you some type of technical writer ??......I hope Mudbuddy doesn't see this....lol.

IMO, we need to stress the point of facing the grass matts "downward", they will last a lot longer, and you still get a great camo effect. If you face them "upward", gravity will be your worst enemy, and your grass will not last as long. My grass lasted 3 seasons and approx 4k freeway miles.

These blinds are great, but work best with a backdrop. If you're against a higher back drop, you won't get "busted" as much when the ducks are flying straight above you.


Thanks,
sdhunter

[d tree's]

Just what we were looking for ey RT , thanks Mike appreciate it big time ,d

PS you and SD have nothing to worry about, me and Rt wont be watching for you on the freeway heading east ,d

[Michael]

Great blind I will get back yop later into summer Thanks for the great Info. and sharing .

[sdhunter]

Just what we were looking for ey RT , thanks Mike appreciate it big time ,d

PS you and SD have nothing to worry about, me and Rt wont be watching for you on the freeway heading east ,d

I'm not so worried about the freeway following. But we're pretty protective on the water

All kidding aside, do you guys have Steve's old boat? The one that sank

If you've hunted with Steve and Jeff, you're probably already "in" on the spots, but you have to beat us to them

Later,
Mike

[Huntndogs]

Mike- If we have to, I'll put Jims old 150 on the back of my 16 footer. We'll need more floatation, but it'll rip....Besides that, they'll be stuck on the sand bars anyhow.

Mike

[d tree's]

Sank man thats why wet bar was wet Jeff and Steve who .

Well maybe ive heard of those two , just not sure if they would claim me ,d

[Huntndogs]

Wet Bar? Mike, we have a new project for the summer.....forget the stove in the boat, we need a bar!!!!! Going to paint the boat up in the Hooters scheme...That should attract them good.

[Rooster]

D check this out!!!!!! Let's throw a Mud Buddy on it and were good to go...... The only thing is we might have to add two more stools for both Mike's to join us for afternoon cocktails and duck shoot.

Attached Files

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[Huntndogs]

I got a 10hp four stroke that would go great on that Rob....I'm in for cocktails

[Rooster]

Is that your portable duck blind rtin?

It will be in October

[Rooster]

Why wait. Don't you need to practice sitting in it all day?

Scott, I'm not a big drinker but I guess I could learn.

[00BuckShot]

Very nice...I might have to invest in something like that!

[outdoorplay]

looking good

[calfowler]

Thats is some great advice. Nice work guys. You can't get any better than that. You must have spent 1 or 2 off seasons figuring that out.

[daddymallard]

HuntnDogs,

How did you fasten this blind to the rear of the boat??

Thats is some great advice. Nice work guys. You can't get any better than that. You must have spent 1 or 2 off seasons figuring that out.

[Huntndogs]

I used the same brackets as I did on the front deck. My boat has a rear deck as well. If your does not, you could actually through bolt it to the transom if you wanted to drill holes in your transon.