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Alright Guys,

Already posted some pics in the HH, but want to start my own boat thread to keep it all organized in case people would want to emulate it in the future. (Pretty lofty thinking there, but regardless.) I know I used a lot of people's ideas and support so I figured I'd show off what I came up with so far so in the future people can improve on what I did. Anyway, special thanks to Rob Robertson, John Oneal, ShootnGoose and Bayou Boy. And I'm sure many others I'm forgetting.

First I started off with a Carsten's Pintail I bought used for 300 bucks.


For a seat I just bought the MoMarsh Layout seat. It folds completely flat so when I am paddling to my spot I can lay it flat under my knees and then when I get there I can cant it and lay up against it. I thought about making my own seat, but it would have taken time to find the foam and the finish just wouldnt have been as good as the seat so I figured I wouldnt reinvent the wheel.


Next I decided on what type of camo I wanted. I hunt a couple different areas so I wanted some Marsh Grass (Cabelas) and something a little darker I could blind into on the shoreline and out in the open in the trees of the big lakes I could stack driftwood on. I just laid the two over the boat for a rough estimate.



Next since I decided I wanted to be able to swap camos out and be able to scout in the boat without any camo on, I wanted it to be removable. I liked Rob Robertson's idea of ziptie-ing the camo to a mesh background attached to the boat, but the mesh he used was expensive and was a little troublesome to acquire and this backing I felt made it a little more rigid and easy to take off.




However, the green was a little too noticeable... So just a can of flat black


Now some ziptie work




At this point I was running out of Zipties and it was midnight so I decided to take a break and come back the next morning after a home depot run.

I have been trying to decide how I want to do the doors. I havent really found a hinge idea I like. I know I want to use metal piping and not wood for the doors. So I purchased some 1/2 inch conduit and did a mock up of what I want door wise. Now this is all just a mock-up. There is extra door frame extending past the hinges. None of that will be there in real life. I am also working on securing an actual conduit bender so I can get smooth edges.






Now for hinges here is what I used:



Here is the front of the boat and it's connection. The nail is only there to hold it for now. I will drill a hole in the conduit and thread a quick release pin bordered by a rubber oring on each side between the joint.


Here is the back: this is the nice part about the back rail just coming straight off the side. I dont have to drill a hole and basically just have to find a more permanant solution than the nail i have in there to hold it's place.


At this point the Ziptie-ing is complete and the mockup of the doors is complete.


My future plans are

1. To order a second sheet of camo netting to put on the first sheet. It's a little more transparent than I want it to be. So I'll just ziptie it on top of the camo netting thats already there.

2. Finish the door frame

3. Install buckle clips onto the green fencing material to serve as quick disconnect points to the boat. I will construct a similar camo sheet made of marsh grass on top of a second green fence cut out with the buckles so i can interchange them.

4. Paint my paddle

5. Construct a mojo pole holder (John Oneals Idea)

6. Install a jerk string puller similar to Rob Robertson's



Anyway thanks for looking I will keep this thread updated as I progress....

Good start! Keep the pictures coming.

I used Bimini top hardware and it works awsome u can get them in stainless and plastic I got the plastic ones for around 15$ for 4 hinges the stainless are about 20$ per hinge

U should be able to find them at a local boat shop they also have them online. With 1/2" conduit u may want to sue 3/4" hardware cause I have 3/4" conduit and need 7/8" hardware

Ajverret wrote:

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1350249585.964905.jpg

Hey I like that.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Welcome I actually got the idea from DHC but shhhhhh lol

Whoops also that is a carstens puddler. Complete slip of the mind. Dont know how to modify a post over here. I was thinking pintail because that is what a couple of my friends have.

I really like where your taking this rig. Like the price even more, not bad.

Got the boat wet yet? Just found one on Craigslist and might jump on it. How do you think decoys and a 50lb dog would ride in it.

Flightstopper wrote:Got the boat wet yet? Just found one on Craigslist and might jump on it. How do you think decoys and a 50lb dog would ride in it.

A puddler? I don't know about a dog...... You could do it. Dog is one 50ish right you're not too heavy either. I'd only go in water it was warm enough you could take a drink and still be fine.

The dog and I might hit 200lbs if he doesn't get his morning ramp dump in. I almost need a swim to cool down after most hunts. My trigger is getting lighter by the minute...

Man I'm 220 without gear. You'd probably be fine if the water is warm. Might be tighter than you like though... Also I have a jet sled with a cargo net cover so I can tow my gear behind me if need be...

I resemble the size of an Ethiopian with a crack addiction

Flightstopper wrote:I resemble the size of an Ethiopian with a crack addiction

click pop, click click pop click. pop click click.

3legged_lab wrote:

Flightstopper wrote:I resemble the size of an Ethiopian with a crack addiction

click pop, click click pop click. pop click click.

Naw don't think my wife will let me make it out to the motel tonight. Have to try again for next week

Flightstopper wrote:

3legged_lab wrote:

Flightstopper wrote:I resemble the size of an Ethiopian with a crack addiction

click pop, click click pop click. pop click click.

Naw don't think my wife will let me make it out to the motel tonight. Have to try again for next week

I meant:
pop pop click.

Tuesday doesn't work for me either.

I have a Carstens teal, and me and my buddy paddled it out thru a rice swamp. Had to because one person had to chop the path while the other paddled. If it could hold two scrawny adults, one plus a dog shouldn't be a problem. We were a lot less squirmy than a dog is though.

sent from a phancy fone

Flightstopper wrote:The dog and I might hit 200lbs if he doesn't get his morning ramp dump in. I almost need a swim to cool down after most hunts. My trigger is getting lighter by the minute...

Damn, maybe you should eat something?!?

jehler wrote:

Flightstopper wrote:The dog and I might hit 200lbs if he doesn't get his morning ramp dump in. I almost need a swim to cool down after most hunts. My trigger is getting lighter by the minute...

Damn, maybe you should eat something?!?

The wife try's to fatten me up a bit but then humps it off me. It be more prudent to invest the feed in the pup

Thanks for all of the feedback guys. I've been doing some more work. As has been suggested on another forum, my doors were really long. That means they were a little heavy and a little slow to pop open so I modified them. While I was at I went ahead and bought a conduit bender. A very worthwile purchase has helped tremendously.

Before without the conduit bender, I got this, which equaled terrible structural integrity.


Post this bad boy:



Here is my new design for the doors:





This allows me to just open up that top set of doors which are real small and light.

Painted my boat Paddle got it for 16 dollars from Amazon. The paddle is a quick disconnect so it can be stored in the boat broken in two.



Next I started increasing the amount of camo netting on the boat. (Please note how in some of the early pictures how sparse it was and you could see the boat through it.



Got the new frame painted up:





Close up of the hinges on the front:


Hinges on the back:


Hinges in the middle: Doesnt look good because Hardware store was out of the correct size bolt.







Anyway, it doesnt look like I've gotten a lot done since last time, but that was a bitch to get all of the frame lined up and bent correctly as well as get all of the hardware installed. I am happy it is over with.

Now to follow:

Mojo Pole Holder
Way to secure seat to back edge in a removable fashion
Quick clips for the camo netting
Camo the doors
Install jerk rig manipulator
Install hood like attachment to pull over my face (Kinda like on a baby stroller) (Rob Robertson did one on his boat build)

Any other suggestions or tips?

Looking good doc, but, that second to last pic, the door hinge brackets look a bit out of line, I have to keep going back and looking at it, might have to take a Xanax so I can get through the day...

Yeah I know. The brackets are misaligned on the center. It drives me nuts the bolt going through both of them is straight however.


That part was really tough because the gunwales are rounded instead of flat. Even though its drilled on the same place they don't line up perfectly because of the curve.

ManlyMan wrote:Yeah I know. The brackets are misaligned on the center. It drives me nuts the bolt going through both of them is straight however.


That part was really tough because the gunwales are rounded instead of flat. Even though its drilled on the same place they don't line up perfectly because of the curve.

When you attach something to a radius like that doc you can get a price of plastic or PVC in a block shape, drill a hole through the center that will match the radius of the curve your mounting to and then rip it in half in the bandsaw so you have a curves piece to go on the boat an a flat to mount your brackets to. That make sense?

I apologize in advance for any hurt feelings.

This thread is how NOT to do it. Why? There are only about 20+ places to catch and tear your waders. All that hardware.
The sharp edges from the conduit, nuts, bolts, the brackets...all could tear a hole in your waders.


I built a blind for my Carsten Pintail (kinda). Made a very simple cover that was flat and fit the hole perfectly except for the end where I was sitting. I made a couple doors so I could load decoys and stuff in without having to crawl into the boat.
The dog had to stay UNDER the cover which made it a lot safer. Marking ducks was impossible but...worst case scenario I'd just paddle over to the duck.

Would pile a few branches on top of the cover and hide the boat easy.

Nice work doc. Nice job on the camo, and I like the idea of the two smaller doors for shooting. When you figure out a way to secure the backrest, post it up if you don't mind. I need ideas for my boat, whenever I get the mold finished. How much did you pay for the backrest, if you don't mind me asking.

Doc has chosen sides and abandoned us

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jarbo03 wrote:Doc has chosen sides and abandoned us

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I'm here!!!!

jarbo03 wrote:Doc has chosen sides and abandoned us

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Bastage!

sent from my Galaxy S3 using tapatalk 2

flight control wrote:Nice work doc. Nice job on the camo, and I like the idea of the two smaller doors for shooting. When you figure out a way to secure the backrest, post it up if you don't mind. I need ideas for my boat, whenever I get the mold finished. How much did you pay for the backrest, if you don't mind me asking.

I ended up not securing the back rest at all. I haven't found it to be necessary yet. Besides I like being able to take it down and rest my knees on I while I paddle.

It's the momarsh blind seat. Think it's like 70 bucks or something. Really nice because it folds to all different angles (including flat) and holds pretty well. Figured I couldn't build something as nice for the price so just bit the bullet.