Floating blind
 

I want to build a floating blind this year... Anybody have any suggestions? Maybe go with a boat instead?? Just looking for some ideas and what other people did.

I have a 13 ft kayak painted camo and the top covered in burlap with pieces of conduit mounted to stuff grasses, catty ninetails, etc into thus breaking up my silhouette. I am in the process of making outriggers which will make the the whole set up look like a brush pile on which I can attach rows of decoys floating downstream. I hunt the river and need more peace of mind during the late season when an ice chunk could easily overturn me. I like the kayak because of it's low profile and I can shoot easily having a gun rest holding my shotgun directly in front of me while paddling. I will take some pics and post them later.

Find a old ( cheap ) pontoon boat
Turn it into a island

A hunting partner and I have a 20' pontoon boat that we use

When we cover it in cat tails and other weeds
It looks like a island

We get the straingest looks when we head in to the marina and tie up

John

Here are the pics of the kayak so far. The orange ratchet straps will of course be replaced by camo ones. I haven't bought the 12" PVC pipes for the outriggers yet but here toy can get an idea from the kayak and the outrigger frame.




And without the outrigger set up for use as a sneak boat.



Close up of my gun mount and looking out from sitting in it.



Let me know what you think. The metal grate on the ends of the frame are for putting vegetation to make the the kayak look like a brush pile/ small island. At the ends of the PVC pipe I will be mounting I will attach eye bolts to secure my gang lines of decoys. The frame has oversized tubes on the ends that slip on and off making it easy to transport and easy to assemble once at the water.

I think it depends how far you need to go in the water to get to the spot where you are going to hunt. If you can walk to your spot fairly easily, you can find some instructions on how to build a nice floating blind from 2 pieces of plywood and a small structure.

If you have a ways to go, a boat is a very nice thing to have. It opens up a lot of possibilities that you wouldn't normally have.

If you're going to hunt sea ducks, I think a boat is a necessity.

Good luck.