Designing a custom built fish house

[Chad Luebker]

Hello -

I am going to be designing a custom built fish house. The size would be 6.5 x 12 plus the 3 foot V. So it would actually be 6.5 x 15. What are some likes or dislikes for those who have designed their own or fished out of a buddy's. I really would like the house to sleep 3 but yet not feel too cluttered. Does anyone have any good ideas, suggestions or pictures of what you have. Thanks in advance.

Chad

[heat checker]

I would put 2 30" bunks in back,with the bottom one that slides out to a double, and also serves as a "couch" when not slid out. 3 bunks on one wall would be very tight, and putting the third bunk elsewhere would cause tight people flow-clutter.

[jdfisherman]

Put the two built-in bunks in the back and bring a cot with in case you want to sleep a third person.

[MNfan]

Really add 2 more feet you will not regret it.

[Norm1980]

two bunks in back. top bunk flips up when not being used and the bottom bunk doubles as a booth. if you bring a third get a cot or just have them sleep on the floor. Ive slept on the floor of my buddies ice castle more then a couple times not bad IMO

[JimBuck]

two bunks in back. top bunk flips up when not being used and the bottom bunk doubles at a booth. if you bring a third get a cot or just have them sleep on the floor. Ive slept on the floor of my buddies ice castle more then a couple times not bad IMO

I hear that. I would take the floor and a decent sleeping bag over the top bunk in most houses any day of the week.

[dougger222]

Do an atv loading ramp and a side door. If you do a bathroom in the v have it's own door to the outside.

On my 6.5x12 wheeled house I built a custom couch/bed/storage unit which has worked out very well. There are three seperate cushins built on a frame which can be lifted out of place to access the inside. On the wall side put a one piece cushin with velcro but it's never been removed. The velcro made it possible to not have to mechanicly secure the cushin to the wall. Went with the highest grade cushin for the bottom part which was worth every penny.

Above the oven on the front of the house built a pull out army cot. Had a canvas company built it with loops on the ends. Ran a pole through both ends. The end towards the wall put a hole in the 2x4 and put the pole into it. On the outside end of the 2x4 cut an insert so the cot can be unrolled and dropped into place. A friend of mine gave me the idea and it's very slick. When your not sleeping on it you just roll it tight against the wall. Have also had three people sit on it at once and it can sleep two.

If you have room on the stationary bottom bunk/bed recommend like others have said to make it able to pull out for two people. Had a camper that was set up like this from the factory and it was slick. The camper set up was just a piece of plywood with feet on it.

Make sure to mount your direct vent furnace as low to the floor as possible, preferably in the middle.

To do it over again would build a 8x16 and not sure if it would be v front or not. Did a lot of research on v front enclosed trailes and many said they tow worse than flat fronts. The idea is wind moving at angles towards the front of the trailer/house will move it around and cause more drag than just a flat front. It's nice though to have the extra room with a v front.

[dougger222]

Originally Posted By: Norm1980

two bunks in back. top bunk flips up when not being used and the bottom bunk doubles at a booth. if you bring a third get a cot or just have them sleep on the floor. Ive slept on the floor of my buddies ice castle more then a couple times not bad IMO

I hear that. I would take the floor and a decent sleeping bag over the top bunk in most houses any day of the week.

Foldable army cots are also very nice. When we do the 10 day Canada fishing trips we all bring army cots and never wake up sore. You can buy them for about $100 a lot less than to build a permanant sleeping spot for a third person. The downside is unless you build your floor layout with a cot in mind the cot will require lines to be pulled.

On the lake of the woods house we ran cots for the first couple years and it worked fine. Now it's got two permanent bunks and a kitchnette so we don't need cots anymore. Of course it's 11x17 though. Remember one night we had so many people on cots you couldn't even walk around. There must have been 8 in there!

[jerad_s]

douger can you take a pic of your cot and post it here? Im interested to see this setup.

[DuckBlind]

Catch covers for your holes! A little $$$ but they work great...

[LightningBG]

I wouldn't put a booth in, especially if its a 4 person type booth/bed.

If I'm eating, I dont really feel the need to stare my buddies down in the face over a romantic meal, and I've never found it comfortable to sit facing out into the middle with no good backrest.(if the booth is that deep)

I like the double bunks in back, top one flips up, bottom used as a couch during the day.

Cots work good, have done that before, gets a little cold by the floor unless you have some fans pushing the air around.

What about a bunk that folds up into position from the side wall on hinges and has legs that fold out under?