12 ft boat blind

[tanman]

im looking at building a blind on a 12 ft jon boat does anyone have some picturesto share of homemade setups? looking for ideas.

also has anyone done this and have any tips? and designs to avoid?

what did you usew for materials im thinking of using pvc

all help appreciated!

[dan z]

im looking at building a blind on a 12 ft jon boat does anyone have some picturesto share of homemade setups? looking for ideas.

also has anyone done this and have any tips? and designs to avoid?

what did you usew for materials im thinking of using pvc

all help appreciated!

I wouldnt use PVC its not sturdy enough, I would use 1/2" condiut or aluminum. and take into consideration the higher your sides are the tougher it is to drive in the wind and the tougher to pull up and shoot...

[Muthagoose]

Any blind requiring side use conduit,. I braze mine so putting swinging doors pannels is simple and strong.. Durability and light weight are waht your going to want in a frame

[Quackaddict9]

I used 1" steel sq. tubing blind frame for my 12' flat john boat. Have not had the blind on the last two seasons but it worked well when I had it on. I used fast grass, I need to make something to cover some of the top, usually get busted by fly over mallards but it still perfomed well. It is not that heavy and it is easily removable. When I am traveling, I unpin the brackets and they just lay on the side so it is wider and a little hassle if you are going through narrow opening.

a few pics

Side view

Back brackets

Front brackets

[BoxMN]

I'll offer a bit of advice after trying several home made options... a Cabelas Northern Flight blind is what we should have got from the start We found a decent sale at their big tent event and it was relatively cheap. Have used it on 16' boat for about 4-5 years now. Goes and ond comes off easy, stores flat and easy, goes up and down easy.

We made some mods (more holes drilled for varying top openness, and added a braces and gun rests) but it sturdy enough, has stood the test of time. Can't say the same for our PVC or conduit efforts at home brew but we ain't engineers either, ha! But it is always fun building them, just stinks when they don't work as planned.

Good luck, fun project. Key thing is getting somethign heavy enough to withstand the use/abuse and blind material going down the road, and overkill of total heavy stuff. Take look at a Northern Flight if you can, or other manufactured one just for bracing and construction ideas.

[HNTNBUX]

A scissors type blind worked best for me. Similar to the one pictured above but with the attachments on the sides of the boat. This way I got more height and could keep the frame and netting inside the boat. I used Avery nets and then covered it with the big C's fake grass. It was very effective. I will build something very similar on my next boat.