Is a boat blind necessary?

[Slab_Supper]

I just bought a 12 ft aluminum v-hull with outboard motor. I intend to try and hunt 2 guys out of it and no dog. The boat is painted camo. I am trying to decide if I need to put a blind on it or if I would be ok without one. Weight might be an issue. What would you guys do?

[magnum mike]

Safety first! Ducks float and hunters don't! That being said, I believe a good blind is the best accessory for any duck boat. They provide concealment and protection from the elements. If you can do a blind, do it.

[skee0025]

The difference is night and day with a blind, but like mike said Safety First!

[Gordie]

By all means saftey first I have hunted without a blind on a boat and with a blind on a boat and each has its own place.

With a small boat you should be able to almost get out and pull it into the cattails or weeds on most bodys of water and concealment of you and the boat will be done by doing just that but if there is not that much cover then I would try and add some type of blind even if it is just for one side of the boat as the other side of it will be up agaisnt the weeds anyways.

Hope this helps and Good Luck with what ever you decide for it.

[Slab_Supper]

Thanks for the replies! I have seen that scissor type floating around, but it seems too restrictive. Anyone have a setup that you think would be light weight?

[Gordie]

I don't think I have any pictures of the boat I just sold but I tried something different last year and it worked very well I took 3 inch pvc pipe and cut them in 4 to 6 inch lengths and bolted them to the gunnel of the boat. Then would take bundles of cattails,weeds,and brush/tree branches in them to brush out the boat.

It worked very well . I will see if I can find any pics to show you.

[Quackaddict9]

no....not for divers. For Mallards, most of the times yes when they fly over my blind while circling a water spread they usually bust us since I don't have a top cover. These are from my experience.

[HookEmHard84]

I agree with Quack, if you have circling mallards, without good concealment they will most likely bust you. That being said, it can be done. You may be limited on where you can hide, and you will have to spend more time creating your own makeshift blind. We had a 12' john boat with no blind in NODAK last year, the first day we just pulled into the cats and we got busted almost every time. Second day we hid it real well and we were able to fool a few groups of mallards, took us a good 45 mins though to collect and build cover.

[dukhnt]

I have been hunting the last few years without a boat blind and have had the best success I have ever had. I firmly believe they just get in the way and alot of times stick out too much. Ex. brown blind in green cattails.