Blinds

[Neighbor_guy]

Whos building a new one this fall???

I moved the Jon boat into the garage last evening. It will get the first upgrade. Then decide on the kayaks and mobile shooting platform. 

 

Anyone else building this year? Please feel free to share pictures and progress here. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Well I sourced materials on the way home. Maybe if it cools off a little bit this evening I will get some pipe cut. Hard to say with this heat. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Cut and welded pipe for the Jon boat this evening. Will drill hardware and get it bolted together tomorrow or Thursday. I will need to get the boat on the floor or leveled on the trailer so I can get the one leg of the frame trimmed to account for the flat floor in the bow of the boat. But need the frame fitted and in place before I cut. 

That's the boat...

And the two parts of the frame....

followed by by the frame loosesly fir on the boat for reference....

[MJ1657]

I'm going to have to come over and check that out.

[Neighbor_guy]

Before I post pictures from this evening let me say this.... Be very almost stupid careful when working with cut conduit. If I could remember where I packed the super glue I would have had a quicker evening. As it was the electrical tape was also packed away, so I have ductape bandages on all four fingers on my left hand. Wasn't thinking and slid my hand down the pipe after I drilled the holes for my bolts. Didn't feel the cuts, just saw the bloody mess on the garage floor. Gushing is the best way to describe it. Just be careful. 

 

Now on with the show....

[Neighbor_guy]

Tonight I drilled the holes, bolted the two halves of the frame together, and mounted the frame to the boat. 

 

I used 3/4" ridged conduit for the frame with 1/4" hardware for the pivot points. You can also see one of the 2x4s I used as plates to put the post in when the blind is set up. They will need further attention as time goes on. 

next I took a peice of rubber dishwasher hose and cut chunks to make up the difference between the 7/8" diameter of the conduit and the 1 1/4" diameter of the gunnel of the boat. Then used panel clamps to mount one side of the frame to the boat. 

i then stood the blind frame up inside the boat. 

i was going to go to bed at this point, by the bugs weren't out yet and I wanted to see it in burlap

here it is in the driveway under the yard light...

it was at this moment that it occurred to me.... It's my boat.... I'm a right handed shooter.... And I mounted the frame to the wrong side of the stinking boat!!!! So I will remove the clamps and change sides tomorrow. The good news is zip ties are cheap and I did not have the grass mats in yet, so I can flip the burlap around and never know the difference. 

Next pictures of this boat will be grassed in possibly in the water. 

layed back down and rolled into the garage for another day. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Flipped the blind around, and put the grass mats I had in storage in it. I need to add 2 or 3 more mats to it. Once the stores get their stuff back on the shelves. 

So for now that's enough for the Jon boat. Time to work on the kayaks. I have some ideas for how to hide em up good. It's just a matter of putting theory to practice. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Began working on the attack yak yesterday afternoon. 

Used 1/2" conduit to make the frames. The bends leave a lot to be desired. By a lot I mean they are bad, but they will get the job done. 

next step is getting it wrapped... Stay tuned. 

[BoxMN]

Looks good! I would swap out those normal nuts for nylocks, though, they will loosen and fall off, or on hinged sides tighten as the poles slide.

[Neighbor_guy]

Looks good! I would swap out those normal nuts for nylocks, though, they will loosen and fall off, or on hinged sides tighten as the poles slide.

Good catch!!!

that change has already been made. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Here is the finished product on the Attack Yak. 

First wrapped in burlap.

Then a couple with the Rafia grass attached. 

It folds down quick to get out of the way for the shot as well as to paddle. In the up position its not going to conceal you completely, but if you do your job and don't flop around like a beached carp it's going to work great. 

And it pops on and off for easy transport. If I had it all to do over again I think I would have tried to figure out how to hinge or make the back removeable. I can see some potential logistical issues with packing it in the pickup. But we will cross that road when we come to it. 

Now for the "mobile gun platform"...going to need to go back to the drawing board, but some ideas are in play. 

[fishersofmen]

Nice work Neighbor! Some good ideas.

[MJ1657]

Mine is almost done. Thanks for all the help Neighbor Guy. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Looking good MJ!!!

Whats left??? Gun rack??? Paint job???

[MJ1657]

Just a little more fastening the grass down and figure out how I want to do the ends. 

[mille lacs muskie bum]

I have been scratching my head on how I'm going to conceal my girlfriends lime green kayak. She won't let me paint it cuz she doesn't want it to look "ugly". I have been thinking of wrapping it in a camo canvas. But I also like your idea of a half blind if you will. I never thought of making one that folds down like that but it seems like the cats meow. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Finished another one this weekend. This one is on a 14' alumicraft v-hull. 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2015 by Neighbor_guy

[TylerS]

That attack yak is freaking amazing. You're going to be eyeball deep in ducks this fall! Got me wanting to do something similar...

Now how to convince the wife I need a kayak...

[fishuhalik]

Man, that attack yak is awesome! You should market the idea to some major companies. Love to see innovation like that. Wish I woulda thought of that while I was living in NoDak. I spent a lot of time hunting by myself & this woulda opened up a whole world of hunting possibilities. 

[Neighbor_guy]

Hunting alone and loosing my dog were a couple of reasons I went with the kayak as the transportation method of choice for most of my hunts. They aren't for everyone, but the attack yak is a toy that is as essential as my gun or calls to the way I hunt. Couple dozen decoys, me, my blind bag, and a shotgun. Retreaveing ducks and getting back in position is nice and easy as well  

 

The blind makes it that much better. 

Edited September 22, 2015 by Neighbor_guy

[fishuhalik]

The only improvement I would add is to hide your side profile from ducks approaching from the side somehow. You really wanna hide your hands cuz they'll spot the movement of you moving the call to your mouth, getting your hands on the gun, etc. You'd want something that would also move when you flip the front down to shoot. Maybe attach a mesh with some grass attached to it to the back frame & then attach it to the front folding frame with some kind of snap that would pop off when you fold the front down so it falls outta the way. Just an idea. 

Edited September 22, 2015 by fishuhalik

[Neighbor_guy]

After hunting out of it a couple times I decided I needed to finish dressing it up. Added a couple dozen eye screws and some more rafia grass. The muskrat mound is complete. 

[monstermoose78]

That is awesome!

[MJ1657]

After hunting out of it a couple times I decided I needed to finish dressing it up. Added a couple dozen eye screws and some more rafia grass. The muskrat mound is complete.

It appears some sort of creature is hiding in your attack yak.

[TylerS]

Did you hire that Samsquanch from the Jack Links beef jerky commercials to decorate your kayak???