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My "NEW DUCK BOAT"

BeerHunter
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BeerHunter Collaborator

BeerHunter

Posted
Posted

I just finished working on my duck boat and i am so proud of my work i had to tell someone, and my wife just knows it took time away from her before hunting season so she isnt very interested.

My grandfather had a 1976 16ft alumacraft with a 1976 55 horse johnson seahorse on it. For the last 4 years it had been sitting out in the elements building up mud and growing trees in it.

I was able to get the boat and trailer in my name and went to work.

I first cleaned all the mud and trees out and then took the carbs apart and soaked them in carb cleaner, and ordered new shift and drive cables. I also replaced the impeller as precaution.

Once i had the motor in good shape i went to work on the boat removing the rivets that hold the side cargo area, and the counsole. Then i removed the floor and sanded the entire boat down.

I then poxy primered the inside and outside. After that i took the hunters specalies gallon paint and sprayed it with a spray gun.

The next step was the floor, new wood and carpet at menards was rather inexpensive. The most expensive investment was the 3 new seats that set me back $35 a piece.

I made my own reed stencils and painted them on with spray paint.

I read all the duck boat blind ideas in past posts but didnt find anything that would work like I wanted it too.

I made it so i can use the boat for fishing also so i used pvc that i had laying around and made a blind that i feel will work well.

I am still intersted in ideas to make it better, I will be making a dog ladder. But any recomendation are helpful and appreciated,

So here are the pics, by the way i learned to water ski behind this boat also.

DSC00617.jpg

i also got new tires for $25 a piece

DSC00614.jpg

next year i will focus on the trailer other than the bearings and lights this year.

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some interior pics

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How the blind is fastened

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blind down for driving

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blind up with front removed, for easy entry,

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the blind material, there are clips that attach to the pvc

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blind installed

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The hole in front is for the dogs to get to their spot in front.

DSC00635.jpg

inside the blind

DSC00636.jpg

Just wanted to show my work to someone who might appreciate it, sorry to anyone whos time i wasted. shocked.gif

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Scott M Grand Master

Scott M

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No offense to your wife BH, but that right there was time well wasted.

AWESOME JOB. When you do a job like that you deserve to gloat.

I hope I can create a blind like that. Your self painting and stenciling brings me back to what I was doing a little over a year ago at this time. Now I just need a neat little blind setup like that.

A+ my friend.

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BeerHunter Collaborator

BeerHunter

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THANKS GUYS, I did not move the counsole, but now that you say it it looks like it is far up in the pics, I do have the pins on the legs that go up and down, I dont know why i didnt use them on the bottom,

I am interested in hunting in western MN on some new water, so if anyone is intersted I am always looking for new people and places to hunt with.

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BoxMN Grand Master

BoxMN

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Wow, BH, that looks great! And funny thing, it almost looks like a clone of our 82 ALumacraft Classic 16 w/ 50 merc - honestly, it is same hull, console, wheel and paint and everything! With the blind up it looks identical! Works great for us, and I am sure it will you too!

We ended up buying a Northern Flight blind after trying several home built blinds, and it work pretty darn good, and bolts on that hull good. But yours looks sweet and will work great.

Have fun hunting from it! BTW - we skied behind ours too back in junior and senior high school days!

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Sartell Angler Proficient

Sartell Angler

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Pretty sure everyone who checked out this thread is thinking "geez I wish my hunting partners worked as hard as this guy did"

Excellent work man--that is a perfect big-water / medium-water boat. I hope you have many great hunts out of that thing this year.

We've got a 16 foot Sylvan with a 50 horse...was built in 1982 and we've considered doing to it what you did but it is still in great shape so we figure we'd just be killing its resale value. But, I don't really ever see us selling it so it would be pretty cool to repaint it and install a blind like that on it.

We've already got a 14 foot w/ a 9.9 on it though so it is tough to justify all that work just to hunt a little bigger water...although if we're hunting from shore with a monster spread we're planning on using it just to haul more dekes.

~SA/wdw

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hanson Grand Master

hanson

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Quote:

We've got a 16 foot Sylvan with a 50 horse...was built in 1982 and we've considered doing to it what you did but it is still in great shape so we figure we'd just be killing its resale value. But, I don't really ever see us selling it so it would be pretty cool to repaint it and install a blind like that on it.

I'm fairly confident that is the approach I'm going to take with my current boat when I finally get a new one. Its a 16' Mirrocraft, 60hp Johnson side console steer. Floor is perfectly flat from front to back with wide gunwhale sides. The sides are fairly low comparitively speaking. The more I fish out of it, the more it screams duck boat to me. smile.gif Just have to repaint it, install a blind, and I'll be good to go.

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commander019 Contributor

commander019

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Some 3/4" square tubing, a small piece of 1/2" square tubing, a little welding, a few cotter pins, a few bolts and your ready for paint.

Here is a pic of mine floded down.

100_0444.jpg

Quote:

I thought about the fold down but i had the pvc laying around and thought I would need conduit to do the folding one.

Thanks for the idea. If you have a plan that would work i am always intereste.

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HugoBox Mentor

HugoBox

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Nice work - I share the boat with BoxMN and our hull is the exaact same thing as yours and it has been a great hunting boat. One suggestion that is pretty minor but has come in handy would be to string a long bungee chord from the floor to the little platform on the bow back and forth a few times. This creates a nice little web that will hold life jackets, decoy bags, extra jackets up front and is not dry but close to it. It is also very easy to access the stuff up there. The only other thing we found is that some of the traditional places that you'd put pedestals for fishing aren't the best place for shooting from. Your boat looks great! I think your attention to detail is pretty sarn good.

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BeerHunter Collaborator

BeerHunter

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Quote:

Super Blind

I like the retractable aspect.

Is the bottom of the grass hooked on to the gunwhale or is

it just hanging??

it is just hanging there, i was going to make something to fasten it but it worked really well and if i need to grab a duck or something off the water quick it picks up real easy.

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