Almost done.

[KegRiver]

Well I'm almost done.

This project started about ten years ago as just a thought.

Back then I had other priorities so it was just an idea. To turn my canoe into a floating hunting blind that could go where the outfitters couldn't.

For waterfowl hunters up here, outfitters are a major hindrance. We don't have a lot of territory to hunt and every fall bird outfitters from all over the province come up here to start their season.

That doesn't leave us locals with many places to hunt ducks and Geese.
Except for a few places too shallow or far from roads for the outfitters to bother with.

So I needed something light enough to pack in and shallow draft for less then a foot of water. Wading is not a viable option since a lot of these ponds have two feet of sticky muck under that water.

Hence the canoe idea. But canoes are not very stable and shooting a shotgun from one could end in a unwanted bath.

So I needed outriggers, and because I can't paddle very far these days I needed a motor. I chose a electric trolling motor, for weight and shallow run capabilities.

So I have built a motor mount, two outriggers and a new center thwart.

All I have left to do is build a blind to fit the canoe and put it all together.

That will have to wait till spring.

If I had a shop I would do it this winter, but alas it was not to be.
I had planed on selling my old property but the wife said no to that idea and without that sale I don't have enough to afford to build a shop.

So I'll just have to wait till spring.

In the mean time I'm wondering if any of you have done something like this.

What I am most interested in is how did you build the blind for your boat, canoe ext and what changes did you wind up having to make after you tried it the first time.

[no-regard]

I've never made or used such a contraption, but the idea is great! I look forward to seeing it, good luck.

I wonder if 10' lengths of 1/2" PVC bent in an arc could be used as a support for the top? Nice and light.

[Tronneroi]

I use a canoe for all my waterfowl hunting. It's a perfect way to get out to the sweet spots that are less accessible to guys on foot. I usually tuck mine in the reeds and cover it with camo mesh. Makes for easy bird recovery as well. I have a 17' Scott, and you'd be surprised how stable it is.

[Moo Snukkle]

Call me crazy, but I’d start with one of these
They fold down flat
Cut the top out
Enlarge the bottom opening so you are sitting within shack
Dress up with foliage
Voila

Hell, if you do go this route, I’ll donate the shack to your project


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[scesfiremedic]

How about some fibreglass tent poles and some camouflage tarps to create a blind in the canoe? Just a thought

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by no-regard

I've never made or used such a contraption, but the idea is great! I look forward to seeing it, good luck.

I wonder if 10' lengths of 1/2" PVC bent in an arc could be used as a support for the top? Nice and light.

I believe I have that figured out already,

I bought a wire running kit. It's 8 30" fiberglass rods, like skinny tent poles.
They thread together so 2 would make a 60" arch for the blind supports.
These would be attached to the gunnels giving an overall bind height of about 50"

Or I could use them simply as uprights. More testing needs to be done to determine which works best.



I made six 3"x1 1/2"x 1/2" wood blocks which I will attach to the sides of the canoe at three foot intervals, three each side.

The ends of the wire running rods will push into holes in the blocks which should hold them ridged and upright but if additional support is needed I will add a center rod to tie them together, and to the ends of the canoe.

Then I will run camo netting along each side, supported by the wire running kit arches, and snapped onto the gunnels. And zip tied onto the supports with small zip ties for easy removal.

These snaps are what I will use.

I already have the snaps and tools to install them as I had them for making a cover for my fishing boat. And they are stainless steel.

The whole setup should take up less then a cubic foot in transport.

It will be transported disassembled and assembled at the launch point. All except for the motor mount that is.

I have tested everything except the blind and so far everything sets up in a few minutes and works very well.

The outriggers are held by a crossbar that attaches to the gunnels with C clamps that clamp just below the gunnel rails, which locks the support bar in place.

The outriggers attach to the support bar via C channels on the bar and pins.
That allows me to adjust the length if I wish.

Support bar is 1 1/4" square aluminum tubing the width of the canoe.
The outriggers are 1'x 1' x 8" Styrofoam blocks covered with a thin fiberglass coating held by a 1" x 6' square aluminum tube.
The Styrofoam blocks are sculptured to a semi boat shape.

I can turn the canoe over with one outrigger so I expect that should be strong enough.
I also only figure on using the outriggers once anchored. But they can be installed at any time. I tried. No problem putting them on while afloat and sitting in the canoe.

The only things left to test is the blind setup and shooting from inside the blind.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Moo Snukkle

Call me crazy, but I’d start with one of these
They fold down flat
Cut the top out
Enlarge the bottom opening so you are sitting within shack
Dress up with foliage
Voila

Hell, if you do go this route, I’ll donate the shack to your project


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A couple of years ago I worked on a floating photography blind for my sister.

She wanted a blind like that set up on a peddle boat, so she could get close to birds on her lake.
It didn't work very well. to make it work we had to cut it down to pretty much a tarp. A lot of work that could have been avoided by buying camo netting and it restricted visibility too much for the task at hand.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Tronneroi

I use a canoe for all my waterfowl hunting. It's a perfect way to get out to the sweet spots that are less accessible to guys on foot. I usually tuck mine in the reeds and cover it with camo mesh. Makes for easy bird recovery as well. I have a 17' Scott, and you'd be surprised how stable it is.

That is good to hear.

I have a 12' Tupperware canoe. LOL Kidding of course. But it is plastic.

Seems to me it was sold as a Sun Chief. I bought it from McLoads back in the 1970s. Cost me a whole 250.00 bucks at the time.

I'm not good at math but I would think today's equivalent price would be around $2500.00 bucks, LOL
Not cheap back then, or now but it sure is light. Only 49 lbs.