Einstein
Six Pointer
I have searched for some time for the easiest blind build for my new boat. I have all but refused to pay for an Avery quickset, mostly due to the price, but also the weight of all the hardware. To my own engineering, I have built a blind I thought would be great to share since so many like me, are looking for a cheap, lightweight, and easy solution. It could not have been cheaper or easier. My total cost in this Blind is $220 which includes all framework, hardware, and material for the cover! It sets up with 2 pins, is incredibly easy to build, is fully customizable to your Boat, and all the materials can be found at your local hardware store. Most of this could be built by yourself, but help will definitely be needed. I covered my conduit in camo duct tape rather than paint, so that it is camo, will not wear off, and SILENT.
This post is long but do not be intimidated. This was built with a buddy’s help in about 3 hours.
Total pieces:
40’ of 3/4 conduit (will vary depending on length of Boat
4-90* 1”conduit angles
4-2.5 inch 3/8” bolts
2- 1.5 inch 3/8” bolts
6- 3/8” STOP NUTS
16- 3/8 flat washers
4- 3/4 conduit straps
1- 4’ Long piece of flat aluminum
2- 5/16” pins with lots of holes for a cotter pin
2- cotter pins small enough to fit in the holes in the pin
3 rolls of camouflage duct tape (will vary)
Small pack of 1” long self tapping metal screws.
2 carabiner clips
4- 5x7 camo tarps from harbor freight
An outer blind material. Mine came from the local fabric store for $10 a 5’tall, linear yard and is very high quality.
Some string, zip ties, and patience.
NOTE: If you want to cover the conduit with duct tape like me, it’s best to cover it before you go to the next step!
The build:
Step 1: measure your boat. Mine is a 1548 G3 DK with a tiller steer Motor. The actual blind inside is a little over 11 feet, which comfortably seats 3 men and can squeeze in a fourth if absolutely necessary.
Step 2: measure the bow and stern on the boat ON TOP OF THE GUNNEL. The first two pieces will be bolted to the gunnel. You want these braces to be on top of the gunnel but not extend outside the boat. 8 self tapping metal screws in total, so holes in the boat are negligible. Cut the conduit long enough for the braces to sit on top of the gunnel , again, one on bow and one on stern. Lay the conduit WITH the angles on, so that you can measure exactly where these braces need to be. If your Boat is long, you can piece 2 pieces of conduit together so that it is fully customizable to however long the actual front and back of the blind need to be. Once cut, secure the conduit to the top of the gunnel with the 4 conduit straps.
View attachment 57944
View attachment 57945
View attachment 57946
Step 3:
Go ahead and secure the angles to the conduit for the front and the back. I put 2 self tapping screws through the angle into the conduit, to be sure it was rock solid. So you’ll have 2 long pieces of conduit, one for the front and one for the back of the blind. Go ahead and lay them out on top of the two braces you just installed to make sure the fit is great. What’s important to note is that for the front of the blind, the bow angle is in front of the brace, the stern angle is on the back of the brace. For the back of the blind, it is reversed so each brace has a part on the front and the back.
Step 4:
This is where you’ll need some help. Get a buddy to sit in the boat, in a seat that you would normally use to hunt out of. Have him hold up he front of the blind (it is not attached to anything at this point) to a level where you and him feel is comfortable to see out of, but can duck down a little if birds are working. Measure from the 1” conduit angle to the bow brace, at an angle (doesn’t really matter the angle he holds it) to get an idea of how long you need to cut a piece of conduit. Note that the 3/4” conduit will fit about 4-5” inside the 1” angle. Cut to length. Repeat the for the stern side of the front of the blind.
Step 5: Once cut, with your buddy still in the boat, go ahead and insert the 3/4” conduit into the angle, and secure it with the self tapping screws. Take the side brace you just cut, and hold it securely into the bow brace, mark, and drill a 3/8” hole through both the bow brace and the side brace. Install it with one 2.5”x3/8” bolt so that it is bolt head, washer, side brace, washer, bow brace, washer, stop nut. Tighten it tight, but not so tight that can’t lift the front of the blind. REPEAT to attach the blind front to the stern brace.
Step 6:
The back of the blind will be the same process, but will be a little bit higher than the front obviously. Make sure your buddy is still in the boat blind and holds the blind back to ensure he is covered. Again, measure at an angle from the 90* conduit angle, to the bow and stern braces. Cut, and install the back of the blind just like you did the front.
Step 7:
The flat piece of aluminum will be used to secure the side pieces of the BACK (important) of the blind to the bow and stern braces. This will ensure when the blind is up, the front of the blind will not fall forward. For this step you will need the flat aluminum cut in half. 2’ for bow, 2’ for stern. Having your buddy hold the blind back up to a height where you both think is good, hold the 2’ aluminum piece so that it sits on the outside of the blind side piece. IMPORTANT: Drill a 3/8” hole in the top piece of the aluminum that is touching the blind side piece. Secure it with a 1.5”x3/8” bolt in a bolt head, washer, aluminum piece, washer, side of blind frame, washer, stop bolt pattern. Repeat this for the bow of the Boat. Now that the angle is attached permanently to the blind side, you want to have your buddy hold the blind up again, and drill a 5/16” hole through the bottom of the aluminum brace and the blind’s stern brace, so that the pin with all the holes in it will fit into the hole. THIS PIN IS THE ONLY THING YOU WILL HAVE TO SET UP ON THE MORNING OF YOUR HUNT. Repeat for bow of Boat. I tied my pin and cotter pin to the blind so I wouldn’t ever lose it (in theory).
Step 8:
Once the back is secure, tie a washer to the blind back, and a carabiner clip to the blind front. Play with the amount of string so that when you lift the blind front, you can just clip the carabiner to the washer so that the blind front does not fall forward.
Step 9:
Attach your blind material. I used four 5x7 camo tarps from harbor freight as a wind/rain block. I do not care that the tarp is shiny, as my outer blind material is solid, so the tarp will not shoe at all. Depending on your outer material, you may not want to use something so shiny. Zip tie the tarp to the frame, and then the outer blind material.
Step 10:
Attach your outer blind material with zip ties. I used a realtree xtra pattern of fabric that is die cut and 3D that I found at a local fabric store. It was $10 a yard. Cut it so that it is not so long that it hangs in the water.
Lastly: roll up your blind material and secure it with canopy ball ties.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This post is long but do not be intimidated. This was built with a buddy’s help in about 3 hours.
Total pieces:
40’ of 3/4 conduit (will vary depending on length of Boat
4-90* 1”conduit angles
4-2.5 inch 3/8” bolts
2- 1.5 inch 3/8” bolts
6- 3/8” STOP NUTS
16- 3/8 flat washers
4- 3/4 conduit straps
1- 4’ Long piece of flat aluminum
2- 5/16” pins with lots of holes for a cotter pin
2- cotter pins small enough to fit in the holes in the pin
3 rolls of camouflage duct tape (will vary)
Small pack of 1” long self tapping metal screws.
2 carabiner clips
4- 5x7 camo tarps from harbor freight
An outer blind material. Mine came from the local fabric store for $10 a 5’tall, linear yard and is very high quality.
Some string, zip ties, and patience.
NOTE: If you want to cover the conduit with duct tape like me, it’s best to cover it before you go to the next step!
The build:
Step 1: measure your boat. Mine is a 1548 G3 DK with a tiller steer Motor. The actual blind inside is a little over 11 feet, which comfortably seats 3 men and can squeeze in a fourth if absolutely necessary.
Step 2: measure the bow and stern on the boat ON TOP OF THE GUNNEL. The first two pieces will be bolted to the gunnel. You want these braces to be on top of the gunnel but not extend outside the boat. 8 self tapping metal screws in total, so holes in the boat are negligible. Cut the conduit long enough for the braces to sit on top of the gunnel , again, one on bow and one on stern. Lay the conduit WITH the angles on, so that you can measure exactly where these braces need to be. If your Boat is long, you can piece 2 pieces of conduit together so that it is fully customizable to however long the actual front and back of the blind need to be. Once cut, secure the conduit to the top of the gunnel with the 4 conduit straps.
View attachment 57944
View attachment 57945
View attachment 57946
Step 3:
Go ahead and secure the angles to the conduit for the front and the back. I put 2 self tapping screws through the angle into the conduit, to be sure it was rock solid. So you’ll have 2 long pieces of conduit, one for the front and one for the back of the blind. Go ahead and lay them out on top of the two braces you just installed to make sure the fit is great. What’s important to note is that for the front of the blind, the bow angle is in front of the brace, the stern angle is on the back of the brace. For the back of the blind, it is reversed so each brace has a part on the front and the back.
Step 4:
This is where you’ll need some help. Get a buddy to sit in the boat, in a seat that you would normally use to hunt out of. Have him hold up he front of the blind (it is not attached to anything at this point) to a level where you and him feel is comfortable to see out of, but can duck down a little if birds are working. Measure from the 1” conduit angle to the bow brace, at an angle (doesn’t really matter the angle he holds it) to get an idea of how long you need to cut a piece of conduit. Note that the 3/4” conduit will fit about 4-5” inside the 1” angle. Cut to length. Repeat the for the stern side of the front of the blind.
Step 5: Once cut, with your buddy still in the boat, go ahead and insert the 3/4” conduit into the angle, and secure it with the self tapping screws. Take the side brace you just cut, and hold it securely into the bow brace, mark, and drill a 3/8” hole through both the bow brace and the side brace. Install it with one 2.5”x3/8” bolt so that it is bolt head, washer, side brace, washer, bow brace, washer, stop nut. Tighten it tight, but not so tight that can’t lift the front of the blind. REPEAT to attach the blind front to the stern brace.
Step 6:
The back of the blind will be the same process, but will be a little bit higher than the front obviously. Make sure your buddy is still in the boat blind and holds the blind back to ensure he is covered. Again, measure at an angle from the 90* conduit angle, to the bow and stern braces. Cut, and install the back of the blind just like you did the front.
Step 7:
The flat piece of aluminum will be used to secure the side pieces of the BACK (important) of the blind to the bow and stern braces. This will ensure when the blind is up, the front of the blind will not fall forward. For this step you will need the flat aluminum cut in half. 2’ for bow, 2’ for stern. Having your buddy hold the blind back up to a height where you both think is good, hold the 2’ aluminum piece so that it sits on the outside of the blind side piece. IMPORTANT: Drill a 3/8” hole in the top piece of the aluminum that is touching the blind side piece. Secure it with a 1.5”x3/8” bolt in a bolt head, washer, aluminum piece, washer, side of blind frame, washer, stop bolt pattern. Repeat this for the bow of the Boat. Now that the angle is attached permanently to the blind side, you want to have your buddy hold the blind up again, and drill a 5/16” hole through the bottom of the aluminum brace and the blind’s stern brace, so that the pin with all the holes in it will fit into the hole. THIS PIN IS THE ONLY THING YOU WILL HAVE TO SET UP ON THE MORNING OF YOUR HUNT. Repeat for bow of Boat. I tied my pin and cotter pin to the blind so I wouldn’t ever lose it (in theory).
Step 8:
Once the back is secure, tie a washer to the blind back, and a carabiner clip to the blind front. Play with the amount of string so that when you lift the blind front, you can just clip the carabiner to the washer so that the blind front does not fall forward.
Step 9:
Attach your blind material. I used four 5x7 camo tarps from harbor freight as a wind/rain block. I do not care that the tarp is shiny, as my outer blind material is solid, so the tarp will not shoe at all. Depending on your outer material, you may not want to use something so shiny. Zip tie the tarp to the frame, and then the outer blind material.
Step 10:
Attach your outer blind material with zip ties. I used a realtree xtra pattern of fabric that is die cut and 3D that I found at a local fabric store. It was $10 a yard. Cut it so that it is not so long that it hangs in the water.
Lastly: roll up your blind material and secure it with canopy ball ties.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
