boat camo

[nwlynx22]

Any ideas to camo large boats with out breaking the bank? I was thinking of burlap underlayer and maybe some avery grass on top in clumps. Boat size 22ft

[h2ofowlr]

Are you looking to paint it as well or just drape camo over it?  You can get gallon buckets of dead dull grass, marsh grass, etc.  Check the cans as most of the time the paint is hard in the bottom or so it seems.  Pick up a gravity paint sprayer from Harbour Freight.  $20-30.  You can buy a roll of burlap or go to Goodwill, Salvation Army etc and see what types of bulk material they have and get fabric dye or buy the pre-cut camo sheets.  They are usually 5' x 20'.  There are lots of options.  From inexpensive to more elaborate.  There also have been several Avery pop up blinds on craigslist.  Ranging from $250-$450.  That may be an easy option.
First boat blind was PVC for a 12'.  Then next one was aluminum and welded with green chicken wire brushed out.  I now have a Avery Pop up blind.  There are a ton to look at on the internet as well.

[Snowgoose1]

Just put the Avery blind on and it works great.  Went to test a few weeks ago and see how it works.  In the directions it makes comments about custom fitting.  We have done that and made adjustments.  I have had other camo types and displays that I made from scratch.  We have even painted the entire boat camo plus everything in it and that even worked fine too. Now I'm older and want to sit in a lawn chair to do my hunting.  I have a new Lowe 1860 Roughneck tiller and the avery covers everything and we can easily fit 5 guys for hunting with elbow room.  One guy will have to sit on a short seat on the bow. I figured it's time to pay for it and do it. There are always so many options and each boat is different. I used burlap when I didn't have the funds and it worked.  I still think movement is the biggest thing that flares birds and unfortunaely every hunter loves to turn their heads and see a bird come in hence the covering of the boat. Good luck and post a picture of what you come up with and I'm sure a lot of nice people here would help with comments.

[nwlynx22]

Thanks for the advice going to try a low budget drape job with Avery die cuts and some marsh grass for the opener. Then I'll work on a better setup. Snowgoose did your build have much give lengthwise? I looked at the Avery setup and they only go to 19' which is pretty short to me for a boat 22' long? Maybe I should just get ride of the marsh rat and buy the Avery one anyway?

[Snowgoose1]

I covered the entire boat. I put the brackets within 10 inches of the transom.  Turning the tiller arm to side worked to get the motor to operate with the blind up and down no problem. I put the front brackets all the way up on the bow so I could get into the storage hatches. When putting the blind material on, it more than covered the front and back of the boat.  It overlapped by two feet. Most likely you won't have the framework go the entire distance of the boat, but the material should be long enough. I have enough in the back to cover both a 60hp and a 5 horse.  I even have the BIG tiller on my Mercury which still works with the blind.  I bought a motor cover from Bass Pro shops.  The cover has a draw string and it is big enough to cover a 60 fourstroke, in fact I bet it would cover a 75hp.

[Black Plague]

wow snowgoose that sounds like a pretty sweet set up....my dad has the same boat, I love how wide and stable that thing is....do you think you could post some picks of the boat blind up on here some time ...I would love to see how it looks....