Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Waterfowl => Topic started by: Night goat on October 29, 2018, 09:45:45 AM
-
Ok guys, I got an old boat just sitting around... Cant sell it for some reason, seems like nobody wants it, only bought it for 250$, doesnt have papers, doesnt really need papers anyway...
Its a 1958 14 foot run about and it moves just fine with an 8 horse power outboard... Its not fast, but, decent on fuel and under 10hp, doesnt need to be registered.
My idea was to remove the windshield, all the shiny trim parts, camo it up, maybe throw some lights on it put in some bench seats, some spots to attach camo and grass and stuff to break up the profile, I dont think the boat weighs very much, probably comparable to an old aluminum boat of similar size
Id love a bigger outboard but dont have the cash
Anyway, what are your guys ideas with this? How would you do it? Tell me everything wrong with my idea, everything that I should or could do to make this old boat a duck hunting machine
-
No intention of taking it in the salt correct?
-
No intention of taking it in the salt correct?
correct, thinking of a boat for the mouth of the skagit, lakes, its small enough to consider towing to eastern wa...maybe maybe maybe putting it in the swinomish channel and hunting some of the sloughs over by the twin bridges, but no open water. Its only a 14 footer
-
Correct me if I am wrong, I thought that you had to register to take a boat on any Navigable waters in WA state?
-
Here you go:
Registering your Vessel
Register your boat with the Washington State Department of Licensing. To navigate, operate, employ, or moor your vessel in Washington, you must have a Washington title, registration card, and registration decals, except:
•If your vessel is a canoe, kayak, or not propelled by a motor or sail.
•If your vessel is less than 16 feet in length and has a motor of 10 horsepower or less and is used on non-federal waters only.
•If your vessel is properly registered by a resident of another state or country who uses Washington waters for 60 days or fewer.
-
I would not hunt the mouth of the Skagit in a boat with only 8hp...the run to and from the boat launch there can turn into an adventure very quickly. Looks like a cool project but think I would stick to smaller bodies of water.
Just my :twocents:
Have fun with the build...I love converting things in to hunting things
-
I would not hunt the mouth of the Skagit in a boat with only 8hp...the run to and from the boat launch there can turn into an adventure very quickly. Looks like a cool project but think I would stick to smaller bodies of water.
Just my :twocents:
Have fun with the build...I love converting things in to hunting things
Yeah law says under 16 foot with 10hp or less no registrarion lisence or anything needed
I figure 8hp is pretty small, but I wouldnt mind a 15 with 9.9 stickers on it :chuckle:
Maybe not the actual mouth of the river but some of the little sloughs and stuff, figure this would be a boat to go tuck back up into a slough out of the way and stay put for the tide change
Still am considering building it.... I'm broke and its what I got
-
You need to to check the definition of navigable waters. its a federal thing and im 99% certain the skagit river falls into the definiton. Im surprised you cant sell that boat, it looks like a vintage old skagit or something.
-
I would not hunt the mouth of the Skagit in a boat with only 8hp...the run to and from the boat launch there can turn into an adventure very quickly. Looks like a cool project but think I would stick to smaller bodies of water.
Just my :twocents:
Have fun with the build...I love converting things in to hunting things
Yeah law says under 16 foot with 10hp or less no registrarion lisence or anything needed
I figure 8hp is pretty small, but I wouldnt mind a 15 with 9.9 stickers on it :chuckle:
Maybe not the actual mouth of the river but some of the little sloughs and stuff, figure this would be a boat to go tuck back up into a slough out of the way and stay put for the tide change
Still am considering building it.... I'm broke and its what I got
If your vessel is less than 16 feet in length and has a motor of 10 horsepower or less and is used on non-federal waters only.
The part I bolded, gets people nailed every year at Riffe Lake.
-
Hard to find, here is a link
https://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Portals/27/docs/regulatory/permit%20guidebook/Navigable_Waters_of_the_US_in_WA_State.pdf
-
Lets not worry about the technicalities of whether or not this boat needs to be registered... I don't have papers for it anyway, so by default I dont really care one way or another, for as much as I'm probably gonna hunt out of it, ill worry about that later. Didnt make this thread to get hung up on whether or not I need to register an old clunker boat
Lets focus on BUILDING it first ;)
-
Other than the issue being talked about, I don't think it would be hard at all to get this working to hunt out of. If you wanted to put a blind on it, maybe paint it. Should work great.
-
pop-up blind would be cool and fairly easy...tons of DIY plans out there to build one. I think having some low-profile lights, maybe dimmable (red/green color) ? would be nice for dealing with gear in the dark instead of flashlights pointing all over. Some sort of material or rug to deaden sound. Outlet or converter to run coffee pot or heater. Working bilge pump.
-
pop-up blind would be cool and fairly easy...tons of DIY plans out there to build one. I think having some low-profile lights, maybe dimmable (red/green color) ? would be nice for dealing with gear in the dark instead of flashlights pointing all over. Some sort of material or rug to deaden sound. Outlet or converter to run coffee pot or heater. Working bilge pump.
Oh wow, didnt even think of some sort of sound deadening... Thats a great idea! How would a popup blind work? My idea was to have a bench seat going lengthwise along the interior of the boat to essentially shoot broadsides, my vision was to make it kind of like a stationary blind when hunting...
Ive never had the opportunity to hunt from a true duck boat, so, kinda trial and error
-
By pop-up I mean that it could fold down while under power. With the type of boat you are using, you might even be able to have something along the lines of a canvas top (maybe not that material). Or one that folds down flat on the back and could be pulled up into position over a bench style seat going across the back. Lots of people use pvc pipe thick or as thin as you want and drape favorite type of cover over it shadow grass/camo netting/whatever. You will have a blast building this boat. I re-camo mine almost every year because it is fun. I rattle can it but it is fairly cheap...just go over whatever is already on there. Spend some time looking at other people's boats and find what you like.
Good Luck!!!!
-
Heck I even camo my golf cart every year :chuckle:
-
Take the windshield off, go to Walmart and buy a bunch of cans of this:
https://www.krylon.com/products/camouflage-paint-made-with-fusion-for-plastic-technology/
Pick up a camo net or make one, use some pvc to build a simple frame and have at it.
As an alternate, do nothing and just use it to transport you to where you need to go and park a bit away and walk the rest.
-
I took an old Glasply and made it a duck hunting boat, similar to yours.
I cut the bow off, left about 5" all around, and added panels to it. Got rid of the steering wheel, and used a filler steer motor.
Under the bow was a small platform, I extended it out by about 16" and mounted a pedestal seat up front.
Open floor plan inside, use a box I built to store fuel tank and put a seat on it, can move it to either side of the boat to sit for steering or hunting.
Reinforced the very front of the bow with 3/4 plywood and mounted lights and trolling motor.
Built a blind from PVC. Covered in camo netting and tied grass.
My son I law has it and used it for bass fishing when not duck hunting
Those are heavy boats, even stripped to bare bones. We put a 9.9hp on it and it moves the boat, but not as fast as I would like, it just takes longer to get where we are going.... lol
Dont have any pic of it unfortunately :bash:
Have fun with the build :tup:
-
Duck hunting in the fall....midnight pirate shenanagins the rest of the year!
-
My buddy and I each have 18' duck boats with modified high performance mud motors on them. That said, we traveled to Marysville WA a few weeks ago to buy an old aluminum bass boat (low sides) with a 30 HP Yammerwhammer motor on it. The purpose for this boat is to turn it to a dedicated rig to hunt a certain bay on a local lake. We will be anchoring the boat in a marina which is less than a mile from said bay. We have pulled out all the bass boat stuff, changed the forward bulkhead, will slap a coat of paint on her and put my Beavertail blind on. Voila! It will work for what we are wanting to do.
Don't overthink this. And a cheapo Harbor Freight paint gun and some Parkers boat paint is your friend.
-
You can find ideas for DIY scissor blinds online. I think that would be your best bet for a blind for that boat. Easy to put up and take down.
-
Remember you are required to provide photos of all the phases of transformation :chuckle: