Choosing the best 14 ft boat blind can feel like a bit of a chore, but it's quickly the most important part of your own waterfowl setup when you're hunting from a smaller jon boat. Let's face this, a 14-footer is incredibly much the gold standard for a lot of people. It's lighting enough to pull with the muck, little enough to conceal in an area of cattails, yet just big enough to hold a buddy and a devoted dog. But that will smaller profile also means you don't possess a ton of room for error with regards to concealment. If your own blind is too bulky, you're top-heavy; if it's as well flimsy, the blowing wind will rip this right off the gunwales.
Exactly why the 14-Foot Platform is Unique
When you're rigging a 14 ft boat blind , you have to stabilize weight and room differently than the guys running 20-foot sea sleds. Upon a 14-foot boat, every extra lb of aluminum or even heavy cordura matters. You've probably observed that these boats—especially the narrower ones—get a little tippy in case you put too much weight upward high.
The goal is usually to create the profile that fractures in the hard ranges from the boat with no which makes it look such as a floating haystack that sticks out there ten feet over water. Ducks are usually getting smarter each year, and they will know what a rectangular box sitting in the middle of a marsh indicates. You want something that blends in to the horizon line.
Selecting Between DIY plus Store-Bought
This particular is the age-old debate in the particular duck blind planet. Do you fall a few 100 bucks on a pre-made kit, or do you head to the hardware shop for some EMT conduit and the pipe bender?
The Case regarding Kits
If you aren't exactly the master welder or perhaps a DIY guru, a commercial 14 ft boat blind kit is a lifesaver. Brands have got figured out the geometry for you. These generally feature a "scissor" style that folds straight down flat when you're motoring and jumps up in mere seconds when you achieve your spot. The beauty this is actually the fabric. Most of these types of kits come along with heavy-duty, wind-proof materials that's already camouflaged. It saves the particular headache of attempting to sew your own weather-resistant covers.
The DIY Route
On the flip side, creating your own enables for total modification. I've seen a few incredible "redneck engineering" on 14-footers. Using 3/4-inch EMT conduit is the regular move. It's inexpensive, relatively light, and stiff enough to handle a bit associated with a breeze. The trick is making sure your pivot points are usually solid. If a person go DIY, a person can tailor the particular height specifically to how you sit down. If you're the taller guy, these generic kits might leave you hunched over all morning, which usually is a good way in order to end up with a sore back again and a negative disposition.
Materials That Actually Hold Upward
Whether you buy or develop, the "skin" of your 14 ft boat blind is where the particular magic happens. You'll want a bottom layer of something like 600D or 1000D Cordura. This things is tough as nails and functions as a windbreak. Trust me, whenever the north wind flow is whipping across the lake in late November, you'll be glad you have a solid buffer between you plus the weather.
But a set piece of camo fabric isn't enough. You need texture. This is where raffia grass or even "blind grass" comes in. Adding bundles of natural-looking fibres helps break up the shadows. A pro tip: don't just make use of one color. Blend in some mud-brown, some dead-grass green, and maybe a little dull natural. It makes the particular boat look like a natural hummock rather than a painted boat.
The significance of Low User profile
One error I see a great deal of hunters create with a 14 ft boat blind is building it way too high. I obtain it—you wish to be able to stand upward and stretch. But the higher the particular blind, the more this catches the wind like a travel. This makes it harder to remain on your spot if your anchors aren't heavy-duty, and it makes you very much more visible to circling birds.
Try to keep the top of the blind just high good enough to cover your face when you're sitting on a low bench or a five-gallon bucket. A person want to be able to look over the top without having to stand up completely. In case you can maintain that profile low, you can stick into much shallower cover, which will be where a 14-foot boat really shines anyway.
Set up Tips for Little Boats
Whenever it's time to actually bolt the frame towards the boat, take your period. You don't want to be going extra holes inside your hull because a person misjudged the swing from the "scissor" hands.
- Inspect Clearance: Make certain the blind doesn't interfere with your own outboard motor's tiller handle. There's nothing at all worse than attempting to navigate the stump field plus realizing your blind frame is blocking your capability to turn.
- Reinforce the Mounting Factors: 14-foot jon boats often have thin aluminium gunwales. If a person just bolt the particular blind straight through the thin metal, the vibration plus wind stress may eventually tear the holes. Use several backing plates or even oversized washers in order to spread the load.
- Maintain it Detachable: Except if this boat is strictly for looking, you'll probably would like to take the blind off for fishing in the particular spring. Use quick-release pins instead of permanent bolts where possible.
Managing Weight and Balance
I mentioned this earlier, but it's worth doubling straight down on. A 14 ft boat blind adds fat. When you combine that with the couple of seekers, a bag associated with four dozen decoys, a battery for your trolling motor, and a cooler, you're pushing the limits of the small boat's capability.
Attempt to use aluminum for the frame rather than steel. If you're adding "grass" in order to the blind, keep in mind that it gets heavy when it's wet or iced. I've seen guys pull their motorboats out of the water after a rainy hunt and understand they've added a good extra 100 pounds of water pounds just in the particular blind materials. Make sure your boat still has plenty of freeboard (the distance between the drinking water as well as the top associated with the boat) once everyone is loaded up.
Making the Interior Functional
It's easy in order to focus so much on what the ducks see that you ignore what you see within the boat. The cramped 14 ft boat blind can become a chaotic mess of shells, coffee thermoses, and wet doggie hair within 20 minutes.
Consider adding some small gear bags that will hang from the particular blind frame. Maintaining your extra shells and gloves off the floor can make a huge distinction. Also, think regarding the floor alone. Bare aluminum is definitely loud and cool. Throwing down some EVA foam mats or even the piece of outdoor carpet will dampen the sound associated with getting around and keep your feet a little warmer.
The Finishing Touches: Mudding
New camo fabric often has a small "sheen" to this. To a duck, that reflection appears totally unnatural. Once you've got your 14 ft boat blind ready, don't be afraid to get it dirty. Literally.
Take some real swamp mud, blend it in a bucket with drinking water, and smear this all over the fabric and the grass. Allow it to dry in the sun. It kills the particular glare and provides the boat that will "weathered" look that blends to the atmosphere much better as opposed to the way a brand-new, factory-printed pattern. It may feel weird to "ruin" your equipment, but it's the particular oldest trick within the book with regard to a reason—it works.
Final Thoughts on the 14-Foot Set up
At the particular end of the particular day, a 14 ft boat blind is all about flexibility. It gives the freedom to go in which the big motorboats can't, while delivering enough comfort in order to stay out there when the weather will get nasty. Whether you go with a high end pop-up system or a home-built channel frame covered in burlap and raffia, the key is usually attention to details.
Keep it light, maintain it low, create sure it doesn't get in the way of your own motor. When these mallards start dedicated to the decoys because they can't see the boat tucked into the particular reeds, you'll understand all that time spent tweaking your setup was worth it. Stay safe within the water, and good luck this season!