Idea for Push Pole, Spud Pole & Paddle Storage

[Anatidae]

I don't know about anybody else, but I can't stand to have stuff laying all over the floor of the boat during the pre-dawn set-up fumble-fest.

So, here's the solution I came-up with for storage of push pole, 2 4-foot spud poles, 2 7-foot spud poles, and paddles. We'll see how well they work this Winter. Good thing is, they can all be released or secured with one hand......regardless of the velcro straps that keep them from clanking around in the boat when you're trying to slip-in somewhere quietly.



The spud pole holders were made from a 10' stick of 1-1/4" PVC electrical conduit - I have about 8' left over. Tools used were a porta-band, a skill saw, a drill, a file, 3/8" countersink bit, and assorted drill bits and attachment hardware. Don't attempt these 'cuts' with a skill saw unless you are (or were at one time) a carpenter with a minimum of 15 years experience - you could end-up missing a few fingers.

The 'T' rests in the pvc sleeve bolted to the storage box........(the black patch is EPDM rubber to deaden any noise & protect paint).......


..........and the shanks lock in the pvc clips mounted to a 1-1/2" square aluminum tube cut to fit on the diagonal portion of the crossrib brace.


I get obsessed with little projects like this, but this solution should sure make outings more pleasant.

10' x 1-1/4" PVC conduit - $3.97 + tax
Assorted screws, washers, & nuts - around $2
1-1/2" square Aluminum tubing - 'scrap'
A cold, still morning idling quietly through the timber - Priceless.

[cupnglide]

Thanks for sharing the pics and the info. It looks like a solid design. Your boat layout is similar to mine, so I'll probably plagiarize your work.

Do you ever use a blind on the boat? Just curious if any allowances would be required.

[Anatidae]

We use a blind - also a homemade design. Feel free to use my ideas - that's why I put it up here.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

The PVC clips are ingenius. I am going to take this route for keeping my push pole in place. There is nothing I hate more than a cluttered boat in the dark. Well, I guess the old style Cabela's Ultimate Hunter Layout takes first place.

I have been drawing up ideas all week for something to come up for a grab bar for my Sportboat. I think I got it nailed down. Now if I can ever make my way home to get it done and get the boat painted is a different story.

Another thing I thought about- and tested- the last time I was home: one thing I hate about jerk strings is the unadjustability of them. Something clicked in mind that said, trotline clamps. I bought a pack at bass pro and went home to test them out. They work great, just unsnap the whole rig and work onto the decoy keel. Then you snap it onto the line. So if you decide to change your setup you can change the distance of the decoys in a hurry. No more having decoys too close or too far. I have gotten to where I don't even like decoys not being on a jerk string. Too costly of a mistake, or I am too paranoid.

[Anatidae]

Re: PVC clips - Thanks.......perty simple to make. I made a couple of extras for future use or sale.

I've got a similar solution to the jerk string issues you talk about.......I try to simplify things as much as possible.........

I use a regular (large) snap swivel. You can attach them anywhere along the line without knots or stops........thus.......



You can actually give the line a little slack around the eyelet and it'll slide along the line - give it a little tug and it'll lock it in place. Perty easy to un-do when you need to adjust it's location or remove it. I usually take all the swivels off when I'm picking-up because we are likely to be in a totally different location the next hunt. It's a little challenging to deploy (getting everything spaced correctly in the dark - worse if there's vegetation to contend with) and pick-up in a slick-bottom mud rig in a wind, but 2 people and a push pole works pretty well.

The 'snap' end attaches to a small hole you drill in the nose of the decoy keel. It works better (and is quieter) than snapping it in the pre-drilled anchor line hole on most decoys and makes attachment a lot easier with cold fingers. Also if you snap it in the pre-drilled hole location, it tends to put the snap in a bind, and they will either make a lot of noise or come loose, altogether. Don't drill the new hole as close to the edge as shown in the picture because if you need to pull the jerk string to untangle decoys from vegetation (or dog) the snap could 'rip' out.



To keep your dog from getting tangled in the line on retrieves, stick a 2oz. bank sinker halfway between the boat and the first decoy on the jerk string and one between each decoy and one between the last decoy and the tree, stump or anchor you use.

Step 1:

Step 2:


When you're not trying to lure ducks into the spread, just let the line go slack and it'll sink enough that your dog can swim through it without getting hung-up - even swimming perty close to the decoys themselves. We use this in water depths greater than 'running water' for a dog.

I make the jerk string reel too - it's 3/4" sanded cypress.



Now I know what I'll be doing in retirement........making stuff like this to sell if 'You Can't to do it' - and 'Lowe's Can't Help' .

Will call my business 'Old School Waterfowling Products' or 'Simple as Dirt' (References to mentality subject to opinion).

[hntrpat1]

I use the trott line clips tied to my decoys then you can clip them anywhere on the jerk string and don't have to fool with moving swivels

[Anatidae]

There was one of those clips on the decoy I found......(in the photo, above).......but I haven't figured-out how they operate.....

I think I know - just pinch the spring part and clip it on the line?

.....'probably why I found that decoy.......musta come loose from the line.

[jmh600]

We use a blind - also a homemade design. Feel free to use my ideas - that's why I put it up here.

Maybe you have posted before but do you have any pictures of your homemade blind?

[Anatidae]

I don't think I've posted photos of this particular blind.

Rear conduit hoop slides down into 1" eyebolts threaded into the transom beam (2 top / 2 bottom)......its nets are sewn around the conduit and cover the motor. They are folded, rolled-up and velcroed for transit. The 'aft' ('Mudsucker') net is the last thing that is unfolded to allow the exhaust pipes to cool-off. I've tried to find a cheap source for silicone-impregnated fiberglass to attach to the underside of the netting to sheild against direct heat......but the pipes usually cool-down enough in cold weather by the time we get decoys out with a pushpole, get situated and get loaded-up.



Forward conduit hoop hinges on homemade aluminum brackets. Hoop and its net collapse flat on the front deck in transit.



Seat brackets are special made to hang off the gun box / catwalk. The brackets are hinged and fold flat for storage in the gun box for transit.

The 2 hoops are connected by the side nets. Each one has a hem at top and bottom, and parachute chord in tension running through them. On each end of the top chord is a screen latch that hooks into an eyelet on each hoop. The bottom is in tension and goes around the full perimeter of the boat at the gunwale line to hold nets in tension and keep the wind from blowing the bottoms of the nets into the boat. Each side net rolls-up and is velcroed along the gunwale as shown in the above photo. These are die-cut cerex nets sewn to a mesh backing. My wife and I spent a week sewing nets for this rig - by hand.



The photo below was taken on the maiden voyage - bright new, shiney nets with no local vegetation attached. The material is just the basis for whatever camo scheme you hunt in - Natural grass or Rafia can be attached to the nets and painted a variety of colors to suit your terrain. The blind doesn't take long to set-up or take down once you get 'situated' although it is not as simple as the MB, 'scissor', or pop-up style blinds. We have incorporated a custom bracket for the dog ladder to hang from the side of the rear hunt deck, and it is held in place with a spud pole. Spud poles are less trouble than ropes and anchors provided you're in shallow-enough water to 'stick'em in.



If there's not a lot of vegetation or we're hunting public waters, but next to private land, we'll take some broom sedge stuck in pvc electrical conduit and put those out around the boat to break-up the outline a bit. We are still diliberating whether we should cut the nets off above the water line or let'em hang down 'to' the water line.

One more view from the rear........Dog sits on the 18" hunt deck - ladder not shown, but was added later......

[ScottyLee]

sweet idea, on the conduit to stick brush in to break up outline.. do you have any pics from when you built the blind. i.e. the frame only before the material?

Thanks

[Anatidae]

You know....I was going to take some 'in-progress' photos just for this purpose, but we picked the rig up the day before Thanksgiving - I didn't have a whole lot of time to get a blind concept finalized, then executed.........we needed to be USING that boat. So, I didn't take the photos that would show the skeleton.

I can tell you this: The compression members are the conduit hoops. The tensile members is the parachute chord (or everything else including the nets). The most tension is on the parachute chord between the hoops because of the weight of the nets (especially when 'wet' and/or loaded with vegetation). To counteract those forces, there are parachute chords attached to the opposite side of the hoop that anchor to static points like grab rails, cleats, or eyebolts threaded into the metal in various places. The 'transfer' (forces) chords on the aft hoop actually have take-up blocks like you would use to adjust tension on tent ropes - these have screen latches on the end of them and hook on the 'lift' brackets of the mud motor. You get everything else 'up', hook the chords onto the lift brackets and hit the tilt switch on the motor to pull the right amount of tension in the whole thing without bending the conduit hoops.

'Sounds complicated - and photos would help understanding........but it's very basic tension / compression members and counter-reactive forces transferred to static objects. You don't have to fumble with knots and all the parachute chord is concealed, providing a tangle-free skeletal 'web', if you will.

The biggest appeal this design holds is that the materials for the skeleton are under $100 - put as much or as little into your nets and it's really an economical alternative to factory blinds. If you're interested, you can either come look at this one, or bring your boat over sometime and I'll help you get it rigged-up or at least started in that direction.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

Now this is a duck hunting thread.

In my search for grab bar plans I read an article where old timers just used a simple rope tied to somewhere in the boat. The more I thought about it the more I thought about much more leverage you could get. Just make sure you stretch, so when you pull your weight back up from one of those famous longtail 90 degree turns you won't rip a muscle.

Cold, 3:30 in the morning, coffee, a honey bun, an angry difestive system and pulling on a rope for 30 minutes...sounds like a good way to chit ye britches and then tear a cold, lethargic bicep.

[jdbuckshot]

I like it.

How about a pic of how the how you "spud" the boat in location.

[Anatidae]

Now this is a duck hunting thread.

'Glad we have a Waterfowl forum separate from general discussion.

IMO the rope really won't serve as much purpose as a rigid grab bar primarily because you'll need something more stable in all directions to help maintain your balance.

Knowing the sportboat and that you want to put a MM on it - I recommend welding 1-1/4" dia. tubing to the interior side of the starboard gunwales and to the floor. Get a pre-bent off-set style grab bar from GatorTrax. They can sell you the tubing to be fitted and welded for the receiver sleeves.

Just my suggestion.

Jim, see that piece of round tubing on the corner of the hunt deck? (under the dog's right-front paw).....that's for the spud pole. There's one of those on 3 corners of the boat. We had one added because we sometimes hug the base of a cypress tree and the bell-shaped base doesn't allow you to stick the spud pole right next to the tree. These are trees that you can't reach around to tieoff or 'bunjy' to.

If I can't use a spud on the corner the dog ladder needs to be on, GTrax made me a 10" 'dummy' spud to drop in there to hold the dog ladder in place.

[ScottyLee]

You know....I was going to take some 'in-progress' photos just for this purpose, but we picked the rig up the day before Thanksgiving - I didn't have a whole lot of time to get a blind concept finalized, then executed.........we needed to be USING that boat. So, I didn't take the photos that would show the skeleton.

I can tell you this: The compression members are the conduit hoops. The tensile members is the parachute chord (or everything else including the nets). The most tension is on the parachute chord between the hoops because of the weight of the nets (especially when 'wet' and/or loaded with vegetation). To counteract those forces, there are parachute chords attached to the opposite side of the hoop that anchor to static points like grab rails, cleats, or eyebolts threaded into the metal in various places. The 'transfer' (forces) chords on the aft hoop actually have take-up blocks like you would use to adjust tension on tent ropes - these have screen latches on the end of them and hook on the 'lift' brackets of the mud motor. You get everything else 'up', hook the chords onto the lift brackets and hit the tilt switch on the motor to pull the right amount of tension in the whole thing without bending the conduit hoops.

'Sounds complicated - and photos would help understanding........but it's very basic tension / compression members and counter-reactive forces transferred to static objects. You don't have to fumble with knots and all the parachute chord is concealed, providing a tangle-free skeletal 'web', if you will.

The biggest appeal this design holds is that the materials for the skeleton are under $100 - put as much or as little into your nets and it's really an economical alternative to factory blinds. If you're interested, you can either come look at this one, or bring your boat over sometime and I'll help you get it rigged-up or at least started in that direction.

that makes since. it gives me some good ideas anyway. i like the parachute cordand then adjust the tension. thanks