Cheap Duck Blind for your boat... Pics added 08/19

Materials List to buy:

10 – ¾ X 10 Ft EMT conduit (2 were used up trying to figure out the bender) @ $3.48

1 - 4 pack of 3/4 U shaped EMT clamps @ $0.78

5 - NS1 (nail guards) @ $0.54

4 – 5/16 X 2.5 inch bolts @ $0.23

4 - 5/16 Zinc Flat washer packs @ $1.18

8 - 5/16 Nylon lock washers @ $0.11

4 - 5/16 X 1.5 inch bolts @ $0.18

1 - 5/32 aluminum rivets @ $4.97

1 - Pint of Valspar Flat Black paint @ $4.47

1 - Container of Dark Brown Dye @ 2.29 (had to dye some old white straps brown)

2 - 2.5 inch nut & bolt packaged kits @ $1.18

1 - 5/32 Drill bit @ $1.87

Total $61.56 ($66.64 w/ tax)

If you do not have a 3/4 EMT conduit bender they run $38.97 + tax.

I had one….

Things I had:

Welder –this is not needed (you can buy ¾ EMT compression fittings for $1.08/ea, they will work as a viable replacement for welding)

¾ inch Conduit Bender

Drill & Tape measure

Sharpee (or something to mark on the metal)

Drill Press (just makes things easier)

Chop saw w/ metal blade

Paint brush

5/16 drill bit

Pliers

Air rivet gun (Harbor Freight - http://www.harborfreight.com/3-16-inch-air-hydraulic-riveter-93458.html ) or you can buy a hand rivet gun for something like $16.99 at Lowes.

Air compressor

BEER (Coors light)

A close proximity to Lowes and Home Depot

I then had to teach myself how to use the Conduit bender.  After about 2 ruined 10ft sections of conduit, I called a buddy and he informed me of my error in technique. 

 

When bending the pipe, always use the foot pedal and use heavy foot pressure to cause the bend, only use your hands to help guide the pipe around the bender.

 

Basically if you get bends like this…

 

 

use a lot more foot pressure and they will look like this.

 

Once I had everything bent, measured and spliced/welded together, I had to attach it to the cross supports I had mounted to the boat.  I planned to have the very outside edge of the blind rest on the railing of my boat, so I positioned it where I wanted it, then clamped the cross support piece and the blind together and drilled a hole through both tubes.

 

I drilled them both at the same time to ensure I would have a straight path to run the bolt through. with no binding or anything that would prevent the blind from working like it should

 

Notice that I used two washers between the pipes, and when I added the second bracket for the second tier I had to use 3 washers between the pipes.

 

1st level done...

I then lined up the brackets and the pole and drilled them just like I did with the bottom tier ( 1^st tier).

 

Here is the metal work of the blind finished and it temp held up… Now you can see that the real purpose of the 1st tier was to give you room underneath the blind material....

 

I still have to dye my straps brown, mount them to the boat/blind, paint the metal tubes flat black, and attach the blind material to the actual blind. I am toying around with using some sort of buttons/snaps to attach the blind to the metal, haven’t deicded on my method yet. I am also toying around with buying a tarp/some Cordura600(SP?) to put on the inside to make it wind proof (just don’t know if it’s worth the extra $ and the sissy side remarks…) I am also looking for some black/brown pipe cleaners to tie around the pipe and put through the blind material to allow me to attach local vegetation to the blind to help break it up....