Customize Your Boat for Hunting

Most people think first of fishing and then of pleasure boating when considering the uses for personal watercraft. Another use, however, can be for hunting. Unfortunately, most boats are not set up for this purpose. This is where you will need to customize your boat for hunting.

Steps

  1. Customize your boat for waterfowl, including duck or geese. Using a boat for hunting most often falls into the realm of waterfowl hunting. You will find that the changes work well for other types of hunting and for fishing.
  2. Camouflage your boat.

    • Paint over or replace any bright work or chrome on your boat. Any flash of reflecting light off a chrome cleat or trim will give away your location to a duck or goose.
    • Repaint your hull and any visible surfaces with camouflage paints or colors. Be sure to match the fall colors of the area you hunt in. There are stencils and plans you can buy in sporting goods stores that will help you to camouflage your boat.
    • Create a blind system that you can erect at your hunting site. It should consist of camouflage netting and erect much like a pop-up tent. Take sticks and brush from the surrounding area and weave them into your net, breaking up the boat and hunter profile to the view of the game. Commercial systems are available for you to use in customizing your boat for hunting.
  3. Choose the accessories for your particular boat to make it safe and comfortable.
  4. Stabilize the boat for hunting. This is a major concern for hunting from a boat.

    • The most popular, and least expensive, is the flat bottom boat, often referred to as a Jon boat. The other most used is a modified V bottom boat. Rocking of the boat (from waves or personnel movement) can be minimized by deploying multiple anchors combined with setting up in a protected shoreline.
    • Another often used boat for hunting is the canoe or a kayak. Either of these personal self-propelled boats can be stabilized to wave and personnel movement as well as the firing of guns. Customizing your boat for hunting when pontoons extend to each side of the canoe will make it feel less tippy and allow the hunter to stand up and fire his weapon.
  5. Remember seating.

    • The basic design of seating in a boat is for forward motion. While that is OK for paddling or skiing on a river or lake, it isn't for hunting.
    • You can install pedestal seats that swivel in a Jon boat or "V" bottom boat, allowing the hunter to be comfortable, but also turn toward the target in any direction that game will come from.
    • Seating in a kayak or canoe is more difficult, due to how low to the operator must sit. You can simply anchor the boat in the direction of the approach of game, then use seating that attaches the boat appropriately. Another plus is that using seats gives you more back support.
  6. Include some other key accessories to further customize your boat for hunting.

    • You will need to add a ladder that can be used by a dog to get out of the water if you hunt with a dog. You will also need a place for him to sit or lay where he is not sitting in water. Use an open wooden floor or pallet that lines the bottom of the boat's flat surface and can be pulled out to dry. You can clean it out from underneath it as well. A simple and cheap option would also be a fiber doormat.
    • Storage of the weapons or guns is another consideration. You do not want the guns to be lying loose around the inside of the boat when moving from shore to the hunting site. Gun racks or lockers that mount to a flat surface of the boat can be bought or made by you to customize a location on the boat for storage of your weapons.

Tips

  • Hunting is a popular sport, and there are numerous commercial sites and stores that can aid you in customizing your boat for hunting.

Warnings

  • Be sure that you know the regulations for hunting and boating before you begin customizing your boat for hunting. You would hate to see all the work and money you put into a boat lost because the boat is not usable.

Things You'll Need

  • Camouflage paint
  • Camouflage netting
  • 4 anchors
  • Seats
  • Gun racks or storage lockers
  • Pontoons that mount to each side of a kayak or canoe for stability
  • Dog ladder
  • Removal wooden flooring or pallets or fiber welcome doormat

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References

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