I’d been hunting the Mississippi River out of a Carsten Bluebill. It is a stable 12 fiberglass boat and my 9.5 Low Profile Johnson was fast and reliable. However, there wasn’t any room to take another hunter. With my dog, 4 dozen decoys and all the other hunting gear, it was a tight fit. In addition, when the winds picked up to 18+ mph, I just couldn’t go out.

Therefore when the season ended, I started looking for a bigger rig with a mud motor. In March, I finally found just what I wanted here on MMT. I bought InspectorDuck’s rig. The trailer was too big for my garage, but we settled on buying just the boat and motor. I drove over to Illowa Marine to buy a new trailer with a swing-away tongue. The trip from northern Illinois to Little Rock, Arkansas was a quick turn-around, non-stop grind.

The next day I took the rig to Illowa for a few upgrades - extended deck, drill/cut openings for a switch panel and running lights and a transom step. A few weeks later (I was in no hurry), I picked the boat up and started working on the wiring. I put in a bilge pump and may add another automatic backup. There are now two batteries - one for the motor and another for accessories. I had plenty of time to do this because my garage was fairly warm and I’m retired, but winter was “keeping at it”.

I spent a month reading, talking and posting questions about Hydro Turf. Taking this extra time allowed me to reach a satisfactory plan for installation. During this time I tinkered with "what and how" to use the T channel. I wanted to mount several rings for bungee cords. I ended up installing stainless steel hardware and made a tool which allows for placing the nut inside. At the same time I installed a fishing Bimini. The ad seemed to suggest it would come with a boot. It didn't. So after I called to complain (waste of time there), I made one myself out of some extra “camo” Cordura.

At last I was ready to order my Hydro turf. Looking at samples, I ordered three of the large sheets of green camo. In a short time it arrive and I began measuring and cutting each piece. I took my time.

I have worked with Weldwood Contact glue quite a bit when making boat blinds and holding blinds for dog training. It works very well with Cordura. The biggest negative is that it’s very “stringy”. Hydro turf technical support recommended using Parabond M 250, so I had to drive into Chicago for the nearest dealer. It worked super and is not very “stringy” (not nearly enough to worry about).

After reading all the warnings about needing help when installing, I spent some time developing an installation scheme which would avoid any problems. Each piece was installed solo…….no help. I started with the smallest pieces and continued to the final two - the extended deck and floor. It was easy.

I have a few more things to do before it goes in the water. Battery and gas tank brackets have to be installed under the front deck. The gas tank needs a longer fuel line. I need to mount brackets for a fire extinguisher and a trickle charger (accessories battery). And last, but very important, the motor will have a total maintenance “session”. The best part of this deal is the total time on the “tach” is fourteen hours. It’s like new!

That's a sweet looking rig.

very clean rig man..... congrats looks like you really put some time in!

Extremely good job on this rig man, it's real nice

Should be a good two man rig.

One thing for sure, I wouldn't have this boat or learned what to work towards without the help of MMT. Thanks!