1974 Beachcomber Fiberglass Ice Shanty

[robbiej]

I am building an ice shack that will double as a "hunting cabin" with my teenage son.  We purchased a very rough condition 1974 Beachcomber and started working on it this summer.  The hours we have put into it are getting quite substantial but well worth the effort! My wife, daughter and some of our friends also have a significant amount of time put in but this is definitely a one of a kind.  We started with a 14ft trailer (inside 11ft by 6.5). The roof was falling in, the floor was heavily in need of repair and several holes in the wall needed repaired.  It may have been easier to start from scratch but we wanted a fiberglass shell. 

The original plan was:
- two benches and 1 table that would turn into a bed
- Solar panel, satellite dish and tv (for watching world junior hockey!)
- wood stove
- camo paint job
- cedar walls
- Utilize "Catch cover accessories'
- minimum 3 round holes and one large hole

We are near 80% completed now.  "All" that is remaining is to  finish cedar work, stain wood, complete wiring (solar bracket is installed, wiring is almost ready to install), build wooden window coverings and install flooring. Also, to prevent any leaks I am having the roof spray foamed next week. The cushions should be ready within 2 weeks.   We are on target to be ready for Mid-December when the lakes and river should be frozen over.   I am reviewing the "how to add pictures" post and hope to have some up later today

[robbiej]

this picture is after gutting it and once we started repairing the floor. This is the end the large hole will be as well as the benches



 this is the picture of the interior as we reinforced the walls and the roof

(Can these pictures be zoomed in or do I need to upload larger pictures?)

[allymeagan]

Looks like something I could live in!! Way to go!

[hardwater diehard]

(Image removed from quote.)

(Can these pictures be zoomed in or do I need to upload larger pictures?)

You can make them larger ...post to a maximum width of 640 pixels

[robbiej]

Here is the exterior after the majority of the body work was completed



This is before paint

[robbiej]

Here it is after painting was completed

[robbiej]

Here is the interior, there is still a lot of work to do here but progressing

Benches framed


benches sheeted


Wood stove is now installed on the front, cedar has been started. Will post those pictures another time

Here is the solar panel mount and chimney flashing, still require spray foam on roof

[robbiej]

Here is one of the current stage of the interior.  The black "boxes" where the holes meet the wall are because I had to cheat the holes as tight as possible to miss the frame of the trailer.  This allowed me to still utilize "catch covers".

[hardwater diehard]

You really should resize them pictures to give your Shanty the Justice it deserves

[robbiej]

I keep trying but maybe it is the site I am on, they keep shrinking.  I will make sure I figure it out before posting the "completed' pictures!  Thanks for the compliment, we are pretty happy with the progress!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Very nice.

[mr.clean]

Robbiej welcome to Ice Shanty. Thank you for posting the photos ,very nice looking shanty.
Steve

[DLB]

What Mr. Clean said.  Perhaps you can try photobucket.com for your pictures.  Its free and pretty simple to use once you get the hang of it when you want to post pictures at a web site.

[Corndog]

Very nice!
And welcome to the Shanty!

[Thearcher1340]

I would love to fish out of one of those luxury hotels, very nice

[robbiej]

Thanks everyone and I appreciate the advice on posting pictures.  I will continue to post progress updates

Here are some larger ones

Outside Before
 

Outside Current Stage
   

Inside Before


Inside Current Stage

[Shack man Shoney]

Wow!!! Very nice work, this is going to be a really neat shack. Keep the pictures coming!!!

[Mncrappie]

Badass

[Ice Scratcher]

That thing is turning out great!!

Looking forward to more..

<°)))>{

[hardwater diehard]

robbiej  you should add your location to your profile ...local IS members may want to say a howdy do if the see that work of art on the ice .


 

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I hope you catch the fish of a lifetime in it.

[P Meyette]

very nice looking

[robbiej]

Ok! Think I have location updated (Sask) and just finished working on some more interior cedar.  Got to say it is looking better each day. The square hole can be taken out and "blocked" or can be covered and used as a round hole. I am building a drop in "box " out of angle iron and puck board as the sleeve. 

[robbiej]

I hope you catch the fish of a lifetime in it.

Thank you!  (And everyone else for the kind words; It is rewarding to show pictures after all the hours into it! Can't wait to slay our first 20lb pike or 10lb walleye in it!!)

[Agronomist_at_IA]

keep the pics coming, that is really cool how you redid that. I seen somewhere the 18in catch cover sleeves were on clerance. guessing those might be handy for ya. So I see you went solar powered, do you also have a spot for  a generator to plug in? I take it you have a few plug ins in the shack?


love the camo.....who did the camo paint?

[old truck guy]

Looks SWEET!!! That paint job is pretty cool. I like the cedar in the unit as well. Good choice on the hole covers. Enjoy! 

[robbiej]

Thanks! Yes , the sleeves would be great (I am looking for glow ones , 18", to cut down). My wife did the paint job, it looks fantastic in person, was a lot of fun.  For the solar I have a homemade mount that hinges to 70 degrees (capture winter sun) and has two 125 watt panels. I have (4) 6 volt batteries jumped as 12 volt with a battery charge display and inverter. Also have a bypass so I can plug in to charge or run genset to power the shack and charge the batteries.  with this system even if the week is cloudy I should get 16hours of satellite and tv on the weekend (plenty for hockey night in Canada )

[robbiej]

Looks SWEET!!! That paint job is pretty cool. I like the cedar in the unit as well. Good choice on the hole covers. Enjoy!

Thank you, The cedar looks great with the camo. We have a few more pieces (like the frame around the big hole) we painted in camo for the interior.  Turned out pretty cool.  Should have the front done over the next couple days and will post pics of wood stove and front two holes.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Ok! Think I have location updated (Sask) and just finished working on some more interior cedar.  Got to say it is looking better each day. The square hole can be taken out and "blocked" or can be covered and used as a round hole. I am building a drop in "box " out of angle iron and puck board as the sleeve. 

(Image removed from quote.)

So what do you want the "block" hole for? Spearing in shallows or something like that?

[robbiej]

I personally just love watching the fish swim to the hole and take the hook.  once the window coverings are in and the trailer is dark the Large hole should look like a bright tv screen  and nothing gets the blood pumping like a large fish lurking!