One man permanent shack build completed Dec-2020

[Skywagon]

I decided to build a one man permanent shack to add to the fleet, something to jump from spot to spot with no setup required.  The base of this shack is a 52" X 12' freight hauling toboggan that I had built a few years ago.  This thing will haul a big load with no effort, it just floats, I wanted that ability with an ice shack, something that would not bog down like skids do in deep snow and slush.  I decided to utilize the existing toboggan because I had it, but otherwise would have constructed something similar out of UHMW to use as the skid.



The base of the shack is 4' X 8' constructed of 2X4's with a sheet of treated 3/4" plywood screwed on top for a floor, the walls will fit on that base.  I cut 2 holes on one end of the plywood that is hanging 20" off the back end of the toboggan, I will fish out of one hole and put the transducer in the other.



Since I am 6'3" I designed the shack to be that height at the entrance, then used a 5 degree pitch for the roof.  The walls and roof were pre-fabbed out of 2 X 4 lumber, then assembled on the plywood floor



OSB sheeting was used for the walls, I cut out a spot in the end for a plexiglass window, the door in the side was salvaged from a tenant house, the metal for the roof was some that was left over from another project. 




I painted the walls red for better visibility.  The shack is rock solid, plenty of room for one person.  If heat is needed it will be a Big Buddy heater, insulation may get added in the future, yet to be seen.

I pulled the shack directly from the shop down to the lake for a test run to check out it's handling characteristics, it was stable and turned/pulled easily, floating over the snow just as it had when it was loaded heavily with 2000 pounds of building materials.  It should make moving from spot to spot during the day a non-event, no set-up required.









The 2X4 base frame attaches to the toboggan in four places on each side, easy on and off when the toboggan needs to be used for other purposes.

[bart]

Nice shack, nicely put to together!

[Gunflint]

Nice shack, nicely put to together!

X2! Great job!

[Iceassin]

Excellent!

[filetandrelease]

 Very nice 👍

[Raquettedacker]

That'll work.   Nice job..

[ship of fools]

That is flat out awesome - well done. I'd love to have that as my deer blind!

[Fish Butcher]

SOLID!

[P Meyette]

very nice

[DrummerManDrew]

Very cool man! I enjoy how all of these build incorporate something different from what everyone does and makes it their own. Great work!

[jethro]

Yep, I like it!

[Redneck Fishfinder]

That looks awesome! I am inspired to build one myself now. What are the dimensions of that one?

[Skywagon]

That looks awesome! I am inspired to build one myself now. What are the dimensions of that one?

The dimensions are 4' X 8' wide and 75" high on one side and 79" on the other to account for the 5 degree pitch of the roof.  4' X 8' works out well, as it allows for full sheets of plywood and/or OSB for the floor and sides, they only need to be cut for the height you choose.  Full length 2X4's X 8' are long enough for all the framing.  The same shack with a flat roof would be simpler to build (not having to miter for the pitched roof), but since mine will be sitting out all year, I wanted to make sure rain would run off of it easily.

[Redneck Fishfinder]

I was thinking of building something bigger but now that you mention it 4x8 is much easier to haul/transport, it's lighter, and stronger structurally. Maybe smaller is better. I want to put a small woodstove in it. I don't like the humidity caused by the buddy heater.

[Skywagon]

I was thinking of building something bigger but now that you mention it 4x8 is much easier to haul/transport, it's lighter, and stronger structurally. Maybe smaller is better. I want to put a small woodstove in it. I don't like the humidity caused by the buddy heater.

I have woodstoves in both my big shacks.  I installed the walk-in door to open to the outside, this was done to conserve room in case sometime in the future I do want to install a wood stove. 

[Redneck Fishfinder]

I’ve seen people make tiny wood stoves out of ammo boxes, one of those might be good for that.

[iceman260]

Nice build what is the toboggan made out of.

[Skywagon]

Nice build what is the toboggan made out of.

It is UHMW (commercial type of plastic) 3/8" thick, it is very tough stuff, I have hit many a stump with it in the bush hauling big loads, it does not phase it.  UHMW is used for rock truck bed liners, grain leg buckets and many other applications that require something that will hold up to abrasion. I bought mine from a truck bed place, but it is available from many other sources.

[jethro]

That sheet of plastic is awesome! You could haul anything on that! I really like this setup. The toboggan idea is great, that makes a natural sloped surface how you have it hook to the hitch like that. Must go over nasty stuff pretty well. Sorry if I missed it, but any idea what it all weighs? That plastic must be pretty heavy itself. 350lb shack altogether?

[Skywagon]

That sheet of plastic is awesome! You could haul anything on that! I really like this setup. The toboggan idea is great, that makes a natural sloped surface how you have it hook to the hitch like that. Must go over nasty stuff pretty well. Sorry if I missed it, but any idea what it all weighs? That plastic must be pretty heavy itself. 350lb shack altogether?

I did not make an effort to keep it light since the toboggan makes that a non-issue.  I wanted something roomy/comfortable, so went a little bigger than would have been necessary.  If I did not mind bending down the shack could have been lowered, it could have been shorter, more weight could have been saved by using 2"x2" lumber, 1/2" plywood on the floor, lighter weight metal sheeting or a plastic material could have been used on the walls rather than OSB.   

3/8" UHMW plastic weights 1.84lbs per square foot.  Attached to the UHMW is 1" square light wall tubing spaced out at 2' intervals for material, or in this case an ice shack to sit on.  My toboggan is 12' long, I would have made a shorter one if it was purpose build just for the ice shack.  I really don't know exactly what my shack weighs, but would guess it may be in excess of 500lbs, that weight could have been cut substantially if it was necessary.

[SKIFFLAKEJIMMY]

Has anybody out there used shrink wrap to enclosed a shanty?

[wyler]

I remember one guy about 4 years ago made a really nice one and used leftover boat wrap.

[wyler]

Has anybody out there used shrink wrap to enclosed a shanty?

Search "building a tip down shanty" the post is by Beeler on Sept 21 2013

[AndyJ]

I like how close the surface of the water is to the floor.  So much easier pulling the big ones out.

[SKIFFLAKEJIMMY]

Search "building a tip down shanty" the post is by Beeler on Sept 21 2013

Thanks Wyler!

[ancman31]

That looks great! Awesome job on the build, really appreciate the step by step instructions. I'm sure it will suit you perfectly 

[VTLakers]

Simple and beautiful. great idea with the toboggan, when We built ours we had skids on it and youre right about the deep snow, thing turned into a plow with anything over 8 inches of snow.