My shack build with a few cool mods

[Layne]

The shack was framed using 2x4 and 2x2 and the exterior is sheeted in 3/8" OSB which has been painted black. The entire bottom of the shack has been sheeted with 1/4" puckboard to prevent freeze up and rides on 2x4 skids which have also been covered in 1/4" puckboard - you would not believe how well this shack slides on ice and snow nor did it ever come close to getting frozen to the ice.

It is fully insulted using 1.5" thick  R7.5 pink foam and holds an amazing ammount of heat thanks to the custom built wood burning stove(2 months old). Blacked out 4" exhaust pipe comes out through the roof through a CNC cut aluminium flange and has been sealed up using high temperature silicone inside and out.. no leaks!

Big tinted 1/4" lexan windows gives you a 360 degree view of the lake and your tipup spread and help keep people out, theses windows do not break and the smoked tint keeps them from fogging up from condensation.

The interior features foam padded benches hinged with storage underneath, this makes for a very comfortable day hanging out in the shack. There are 6 holes with covers so you can comfortably fish 2-6 people. A large 8' long ABS shelf is ultra light weight and provides lots of storage for all your supplies. Light is provided by a 16" florescent tube which runs off a 12v battery thanks to the power inverter setup. A battery will last a full weekend using the light every night, playing music, charging your cell phones/flashers, ect! Coat hooks and a axe mount help keep things organized, brand new lightweight ABS shutters keep the sun out of your face and intruders from seeing in while you are away. The shack also features a fold down 1/4" acrylic table which is very strong and allows you to see through the window when folded up, the table is less than an inch thick when folded against the wall and is plenty strong enough to support most anything.








I started building this shack last year and only managed to get it out for a few weeks but I enjoyed it alot, now that the bite has slowed down a bit its time to put out the permy again so Ive been doing some mods to get it ice ready this weekend. It fits in the back of a pickup truck, can be lifted by 2-3 guys, is fully insulated with 1.5" r 7.5 pink foam, 3/8" OSB exterior, 1/4 tinted lexan windows and measures around 8x7x7', the floor is 4x8'. Dont mind the bad pictures, Ill try and get some good ones as soon as it hits the ice. Keep checking back for updates too as I have a few more tricks up my sleeve for this build.

2x4 floor, with painted OSB on the interior


full 1/4" puckboard bottom, flush cut - skids mount to this for an absolute no stick surface on the ice


framed


sheeted and on the ice last season


in transport


paint and abs trim





name plate


homemade stove


cnc cut aluminium roof flange for the woodburner


4" exhaust pipe mounted in flange


stove in place


2x4 skids, angled with 1/4" puckboard, 1 man can move this shack around the ice


im running 12v electrical off a hardwired inverter, powers 3 plug ins and my 16 florescent light, battery runs for 12+ hours


the first lightweight ABS shelf, 2 more and a cabinet in the works



heres something I KNOW you guys havent seen yet, a fold down acrylic table. Made it clear so I can still see through the window when its folded up. Its very rigid for its weight, I wouldnt sit on it but for most anything it will be just fine.






Stay tuned as theres much more to come, more lightweight shelving/cabinets, abs trim, diamond plate around the stove, rod holders, slide out bunk bed, cup holders, ect, ect. It never ends but its a labour of love, hope you guys enjoy it.

[pooley]

that is awesome! best of luck with it. looking forward to more additions!!

[Layne]

Thanks man, I forgot to add that I will be sheeting the interior after this ice season. I just need to get it on the lake ASAP. In a few years when the OSB starts getting junky I will be redoing the exterior with black 3mm dibond, super lightweight and very strong.

[akdube]

Sweet set up man should provide hours of beer drinking with some fish thrown in.

[BigDVO]

Very nice design! What do you figure the cost of materials is?

[Rubicon]

That is one of the best iv'e seen, nice job 

[Layne]

Very nice design! What do you figure the cost of materials is?

Probably somewhere in the 1250-1500$ range right now and ive gotten lucky with alot of freebies too, I work at a plastic fabrication/cnc shop so that helped cut costs imensely.

Tonight were hoping to get the slide out bench/bunk finished, some more ABS trim on, and we need to address the curtains/shutters. The shack is hitting the ice on saturday no matter what so its time to get it done. More updates soon.

Cheers!

[SGM]

Very nice work.  Is it difficult to unload?

[walleyecliffguy]

love the castle, keep us posted on all the improvements as always, good fishin'

[gillblues]

thats really cool ! how will you load and unload it .

[jimmycrown]

nice build. cant wait to see it final

[Greg2ha]

Awesome! Table is really cool touch man!

[Layne]

It actually loads/unloads quite easy. Its a 2 or 3 man operation and all you do is lift one side(it balances quite nice) then back to truck up to it and drop it in the bed, once rested on the truck the puckboard allows you to slide it in quite easily. If a guy wanted to you could easily use ramps and a winch to load it as well. I usually have lots of man power around so I havent had a problem moving yet, once on the ice one person can push it around with ease.

Cant wait to use it for a few weeks now. 

[NHDanO]

Looks great, where did you get the puckboard?

[Layne]

Looks great, where did you get the puckboard?

We sell it at our shop so it was a donation to the company shack.

[jigisup]

 Congrats on a job well done.

[beats66]

Dude,  that thing is awesome!  I'm into building things myself and. Coming up with ideas that are different and make things easier out there; you my friend, are my hero!  This spring I'm looking to do something like that but on a much smaller scale. Thanks for some great ideas and keep up the great work!  Thanks for posting!

[iceman4667]

NICE

[Layne]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I figured if anyone wanted to see pictures of this thing it would be the fine folks at ice shanty.

We got it out on the ice yesterday, wasent easy but we did it. Usually I have one of my friends haul it in their longbox trucks but with nobody around this weekend we were on our own. Seeing as its a pretty large shack to put in a half ton I thought I would be smart and tow it to my spot in a trailer, big mistake. I took my old mans truck seeing as mine isnt wired up for towing yet, 05 chevy with a 2" lift and 34" tires and I was pulling a borrowed 7x12" utility trailer with a wide stance. The snow on the lake was deep and we had to plow our own trail for about a kilometer with the trailer fighting us the entire time, it wouldnt stay in our tracks so it was like pulling dead weight the whole way.

We did manage to get it in our spot around 5 pm, fired up the wood stove and we were fishing. Fishing was slow that evening but we decide to spend the night in the shack so we could get an early start fishing today. It was -30 or colder the whole trip and the shack kept rediculously warm, throughout the night it stayed pretty comfortable and we only had to stoke the stove 3 times between 1 am and 7 am. Foam covered benches made for a pretty good sleep actually, I plan on doing a few mods to make sleeping in there better as I quite enjoy the overnight trips and I'd love to get the girlfriend out there one night.

Fished out of the shack all day today as it was brutal outside and we absolutely hammered the perch. I was pretty surpised we didnt get any dogs or walleyes but when you have steady perch action you cant really complain, between eyecatcher and I we must have caught over 100 perch today ranging from 7-11.5 inches. Kept a few for a nice feed and sent the rest back to grow.

Im hoping to get out there with my truck next weekend to beat down a good trail to make access easier for my friends, the snows getting hard so without good tires and clearance getting around is really slow going. Im also hoping for warmer weather next weekend, I need to be able to get outside to find the walleyes and when I do I will reposition the shack hopefully for the last time. More pictures next weekend if we have warmer weather.

Cheers

[Layne]

Spent another weekend in the shack including an overnighter, Ive got a few pictures to share of it on the lake once I get a chance to upload them. With proper wood we only had to stoke the fire one time throughout the night which was awesome, this shack is super warm I need to figure out a better way to vent the heat.

The plastic floor is doing its job, came back out to find the shack sitting in several inches of slush but with a quick lift from a couple big guys the shack broke free like nothing.

Stay tuned for more pictures and mods, its ice shack season right now.

[snowman6902]

Some great ideas and cool mods you got there. Nice work. Enjoy it!!

[stingerhook]

Shack looks awesome..can't wait to see more pic's, good luck on the fish-in.

Stingerhook out.

[mricefish]

some good ideas, like the clear table

[Mikefix]

I have been thinking of building a shack that 8x10 with a 5.1/2x10 floor and my skis system will fit under the over hang and fit in my trailer.Tree years of fishing with a shack and every year modifying it so it is easrier and more comfortable to use.I can move this shack faster than you can with a portable. The runner system is fantastic.Two minutes to hook the shack hitch up. Two minutes to pull the anchors. Thirty seconds to raise the shack and thirty sec to flag the hole. Best of all, never again bank your shack. The skirt system does not freeze in the ice.
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[markjsolomon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocnMvzrvHUA (ftp://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocnMvzrvHUA)

[adipose]

some sweet touches on the build there layne. I like the personalized name plate. I love doing things like this also. Now i know where im comin to warm up or should i say settle up. What time is happy hour?

[Layne]

Took it off the lake on sunday, season number two is over. It takes 3 guys to load it and two to unload it, just need to watch for branches and powerlines haha.