Dean’s Quacker Whacker
Cory Dean of Spirit Lake, Iowa built a boat blind he calls the “Quacker Whacker” on a base consisting of a 17-foot Polar Craft boat powered by an 85 hp Yamaha motor.

“I didn’t build the boat, but I’ve tweaked it to be the way I envisioned it,” Dean said. “It never seems to be finished and I’m always coming up with new ways of preparing it for each season. The boat is really a part of the family in a weird way and of course, when the season starts, it has its own parking spot and is ready to go at the sound of a duck call.”

The blind is made of 1⁄2-inch square tubing, which is covered by .80-gauge aluminum sheeting. Web wire (two- by four-inch dog kennel wire) fencing was added over the outside of the aluminum walls for the purpose of attaching tumbleweeds or other vegetation to provide camouflage.

The blind has forward covers that that flip open. When they are closed, they conceal hunters completely, angling from the low front and leaning against the top. The covers are merely sections of wire fencing covered with grass mats and vegetation.

A bench runs beneath the higher side of the blind with the flip covers in front of the hunters offering complete concealment when closed. The bench is used for sitting and as a storage area for PFDs, tools and other necessities. All of the decoys are stowed in bags set around the blind.

Steering is done from a steering console set in the front of the boat for visibility purposes. There would be no way to see out of any other spot in the boat.

The inside of the Quaker Wacker.

The bind has four heaters, with three inside the blind and one under the front deck at the bow to keep ice from forming on the metal deck and to keep the dog warm in his hunting position when he is sitting on top of the bow. There is also a cooking stove with three burners, an XM satellite radio and a CD player. The boat is also wired to operate a Mallard Machine and some other electric wobble-type decoys.

Dean said the boat handles as well in shallow water as it does in deep water. Four hunters can sit comfortable on the bench seat and the dog can remain outside of the blind, after gaining access to the bow via a door in the blind wall at the center of the bow. Keeping the dog on the bow keeps water out of the blind after a retrieve has been completed.

Tumbleweeds are attached to the wire fencing on the sides of the boat and artificial grass or grass mats are used on the front of the boat and on the flip covers. If attached to the front of the boat blind, tumbleweeds can be stripped while the boat is being trailered to the hunting site.