Duck Boats and Blind Grass

Updated: August 3, 2024 BY David R. Vaught, Ph.D.

Estimated reading time: 16 minutes

In the world of waterfowl, “hide” is key.  Ducks can see and hear, but getting a good hide is top of the list for a good day of hunting.  I concede I have been on great duck hunts where the “X” was all important and whether you hid or not made no difference.  The ducks wanted in and nothing was going to stop them, not even me.  But more often we are not on the “X” but rather close by, within sight, within sound and our effort to hide means everything.  Let me emphasize, I mean it is everything!

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It’s all about the hide and Blind Grass provides as close to the real corn color as possible.  Its durability and resilience to water adds even more to the value.
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Once you weave the Blind Grass in with some raffia you get the texture you need to really hide.  Otherwise after trailering and use the camouflage becomes matted and less useful.

Experience Brings Preference

Where I hunt and where many hunt any type of waterfowl, corn is king.  I have had some great timber hunts, but these are marshes I speak of, fields or flooded corn.  In that thought our hide has to replicate as closely as possible the environment we are hunting.  I tend to favor my 14-foot Refuge Runner by Four Rivers layout boat to help me manage my hide.  The boat has to be one the best boats ever made regardless of the boat type.  It is capable of hauling a huge load, sitting low in the water, stable, and comfortable.  But alas problems do plague me in using this boat – namely the camouflage needed to make it concealed. 

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The matting is from use that tends to leave behind an outline less concealable.
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So much effort goes into getting it just right, but over time the hours on the road, water, wear and tear all take their toll.  It seems like for so many of us, once we start to get set up we have to add camouflaging to the boat again to blend it in or to cover what blew off on the way to hunt. 

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The profile of the layout boat or your blind, field layout, or panel is flat with little texture to really blend in.  Blind Grass remains stiff but bends easily returning to its original shape.
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Not much useful camouflage left.  What there is is nothing more than a wick eventually adding weight to your boat.  The same holds true for carrying in wet panels or field layout blinds.  Blind Grass does not retain water.  Also nothing worse than a frozen boat.

Blind Grass

Blind Grass to the rescue.  Their company began in 2018 with many, many years of waterfowl experience.  They had one over-arching goal and that was to find a better way to camouflage blinds, boats, and field hunting pits for the long haul.  Season after season they were faced with damage due to people, animals, and weather leaving behind the need to constantly re-cover and replace natural materials for concealment.  Jay Thomas and his crew have developed synthetic grass that is waterproof, crushproof, mildew-proof, rot, and freeze-proof.  The colors they offer are designed to blend into any waterfowl environment including Rice/Corn/Johnson Grass, Wintergreen, and Fall Blend. 

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Color, shape, venation, keel, and twist all resemble the real thing that so many of us have tried to use with little long-term luck.  The detail and effort Blind Grass has incorporated is unique and versatile.
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A shock of wintergreen grass is perfect for early season Teel or areas where it never fully turns brown.  Show goose hunting in a winter wheat field is another use of the green.
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Here you see the detail and comparison to both corn and fall dark coloration.
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The fall dark color is slight but effective in moist soil cover.  If necessary, it blends in perfectly with corn as well.
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Sheets are 24” x 48” and are hand wired to make them durable and strong.  These sheets stand up so little is required to hold them in place in an upright position.  These are perfect for panels, portable and fixed blinds, and boats.
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I received enough to do my layout boat but first I needed to strip off all the old raffia grass that I had added as needed to replace what had worn or blown off.  This was a yearly, but often weekly need.  An eight-pound bundle doubled will make about 16 bundles ten inches wide and twenty-four inches tall.   Some of the layers I removed were colors I no longer wanted.  Raffia grass is tenacious stuff that can be as strong as wire. 

Sometimes you cannot break it and when it gets into your prop all systems stop.  It is also unfortunately water absorbent so once wet it gets heavy, takes a while to dry, will freeze the boats into a block of ice, and rots if it does not dry.  It does though have some benefits to camouflaging especially when combined with the Blind Grass. Of note here too is that raffia grass has different looks.  Some of it is leafy while other is stringy.  The stringy material holds less water.

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To the left you can see one style of raffia is leafier and therefore holds more water.  To the right are examples of more stringy, stronger, and less water-absorbent raffia.
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Miscanthus is a yard ornamental that in the fall produces a fluffy top and corn colored leaves.  Landscapers typically cut these down in the late fall so the material is available and very good.  I used this for many years but it too get wet and becomes brittle and tough to use.
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When Raffia hangs over the edge it is a mess.  It wicks water, will foul a prop, and can also trip you up if you get it caught in a leg or foot.  The stuff is so tough you can’t pull it apart.  

I wanted Rice/Corn/Johnson grass as those tans blend in so well with my typical hunting environment.  The grass is so realistic it contains the background color, but also includes the typical black mold you see on corn leaves along with the keeled shape of the leaves. 

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Here are two of your options for purchasing Blind Grass.  Follow the link above to see all their styles and colors.

My Four Rivers boat is also covered with KW-1 patterned Cordura and this includes nylon straps sown along the material for attaching your material.  Most blinds also have these straps to help hold on grass or other types of concealment.  If yours does not you can add them or cut slots into the material to attach the grass.  Some panels have elastic bands that will hold the material.

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I mentioned volume and by that I mean the camouflage and its ability to become dimensional and not just a flat texture less covering. 
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Pretty obvious what the wind does to the covering – it tears it, mats it, and weaves it into a messy effort at concealment.
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Here the doors have been stripped showing the nylon straps used to tie the Blind Grass. 
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Pretty messy underneath, but the dirt and mud take the shine off the material.  Straps are on the front and the back deck.
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This is enough left over to do at least another boat.  I couldn’t believe how much I removed.  Imagine this all wet – maybe adding 50 pounds to the boat.
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This is just the back half removed.  You can see the knots and some of this was re-used because it was the stringy type I prefer.

Once I had the old grass removed I started weaving the new Blind Grass into the loops.  I was provided plenty so I put two pieces in each loop using a cow/girth/larks head knot, which is simply folding the blade in two then passing the folded end through the loop and then pulling the loose ends through the loop.  Once pulled tight this will never come off.  Each piece is 48” so you have about 24” doubled.  As I added pieces I wove them into the loops so I could better see where I would add the raffia grass and additional texture.  I alternated the grass on each row and used the better, stringier grass I had taken off previously. 

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The straps are divided and I placed two shocks in each.  Starting from the bottom, I laced them upward so I could later pull some out to create the texture I wanted.
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From another angle, you can see the five horizontal straps used to secure the Blind Grass.

The straps are ½” and are secured to the Cordura cover.  I was able to both tie the blades to the straps and weave the blades under the straps.

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The door is flipped closed and you can see the flexibility of the Blind Grass.  There are two rows on the lower portion of the boat and those are pulled up to keep clear of the water.
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Note here how well the top stands up without wanting to fold over.
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This is the first blush of the raffia tied into the Blind Grass for texture.  Much was later trimmed and shortened. 

Once all was in place I reached in and pulled out the blades to allow them to stand out and up.  The end result is impressive and will be a perfect blend of the flooded corn. The front of the boat I did in the same way.  On both sides, I lowered the doors and trimmed all the raffia from near the waterline to make sure that did not get soaked.  The new Blind Grass is synthetic and will not absorb water.  I did not cover the back deck, as that is where I store empty decoy bags. 

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The back deck was stripped and was not covered, as this is typically where I store empty decoy bags. 
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I left the Blind Grass hanging over as it will not absorb water. 

As an off-season project, this was a few days of work.  I was impressed with how much I removed that did not go back on the boat.  If you can imagine a pile of raffia grass big enough to fill a huge garbage bag and then consider how much it weighs when wet.  The new and improved version is certainly going to be the envy of my friends.  I can now show up after a long haul, put my boat in, and hunt with little time spent re-camouflaging and rebuilding my cover.  I also know this will last season after season. 

In The End

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So here is a front view before it was stripped and Blind Grass was added. 

SEE MORE: The Blind Bag – More Than You Need & Never Enough

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Once the Blind Grass is pulled up and through the raffia, the resulting cover is outstanding and will last many miles of hard trailering and use.
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New look with the sun hitting the blades.  I am really looking forward to hunting this boat with renewed confidence in my hide.
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This is with the doors closed.  Most often I cant the doors to the center letting them stand a little taller.
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With the doors closed little is revealed and anything you want to conceal including yourself and your gear is perfect.

Costs

Blind Grass     8 Pound Bundle MSRP $69.95

                        20 pound Bundle MSRP $174.95

                        2-pack 48” x 24” panel MSRP $54.95

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About the author: David R. Vaught, Ph.D. began hunting waterfowl at a young age due to his father being a waterfowl biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Today he hunts both public and private waterfowl grounds and is always working on something related to waterfowl throughout the year. He loves to turkey hunt and fish for walleye and crappie in the spring. David is a university professor, holds an NRA Level II coaching certification and works with youth in trap and skeet shooting in the summer with his annual trap-shooting academy.

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  • Schulte, Max December 1, 2023, 3:57 pm

    When I first built a blind for my 18′ jon boat I used the die cut camo and attached it to the blind frame with wire ties. Looked good but blew way too much when windy. Following year I started using woven palm mats. They looked good and I would get 2 to 3 seasons out of them if I was lucky. Finally went to the Military netted camo. It looks good and has been durable. It hangs good. When the hunt is over I use bungee ties to secure it for travel.

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