We are thinking about building a shack for a local lake in Iowa for this winter. Looking for any ideas or a basic simple floor plan. We would like to keep it lite as possible since will use it for few hours during week and weekends. If anyone has a floor plan or has built one suggestions would be great.
Ice shacks are not exactly PERMANENT, however, some of the older Norskies up here have tried marking the holes in their fish houses that produce the best….kinda like remembering which sideada boat ya caught the big one on, ja heh? Good luck down in Bachmann country. (Did she learn all she needed to know about fishing there too?) 
Do you want one big enough to sleep in?
We will not be sleeping in it,just looking for a small shack to build. I would think 8x8x8, just big enough for 2 guys to fish out of. This is going to be put on a small lake that has decent panfish in it. Basically want to build a shack so we can run out there after work fish awhile and head home without having to put up a portable.
The first one I ever built was an 8 x 8. I used 3/4″ treated plywood and treated 2 x 4s for the floor. Top and bottom plate were all 2 x 4. The walls were all 1/4″ plywood with 2 x 2 studs. Roof was steel with a vapor barrier.
It was very very light and surprisingly durable for having only 1/4″ plywood walls. I used 2″ styrofoam sheets cut to size for the insulation. It stayed toasty warm with just a small little sunflower and fished 2 comfortably. We kept it for 2 years before upgrading to a larger model.
I would suggest offsetting the side walls (having one higher than the other) to create a bit of a slanted roof. With only 2 x 2 as studs, the extra snow on the roof could put undue stress on the walls and studs. Having a slight slant with a metal roof will help it melt and slide off better.
We used to do the permanent thing. Too much work. There’s storage, need a trailer to move it, maintenance on it, it gets warm and you have to get it off the lake like right now, people breaking into it, you are the one taking care of it cause your buddy is busy etc. I’d consider getting one of the bigger Otters. I have the Lodge and it easily fishes 2 people and takes all of 2 minutes to drag it out of the truck and set up. Just athought.
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