# Show me your duck boat



## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

As I mentioned yesterday, I am trying to put a duck boat together. The only problem is that I've never been in a duck boat, never used a duck boat, and generally have no idea what I'm doing or what I need.

Hoping to learn how to do what I want to do by example, I'm asking you to post pictures of your duck boat and tell me what you like, don't like, want to change, and etc.

Here's my duck boat:


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

1648 Flat Jon W/ 27 HP Mudbuddy Longtail. Not much I would change with the style of hunting I do.


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## utahbigbull (May 9, 2012)




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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

One of the things that got me into building boats is that there is no one boat that will do everything that I want it to do well. I keep messing with designs to try to accomplish specific goals-it's a fun and rewarding process. Really you can turn just about any watercraft into a duck boat, the goal is to stay within the limitations that the hull gives you and try to play to its strengths, and do it safely. Here's some examples of approaching the same goals in a few different ways-

This is my 12'9" sneakboat when I had a surface drive on it, now I have the 14hp Backwater longtail on it. To me what makes a duckboat is the ability to carry a heavy load, to hide well, and to run well in shallow water and mud. A lot of guys like a boat blind but personally I like just grassing my boat up and hiding it in the cattails or phrag:


Here she is hidden up in a phrag patch, (this is with a different longtail, not the Backwater one)


This is my larger 14'3 duckboat, useful for hunting 2 or 3 people-


and on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, my poleboat for hunting the motorless areas and smaller waters-


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Pumpgunner, I don't use a boat blind either. I would totally destroy it where I take my boat. My boat is a little harder to hide because of the size, but I still manage to make it disappear. 
This was 2 weeks ago.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Fowlmouth said:


> 1648 Flat Jon W/ 27 HP Mudbuddy Longtail. Not much I would change with the style of hunting I do.


I got the same boat as fm but i have a 25 hp longtail on mine. nothing I would change ether.


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

you've already seen mine though. here it is again. 1436 w/ 13hp longtail


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## Billcollector (Oct 31, 2007)

Trust me, you will NEVER find the perfect duck boat. Many before you have tried, none have succeeded. You need to decide what style of hunter you are, and settle for one that covers most of your needs. Or if you are lucky enough, you can convince your wife you need a boat for the GSL/ice, one for mud/marsh, and one for bowfishing/fishing.


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## Gunner73 (Dec 3, 2007)

View attachment 49562
View attachment 49562


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## GoneGoosin (Aug 17, 2011)

*My Boat*

This is the second boat I've owned. It is an 1860 Excel F4 with a 45 HP Super Long tail. I bought this tank for the following reasons; I love to hunt Divers with a layout boat and this gives me oodles of room. I'm a neat freak and this boat has two gun boxes almost the entire length of the boat so everything has its place and never gets muddy, sounds weird for a duck hunter I know. I enjoy taking people out for a day on the marsh or shooting fish and this gives us plenty of room for 4-5 people as long as we aren't too heavy to make it out. Lastly, I like a stable, sturdy, safe boat that I can hunt ducks and carp from as well as take kids out fishing in. This boat does it all. The only drawback is the weight of the boat but there had to be a trade off. No dike jumping in this barge!

My previous boat was a 1648 War eagle. I loved that boat as well but it was a bit small to hunt Divers (see picture) and everything was in the open getting filthy and moved around with every outing. This boat had a 27 HP long tail. I agree with comments made in a previous post. I have yet to find the perfect boat but sure have enjoyed the ones I've had thus far.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

Some really good looking rigs, guys! Billcollector-is that a Sport V on your boat? How do you like it?

Goosin-I've actually been wanting to build a layout tender for diver hunting, what qualities do you think a good tender boat should have?

Fowlmouth-I love it, finally a good use for phrag!


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## GoneGoosin (Aug 17, 2011)

*Tender Boat*

Pump Gunner, there are many guys on this forum much more qualified than I to answer this, so I hope they will chime in. As for me, we generally hunt with one mud boat and one layout boat. That being the case the Tender needs to be large enough to safely get the hunters and all the gear to where you're going in order to have a safe hunt. With my current boat for example, we can put three of the Rig Em Right DP3 XL bags width wise on the floor between the gun boxes and the layout on top of them or across the bow of the boat leaving safe space for the hunters to sit in the rear of the boat. Once the set up is in place I feel about any boat can work for picking up ducks and trading out hunters but a boat that is quick would be best so you can make the pickups and trade outs as quick as possible with as little disruption as possible. For me I prefer a Tender to be stable in the water as you will be leaning over the side picking up ducks and your buddies will be climbing over the sides or rear to get in and out of the boat. One drawback to my boat is large side walls but the positive is the F4 is made with a rear deck, similar to pods which solves my tall side problem. Now as you move into water deeper than you are tall, a stable boat with plenty of space for hunters is even more critical based on my limited experience in these situations.

Let's hear from some other Diver hunters as to what makes a great Tender boat!


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## fowler50 (Oct 18, 2010)

This is my 16 48 flat bottom with 35 hp long tail with some stuff done. Pushing about 44 hp.


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## tallbuck (Apr 30, 2009)

Here is a pic of my boat. It is 24 feet long and 5 feet wide. I run a 29 HP Mud buddy on it. This boat works for me and gets me to the shallow water, deep water, thru up to 3 inches of Ice and carries anything from coffins to layout boats. I have hunted from inside it or have used it for transpertation. It is nice because I am not walking on any of the dek's as they can be stored in the hatch. On thanksgiving we had 5 guys hunting out of it.








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## wileywapati (Sep 9, 2007)

The swamp queen ha ha


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## mallardgoose (Oct 11, 2010)

Tallbuck, you look like a Viewmont alumni?


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## fish-n-fool (May 26, 2009)

Mine is a 17x43 
Light and pretty fast for those long runs with fowlmouth. Makes quick work of short runs in places others can't launch in and jumping dikes to places people can't get to any other way. 
Like everyone is saying it fits the way I hunt.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

So I'm noticing none of you have a v-hull like mine.

I'm also noticing you've got a bunch of different camo patterns on your boats. Did that come with the boat or did any of you paint them? If you did paint them did you hire someone or did you do it yourself? If you did it yourself, how did you do it?

Oh yeah, and what is "diver" hunting? And can you be more specific about what it is about your boat that makes it work for your "type" of hunting? What is your "type" of hunting? Do you mean hunting from the boat itself or finding a place on land and stashing the boat? 

I'm sorry I'm so green with this.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Camo paint isn't that important. I wouldn't take a shiny aluminum boat out in the marsh, just paint it olive drab and call it good. You will probably have to use etching compound to get the paint to stick good though. Spray paint works fine to finish it. 

Diver hunting is done with layout boats. You carry the layout boat on top of your duck boat to the desired destination, you then unload the layout boat, set out about 15-20 dozen diver decoys and leave 1 hunter in the layout boat to shoot his limit of diver ducks, and sometimes puddle ducks.

My style of hunting is shallow water, that is the only reason I have a longtail and a riveted flat bottom Jon boat. My boat weighs 230 pounds compared to an all welded of the same size I would be closer to 500 pounds. The longtail motor gets me through the shallow water. A semi V hull or V hull won't work as well for me where I drag bottom most of the time. I hunt from my boat.

If you want to see a boat that can go pretty much anywhere, take a look at fish-n-fools Scanoe pictured above. He takes that thing places I have never seen any other mudmotors go. True story!


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

Ok, so the idea is that you just float around in your layout boat or do you pull it up on shore somewhere?

And 15-20 dozen? :shock: That's more than I would have thought, by, well, a lot.

So do you hunt by yourself out of your boat Fowlmouth? You drop everyone else off and just stay in your boat to hunt? Do you do it the same way?


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

Layout hunting for divers is its own thing, with its own equipment. I'd say a more average marsh rig should be able to carry 2-3 people, dog, gear, and 3-5 dozen decoys. Most folks hunt from their boat but I only do that about 1/3 of the time, lots of spots that I hunt I will use the boat to get there, then hide it well and hunt from shore or the cattails. Again it depends on the spot that I'm wanting to hunt. 

I would be careful with a mud motor on your boat though, a MM puts a lot of stress and torque on the transom and I've seen more lightweight boats end up with a bent transom. You could reinforce it I'm sure for more strength.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

I admit I didn't originally get the boat to be a duck hunting boat. I got it for little lakes where I fish in the spring and fall. I have a 19' Trophy for summer fishing. I just wanted to dual purpose it.

Where are you seeing transoms bending? At the base weld or just up at the top? My boat has a brace/stiffener that goes from the floor of the boat about 2/3rd of the way up the transom. The top third could bend I suppose but, with with the brace there, I would be really surprised if it bent at the weld. 

When you guys hunt from your boats, how does that work? Are you just floating there with an anchor out? How do you disguise your boat enough to get ducks to come in when you are floating out in the water?


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Dodger said:


> Ok, so the idea is that you just float around in your layout boat or do you pull it up on shore somewhere?
> 
> And 15-20 dozen? :shock: That's more than I would have thought, by, well, a lot.
> 
> So do you hunt by yourself out of your boat Fowlmouth? You drop everyone else off and just stay in your boat to hunt? Do you do it the same way?


 Layout boats are anchored by a front and rear anchor out away from the shore. I guess you could say in the middle of the pond where birds raft up. I hunt up to 3 guys out of my boat. I run it up in the phragmites and grass it in (cut phragmites to cover the boat) There is a photo in one of my posts on this thread that shows how I hide my boat. You don't just float around the pond in your boat. You find a shoreline or in most cases a phragmite island or shoreline and bury the boat in it. Just make sure the water isn't too deep before you jump out of your boat. (ask me how I know) :grin:


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## Sawbillslayer (Oct 24, 2013)

I don't have any pictures of the boat but we have a V hull and we run two different motor out the back. We run a scavenger 8 hp, and a home made 13 horse, both are long shafts. We pressure washed the outside and inside and then painted the boat and we didn't have a problem with flaking. We don't use a blind we use phrags to cover the boat and hunt out of it. We will also ditch it at times. We can run the V hull in about six inches of water and be fine anything less though and it can be rough.


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## bkelz (Dec 3, 2010)

fish-n-fool said:


> Mine is a 17x43
> Light and pretty fast for those long runs with fowlmouth. Makes quick work of short runs in places others can't launch in and jumping dikes to places people can't get to any other way.
> Like everyone is saying it fits the way I hunt.


What size engine do you have? HP? Length of shaft? Canoe your saying is 17ft?


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## tallbuck (Apr 30, 2009)

mallardgoose said:


> Tallbuck, you look like a Viewmont alumni?


Indeed I am!


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## Hunter_17 (Mar 15, 2008)

1544 tracker boat with 19 horsepower homemade mud motor


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## fish-n-fool (May 26, 2009)

bkelz said:


> What size engine do you have? HP? Length of shaft? Canoe your saying is 17ft?


It's a coleman scanoe, they are 17' long and 43" at the beam. they weigh 97lbs. I ran mini long tails for years and it is a little tricky but they work great. I started off with a 6hp, then went to a 7hp and then built my 7hp into a KX21 kart motor and it is pushing around 9.5 hp has a rev limiter on it that will go up to 5500RPM's typically try to run it around 4800-4900RPM. The latest motor as you can see in the picture is a surface drive a dixie surface drive to be more specific, it is custom made for my boat it is raised 2" higher and has a v welded to the front of the box to keep water from climbing up the box and into the back of the boat at low speeds. I have loved this set up and it will go anywhere with a soft bottom and just about anywhere with a hard bottom if I have water under me. I'm getting about 12-13mph fully loaded with two guys and gear. around 15mph with two guys empty.
Motor build showing full aluminum frame and custom box:
















Motor done and mounted:


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

here is my boat. I run the same as fm 1648 rived with a 25 longtail mb. I hunt out of my boat 100% of the time. I run around 100 duck decoys 2 1/2 honker floaters and i hunt three guys and a dog out of mine. Like said before find a point, some3 where along the shore and run your boat up it.I have a blind on my boat to help hid better.




not the best pic but it give you a idea what we are talking about.


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## bkelz (Dec 3, 2010)

fish-n-fool said:


> It's a coleman scanoe, they are 17' long and 43" at the beam. they weigh 97lbs. I ran mini long tails for years and it is a little tricky but they work great. I started off with a 6hp, then went to a 7hp and then built my 7hp into a KX21 kart motor and it is pushing around 9.5 hp has a rev limiter on it that will go up to 5500RPM's typically try to run it around 4800-4900RPM. The latest motor as you can see in the picture is a surface drive a dixie surface drive to be more specific, it is custom made for my boat it is raised 2" higher and has a v welded to the front of the box to keep water from climbing up the box and into the back of the boat at low speeds. I have loved this set up and it will go anywhere with a soft bottom and just about anywhere with a hard bottom if I have water under me. I'm getting about 12-13mph fully loaded with two guys and gear. around 15mph with two guys empty.


You are the man! sweet set up. Honestly, Ive never gotten a boat because of the cost and to me being from Alabama you typically can just drive and short walk and your in a hot spot. Being in Utah i swear you HAVE to have a boat. my best duck hunt was with another member on here who had a boat. got out in the middle lake and slammed it. keep in mind ice was thick with some open water. I might have to reconsider my options and get a gig like yours. Thanks for sharing!


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## fish-n-fool (May 26, 2009)

bkelz said:


> You are the man! sweet set up. Honestly, Ive never gotten a boat because of the cost and to me being from Alabama you typically can just drive and short walk and your in a hot spot. Being in Utah i swear you HAVE to have a boat. my best duck hunt was with another member on here who had a boat. got out in the middle lake and slammed it. keep in mind ice was thick with some open water. I might have to reconsider my options and get a gig like yours. Thanks for sharing!


Its not a bad way to go if you don't have a bunch of money and it does open up allot more area you can hunt. I do have allot more money into my motor than you would think. but I did all the work myself so i know it inside and out. Dixie went out of business this last year so if anything breaks i will be getting it repaired by a friend of mine that built his own. If you go this route don't think you can just slap a small surface drive on these and go they plane and shoot water from under the boat allot different than a jon boat. Like I said mine is custom made. A small long tail was never a problem though just harder to drive. and I have two friends that went that route and one that went with the surface drive. 
Good hunting.


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

bkelz said:


> You are the man! sweet set up. Honestly, Ive never gotten a boat because of the cost and to me being from Alabama you typically can just drive and short walk and your in a hot spot. Being in Utah i swear you HAVE to have a boat.


I am from Oklahoma, where the duck and goose hunting can be had much the same as what you state in Alabama. Let me assure you though that there is some very good duck hunting close to Salt Lake that can be had on foot. You just have to physically work much harder for it!

I have two young kids, and I'm going to have to invest in a boat if I'm going to get them out consistently. It's just too much work for young kids where I go, and I haven't found many decent areas close to the crowds.


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## Labs2 (Dec 15, 2013)

Daves Swan II.JPG

This is mine 20yrs. old and still going...


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