OK... me and my dad live in NY on LI and huntin is gettin real tight around here. So we figured to buy a duck boat but we dont know what thehell were doin. So we need to know a bunch of stuff. What cuts ice the best, aluminum or fiber glasss? does aluminum make a lot of noise when waves hit it? We need a boat where we can go in deep water and in 5 inch water. also, will a john boat or a carolina skip be better. I would like to know opinions, pictures, anything. Thx for helpin us out
I hunt in Southern DE - and have a good friend in Hampton Bays who hunts and has a completely different rig than me - but here's my theory... I have a 14' (that I wish was 16 and even an 18) starcraft deep v aluminum with a 25hp evinrude. I dont like fiberglass because when running at night, say you hit something like a log, will it puncture the boat? I at least FEEL a little more secure in an aluminum. More importantly, aluminum is substantially lighter than a fiberglass boat. I run in tidal water and if I'm not really careful about my winds and tides and knowing what ditches I can run when, I can end up on mud flats where I had 4 or 5 feet of water earlier. My boat is a lot easier to push where I need to get it than any fiberglass ever could be. I safely/comfortablycan run with 2 guys, their gear, about 4 - 5 dozen heavy decoys, and my gorilla of a dog. If Icut back on decoys, more people on board. Ihave friends with 19 footers with 60hp tillers, but they can't run everywhere I can and as easily. It's all about trade -offs. In a perfect world - I'd wanta flat bottom rig with a go devil for the marshes and big water rig like my buddies.
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U have a buddy in Hampton Bays? is it on Long Island NY??? and yea i would like a godevil engine for low tide here. but it seems like u have a pretty sweet setup. We are looking for a 20 footer. We r going with the big boys. We want a 20 footer because we go diver hunting in the middle of the bay. OK
Do yourself a favor and go with a boat styled like "The Duck Boat". We have unique conditions in the northeast compared to other areas of the country ,especially when it come to hunting the salt water and tidal marshes.
These are boats designed for waterfowling ,not jon or row boats, with their origins from coastal Maine. They are a bit more but well worth every penny. Personally I go with with two boats , Osage Canoe makes a aluminum duckboat that is great for marshes where you don't have to worry about having to cross water that can get rough under changing conditions.
here is a link to style I talked about http://www.hightechsportingboats.com I Don't have link to Osage off hand but the "sneak box " design is rated for either 10-15 hp if i remember right and can carry something like 750 lbs which is more than enough for 2 hunters dog and dekes. If you can only go weth one , go with the "duckboat" style.
You canbuy theduckboatstyle up to a up to a 21'. It would be good for up to 4 but in all reality if you want 5 I'd be using 2 boats.
Here link to TBC http://www.tdcco.com.
Crestliner makes a boat that's totally rigged out with lights and all that crap. This is the manufacturer of one of my buddy's boats - but he got a simpler model - paint this up and you're ready to go. - My friend in N.Y. is out of Shinnecock by the way.
I like that set up Ruddy, I guess he's got to determine what he's going to be doing with it the most. For clarification, where I live, we mostly use the boat for transportation, boat blinds arekind of a rare thing. Even if we don't have a blind in an area, we ditch the boat and use a couple grass mats we made up or layout blinds or whatever.We also use our boats to fish some of the bay in the summer -so just figure out what you want to do with the thing. Good luck and keep me posted.
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If a man speaks in the woods, and there's no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?
No GLASS!!!!! For what it sounds you need is a Grizzly mod v, holds water nice takes little to float....as far as i am concerned they are quiet and VERY tough, 1/3" ice with no scratches at 5+ mph.......we built our own blind, camo according to terrain, and use matte black and grey for open water season if you hunt bigger water!
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Duck boats???????
