The Duck Boat Company is in new "hands"!

RLLigman

Well-known member
Olsen Marine, Inc. is the new owner of the TDB molds and trademark rights. Nice to see a specialty marine builder in control of this badge. I am very much looking forward to seeing their approach to building these hulls, particularly after perusing their work;nice fit and finish, literally and figuratively!
Olsen Marine, Inc.
We pride ourselves on our:
• Reliability
• Perfection
• Style and Tradition
• Commitment to the Customer
• Personal Attention to Detail
 
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Indeed the molds etc. has been sold. Olsen is planning to come start the moving process first of July as we are building one last 17SC (for me) with them as this is there first step in building all glass boats.

We felt this was a nice fit for the molds with their location and decided they should be the ones to buy them as we had several interested parties.

We look forward to getting them all set up and helping load up all the molds in a few weeks so they can get started on their new venture with The Duck Boat Co. We wish them nothing but the best.
 
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Re: The Duck Boat Company is in new "hands"! [In reply to] Quote | Reply
Do you know if they going to manufacture the gun ship again?



I believe the "Gun Ship" was a Mighty Layout Boys boat.

I talked to Mark about it at length and hunted next to it on Rondeau Bay shortly after it was produced.
 
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Yes it was, but TDB onus the molds for it now and was on the mold list when the company was up for sale. Looks like a interesting boat for New England.
 
Hey everyone! I'm new to this forum but just wanted to check in and say hi. I also wanted to confirm the rumors, that Olsen Marine will be manufacturing all of the TDB boats, as well as the AA Widgeon, Blackjack, Broadbill, and Gunship.
As Tony said, next week we will be going out to Ohio to build a 17SC with him. We are really looking forward to working with him, in Ohio and throughout the transition. We then, will be moving all of the molds back to Dennis, MA and should be building boats by mid July. We are very excited about the move and future for this legendary brand, and think that it will be a great fit for both TDB and Olsen Marine!
We are hoping to keep the transition time to a minimum, and have the website and social media up and running as soon as possible to keep everyone informed and up to date; we will have some pretty exciting news for everyone in the next couple weeks!
Feel free to ask any questions you have!


-Nate
 
Congratulations, Nate! Based on your impressive volume of quality work, many of us look forward to seeing you restore this boat brand to a place of significance in waterfowling communities.
I am one of many loyal TDB customer/owners, initially hunting out of a TDB-14' Classic that served me well for decades, now carrying my decoys to hunting spots on the upper Great Lakes at the helm of a refurbished TDB-17' Classic (mid-1990s vintage). There are many very loyal owners of Maine built TDBs out there who will provide word-of-mouth support for the brand.

A handful of suggestions to consider for future builds:
1. Return to using Kevlar 49 laid on a 45 degree bias in the bows of the TDB-14, TDB-17, and hopefully a restored TDB-21' for ice breaking and collision utility. These boats operate primarily in low-light conditions during rough to outright dangerous weather, quality build materials enhance their utility significantly.
2. Powder coat the blind's frames and hardware.
3. Return to use of Mil-Spec 1000D Cordura in blind builds, since it is a slightly heavier material that receives a two pass urethane coat, affording great longevity and wear resistance.
4. Use a top-end resin in construction.
5. Add a Perko 344 fold-down boarding step, or something similar to the transom on the SC 14, 17, and 21' to aid re-entry to the cockpit.
 
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Congrats! Great news glad to see the company in new ownership. Hopefully we see more of the TDB's in action each season. Best of luck My Maine Built 14" is on it's 26th season!
 
Thanks Rick! We love these boats and hunt out of them as well, and can't wait to bring the TDB back to a prominent spot in the waterfowl world. I appreciate the thoughts for improvement! We will be building these boats to the high standard that they are known for, with the years of experience and quality work that we are known for. I am sure we will make some changes, but I promise that they will only be to the benefit of the boats. That being said, we will make any changes well known as we move forward. We will have a lot more info for everyone in the next few weeks!
Anthony, that is the type of longevity that we like to hear, and that we will be producing! By the way, I have seen pics and vids of yours all grassed up running through the marshes, it looks awesome! I wish I had the time and patience to grass my '93 14 classic...
 
Taking my TDB-17' classic on a three day solo salmon trip down to fish St. Martin Island channel and the nearby shoal water...!
 
Since I now read that the relocation of the molds for The Duck Boat Company is now complete, and Olsen Marine is taking orders for Sea Class TDB-17' hulls, I will post the results of a 3 day Chinook salmon fishing trip in northwestern Lake Michigan I took earlier this month in my TDB 17'.

Well, you can fish Chinook salmon out of a TDB-17' classic! I sold my Boston Whaler Conquest 235, with the collapse of the salmon sport fishery imminent on Lake Michigan, to a gentlemen living on San Juan Island, Washington. I decided I did not want to get caught-up in the glut of used top-end Great Lakes trolling boat hulls that will likely be flooding the market in the next couple years. So I am obligated to fish out of my TDB while I wait to see whether the alewife forage stock will collapse over the next year; the 2014 year-class of fish essentially consists of "it" for the spawning age adult segment of the stock, down from eight sexually mature age classes in 2007.

I made a jig to guide my hole saw and bit at the proper angle to mount a pair of Smith Stainless rod holders in the gunnels that would allow me to "nest" a pair of gimbaled Bert's Tracks and three ratcheting Bert's rod holders per side, which is matches the legal number of rods out for two fisherman. By running copper and 5-7 color leadcore set-ups off in-line boards, along with a pair of in-line wire diver rods, I can present spoons, flasher-fly dodger rigs and meat rigs at depth strata from 25 to around 100' successfully. After getting stoned the first night out, the following morning was more fruitful, ending in a five fish limit, with one male topping 25lbs. The fish are primarily in the 15 to 18lbs range, which is, to me, almost ideal size for consumption. I only had to contend with one double, which was a "fire drill" experience: grab a rod and set the fish, then back-off the drag to let it run and do the same on the other fish, then come-back and get tight to fish number one again while steering the boat to put line pressure on the second fish.
I made one significant mistake. I should have removed the Styx River camouflage foam mats from the deck. I have the fitted pair that came with the boat sitting on top of a layer of trimmed to fit commercial kitchen locking edge mats; nice cushion and floor insulation that drains during duck season, but now covered with fish slime and salmon scales that, on two attempts to remove via the shop vac., still remain at least at 50% of the original number. While I am glad I brought an iced-full 100quart cooler on board, stuffed up in the bow. I wish I could figure out a way to allow it to drain, other than simply run-out on deck and run back to the sump.
I've found that, with a tiller extension and the throttle lock on the Honda 50hp main's tiller, I can stand and play fish, guiding the boat via the tiller extension held between my knees. In a large pack of boats, this will likely not work-out as well...particularly when it comes to netting a good sized fish while holding it on its side one-handed. A net far smaller than those used by most Great Lakes trollers works far better, since it affords better control once the hoop is down in the water a foot or so. A net bag retention clip on the net handle, made from a Scotty downrigger release, is a must-have item for a solo fisherman.
 
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Apparently I am one of the horrible people who relied on Photobucket.net as a source to post to third party websites....no more pics from me now
 
ever since they changed something with Facebook posting pics has been a pain, i used to let them resize them then copy-paste. I'm kicked off photo bucket too now. i wish i could just post them from my phone.
 
Does any of this have anything to do with the current administration's reversal of Net Neutrality legislation? If yes, get ready for more of the same... figure out a way to monetize everything and full speed ahead
 
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