New - Boat build advice

[HenryHawthorne]

Thrilled to find this forum. I'm a lifelong duck hunter whose career got in the way, and a long-time hobbiest woodworker. I've long thought of building a boat, and having recently retired now have time to do so (and hopefully to spend more time chasing ducks in the years to come).

A sneakbox-style boat is attractive to me, and I've reached out to Devlin for more information on their options and plans. What other options would you encourage me to consider? Also eager for any advice, tips, etc.

Primary use will be for me and my 50lb black lab. I'm in coastal NC, so access to both salt marsh and rivers/swamps. Ideally, the boat could also be used for poling and fly fishing in salt marshes during warmer weather. Stability will be important, and optimal would be the ability to stand on the front or rear deck to fish. A bonus would be a boat light enough for me to portage across dykes from river to swamp.

I suspect I'm going to need to power it, as there will generally be decent runs from ramps/docks to hunting/fishing spots and I'll have tides/currents to deal with, but not worried about high speed. Minimal draft would be ideal, but balanced against getting swamped as runs down/across waterways will be subject to boat wakes in summer and wind/chop in winter.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts, and for having me on the forum.

 

[RM Anderson]

Two boats, maybe three. Not as bad as it sounds; building boats is a blast! Richard

 

[Clinton John]

Honestly that's to many requirements for one boat.

Anything that's small enough and light weight enough to be portaged over dykes. Is to small and unstable to, stand on decks and fish.

Anything that's long enough and wide enough to be stable and shallow drafting and powered by a motor for hunting and fly fishing while standing on a deck area. Is to heavy to portage over a dyke and will need a trailer to get it from place to place.

Anything that's designed for sneak type duck hunting isn't suited very well to fishing. And anything suited to fly fish well, is going to be not to great for hunting ducks.

What I suggest is too choose what's more important at the moment. Hunting or fishing? And build the first boat to best fill those needs. Then build a second boat for the other needs.

Hope this helps.

 

[HenryHawthorne]

Yeah, I had basically reached the same conclusion - I asked Devlin whether I just need to build 2! That said, I was hoping there might be a hybrid something I hadn't seen.

How stable are the sneakbox-style boats? I'm wondering if a removable flat deck could be designed for the front or midsection.

 

[Clinton John]

Devlin boats are very stable. Well the ones I have been around were at least.

The few boats I have built were a different design because of my hunting needs but they too are very stable and due to their flat and wide bottom very shallow drafting. I wouldn't stand on their decks to fish, but I have done a good bit of cast and blast down in the marsh during teal season. Catching reds after shooting a limit of teal, standing on the interior floor section.

I think Devlin has a design that can be built with a casting deck. Cackler . But then it wouldn't be well suited for duck hunting sneak boat style.

You also have to take into account the water conditions you will see on a day to day basis getting to the areas you want to hunt or fish.

 

[HenryHawthorne]

Devlin boats are very stable. Well the ones I have been around were at least.

The few boats I have built were a different design because of my hunting needs but they too are very stable and due to their flat and wide bottom very shallow drafting. I wouldn't stand on their decks to fish, but I have done a good bit of cast and blast down in the marsh during teal season. Catching reds after shooting a limit of teal, standing on the interior floor section.

I think Devlin has a design that can be built with a casting deck. Cackler . But then it wouldn't be well suited for duck hunting sneak boat style.

You also have to take into account the water conditions you will see on a day to day basis getting to the areas you want to hunt or fish.

Thanks John. Any recommendations other than Devlin?

 

[Clinton John]

Thanks John. Any recommendations other than Devlin?

I have been building a boat called "duckhunter".

Plans use to be sold by a company called Gator duck boats. But they have long been out of business. However on this forum under the duck boat spec section you can see some pretty detailed pics of the boat in question. And I still have my set of plans.

 

[HenryHawthorne]

I have been building a boat called "duckhunter".

Plans use to be sold by a company called Gator duck boats. But they have long been out of business. However on this forum under the duck boat spec section you can see some pretty detailed pics of the boat in question. And I still have my set of plans.

Thanks, will check that out.

 

[William Reinicke]

First off... I am not a boat builder. But I fish, I hunt, and I go shallow.

I agree with a lot of what said, you are asking for miracles with one boat. I use a havoc big boat with a mudmotor to get me far, fairly quickly and decently shallow. I have built a rack that sits above the decoys but that holds my kayak. It works to transport on the hwy and also while running down the lake. I will haul that sucker out to real shallow stuff by hand. It only weights 70 lbs and it drags really good. It has a blind on it and I can hunt right out of it if need be. Thats how I kind of concur the needs you are asking to concur. My havoc has a high deck and I fished out if it for years, and it did well, but windy days and aluminum suck. When I had my havoc custom built, i even had them install a tm tray on the deck. So I bit the bullet and bought a bass boat a couple years ago.

Moral of the story... I could get by with 1, maybe 2, but I now have 3.

 

[Eric Patterson]

What size boat are you thinking? In my mind I'm seeing Devlin's Brant or Scaup series with add-on removeable fishing decks. For the rear deck you might want to omit the motor well and shorten the back of the cockpit yielding a bigger rear deck, or have your add-on deck extend over and into the cockpit. Stability will not be an issue in either of these.

 

[HenryHawthorne]

What size boat are you thinking? In my mind I'm seeing Devlin's Brant or Scaup series with add-on removeable fishing decks. For the rear deck you might want to omit the motor well and shorten the back of the cockpit yielding a bigger rear deck, or have your add-on deck extend over and into the cockpit. Stability will not be an issue in either of these.

I'm leaning towards the brant3, I think. My initial thinking was to start with a smaller boat (maybe broadbill or bluebill), and if I enjoyed the process as much as I think I will then do something a little more versatile. But the more I look at basic plans and designs I suspect I could get a lot of use out of a brant-sized boat (including taking another hunter)... then consider something smaller if I find a niche need it can't fill reasonably well.

It's been a while since I looked at smaller motors (last was a 9hp Tohatsu on a Gheenoe some years ago) - what are the best options for power these days? Any viable electric options, and are they truly viable in the cold?

 

[HenryHawthorne]

First off... I am not a boat builder. But I fish, I hunt, and I go shallow.

I agree with a lot of what said, you are asking for miracles with one boat. I use a havoc big boat with a mudmotor to get me far, fairly quickly and decently shallow. I have built a rack that sits above the decoys but that holds my kayak. It works to transport on the hwy and also while running down the lake. I will haul that sucker out to real shallow stuff by hand. It only weights 70 lbs and it drags really good. It has a blind on it and I can hunt right out of it if need be. Thats how I kind of concur the needs you are asking to concur. My havoc has a high deck and I fished out if it for years, and it did well, but windy days and aluminum suck. When I had my havoc custom built, i even had them install a tm tray on the deck. So I bit the bullet and bought a bass boat a couple years ago.

Moral of the story... I could get by with 1, maybe 2, but I now have 3.

Thanks! I have a 19' Whaler for general use in sounds and nearshore, and have taken a paddleboard for getting into marsh creeks... but a smaller boat that would get me to and in would be an improvement and a lot less effort.

 

[Eric Patterson]

I'm leaning towards the brant3, I think. My initial thinking was to start with a smaller boat (maybe broadbill or bluebill), and if I enjoyed the process as much as I think I will then do something a little more versatile. But the more I look at basic plans and designs I suspect I could get a lot of use out of a brant-sized boat (including taking another hunter)... then consider something smaller if I find a niche need it can't fill reasonably well.

It's been a while since I looked at smaller motors (last was a 9hp Tohatsu on a Gheenoe some years ago) - what are the best options for power these days? Any viable electric options, and are they truly viable in the cold?

Brant III pairs well with a 25-30hp. I like the Tohatsu four strokes. Light and feel almost as zippy as two strokes.

 

[HenryHawthorne]

I've ordered Devlin's book, and downloaded BB2, BB3, and Cackler study plans to think over while waiting on the book. I've enjoyed Paul W's Broadbill and DaveE's Cackler build threads... any others you'd point me to for study?

 

[Eric Patterson]

Henry

You can mine old builds with the search tool. There have been many over the years but you have to dig.

Have you found the Resources section? These may interest you. Plus there are a ton of designs to look at for ideas.

Devlin's Scaup

The project that launched duckboats.net! Eric Patterson's step-by-step documentation of how he built his first duckboat.

duckboats.net

Zac Taylor's Widgeon

The construction of Zac Talyor's Widgeon Barnegat Bay Sneak Box by Richard Lathrop.

duckboats.net

 

[HenryHawthorne]

Henry

You can mine old builds with the search tool. There have been many over the years but you have to dig.

Have you found the Resources section? These may interest you. Plus there are a ton of designs to look at for ideas.

Devlin's Scaup

The project that launched duckboats.net! Eric Patterson's step-by-step documentation of how he built his first duckboat.

duckboats.net

Zac Taylor's Widgeon

The construction of Zac Talyor's Widgeon Barnegat Bay Sneak Box by Richard Lathrop.

duckboats.net

thanks!