Info on Breaking Ice with 14 Classic TDB from TDB owners

[roy brewington]

Always wanted one of the 14' TDB hulls. How well , if at all, do they break and inch or two of ice? I,ve broke plenty in different hulls so not really concerned with techniques, just if hull will get damaged severely? Doesn,t happen often in my area but of course its the best gunning if you can get out. I Did break a bit of ice with my old Blackjack hull but different animal. Have stuck with aluminum recently just for the ice breaking ability. Will the glass hull hold up to that abuse?

 

[Rod VanZile]

Roy,
I have owned a 14 TDB since 1993. I have on occasion broken ice but don't like to and wouldn't recommend it. No damage to the hull but.......
I usually wait for the aluminum boats to break ice first.
RVZ

 

[Wyatt Russo]

My dads owned a tdb 14 classic for over 20 years we’ve busted ice plenty of times over the years, pushed it off the mud, and handled chop that would keep most people back at the dock. Highly recommend

 

[Noah Shaver]

I am glassing the whole bottom of my TDB 14 Classic because of years of wear from breaking ice

It definitely takes its toll. The fiberglass laminate those boats were constructed with is nothing substantial

 

[Wyatt Russo]

I am glassing the whole bottom of my TDB 14 Classic because of years of wear from breaking ice

It definitely takes its toll. The fiberglass laminate those boats were constructed with is nothing substantial

In reply to that yes but after over 20 years we did have to put a new floor in. We beat it up, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do to get to the duck hole

 

[Steve Sanford]

Always wanted one of the 14' TDB hulls. How well , if at all, do they break and inch or two of ice? I,ve broke plenty in different hulls so not really concerned with techniques, just if hull will get damaged severely? Doesn,t happen often in my area but of course its the best gunning if you can get out. I Did break a bit of ice with my old Blackjack hull but different animal. Have stuck with aluminum recently just for the ice breaking ability. Will the glass hull hold up to that abuse?

Roy et al~

Question: Saltwater Ice or Freshwater Ice? I have lots of experience with the former - almost none with the latter - viz. breaking with a boat for gunning. Salt ice is somewhat soft and plastic - will bend before it breaks under the weight of the hull. Freshwater ice is quite hard and brittle. I have poled both tin and 'glass canoes up onto it when necessary - but never went any distance.

In salt ice - up to about 2 inches thickness - our approach was always to move slowly - such that the hull would get up onto the ice and then push it downward with its weight. We were not parting the ice like an ice-breaking ship. Once the "right" speed was found for the boat and the conditions, we could move steadily along. The broken pieces of ice either were pushed up onto the unbroken ice to the sides - or slowly resurfaced in our wake. We were never concerned about damage to the hull - which was either 'glass or 'glass over wood. The only "holing" story I heard involved hitting the ice - unexpectedly? - at speed.

The hull shape of a "chicken-breasted garvey" - moderate deadrise (vee) up forward - is ideal. Older plumb-stemmed boats (larger craft) needed plenty of horsepower and some rugged sheathing - copper or oak - for breaking through the ice head-on.

All the best,

SJS

 

[Anthony Babich]

Ice Ice Baby.. TDB 14’ Classic In The Arctic of Long Island

 

[roy brewington]

Ice Ice Baby.. TDB 14’ Classic In The Arctic of Long Island

Anthony, has the classic 14 always had the kevlar reinforced hull? I remember it in the ads from the old L.L.Bean catalogs but didn,t know if that continued thru out its production.

 

[roy brewington]

Roy et al~

Question: Saltwater Ice or Freshwater Ice? I have lots of experience with the former - almost none with the latter - viz. breaking with a boat for gunning. Salt ice is somewhat soft and plastic - will bend before it breaks under the weight of the hull. Freshwater ice is quite hard and brittle. I have poled both tin and 'glass canoes up onto it when necessary - but never went any distance.

In salt ice - up to about 2 inches thickness - our approach was always to move slowly - such that the hull would get up onto the ice and then push it downward with its weight. We were not parting the ice like an ice-breaking ship. Once the "right" speed was found for the boat and the conditions, we could move steadily along. The broken pieces of ice either were pushed up onto the unbroken ice to the sides - or slowly resurfaced in our wake. We were never concerned about damage to the hull - which was either 'glass or 'glass over wood. The only "holing" story I heard involved hitting the ice - unexpectedly? - at speed.

The hull shape of a "chicken-breasted garvey" - moderate deadrise (vee) up forward - is ideal. Older plumb-stemmed boats (larger craft) needed plenty of horsepower and some rugged sheathing - copper or oak - for breaking through the ice head-on.

All the best,

SJS

A little of both fresh & salt Steve. I know the techniques as i,ve broken plenty thru my years . Many, many years ago when ice was more frequent the little 14" Steury I used as a boat blind would require a bow repair each end of season due to ice cutting the Fiberglass but that v bow cut ice great for a small boat. Switched to an .100 gauge Aluminum 1756 lowe with ice runners after that and progressively went bigger thru the years. Currently when heavy duty ice breaking is required I use my 2072 Seaark jon. .125 hull and it just plows thru with relative ease. There are occasions though ,especially when hunting alone that a small boat with a blind is more manageable. Probably don,t need one with the current fleet but always had the itch for a 14' TDB for solo hunting, especially after getting rid of my Blackjack a few years ago.

 

[Anthony Babich]

Anthony, has the classic 14 always had the kevlar reinforced hull? I remember it in the ads from the old L.L.Bean catalogs but didn,t know if that continued thru out its production.

Hey Roy, No the earlier model 14 classic's did not have kevlar reinforcement in the hulls 85-89ish. According to Dean Clark L.L. Bean required higher safety standards back in the day therefore more improvement was implicated into the design of the 14's and Kevlar was added because of the L.L. Bean contract in early 90's. They were by far the largest distributor of TDB's back then so whatever needed to happen was made. Nowadays in 2025, TDB has moved to a product called "Impact-Innegra" this is an integrated carbon fiber added to the outside of the hulls. We just displayed the first hull ever made with it down in NJ

 

[William Reinicke]

Why I love my aluminum sometimes, but its also a big reason I had mine custom built and ordered thicker aluminum hull. It added weight, but I find myself every year running through ice. Just slow down, let the boat do its job and i have yet to hurt the integrity of the hull after using it for 8 years now. My aluminum sure isnt near as cool as some of these boats in this forum though. Cool factor just isnt there... just another aluminum hull. Nothing to see here.

 

[SJ Fairbank]

Why I love my aluminum sometimes, but its also a big reason I had mine custom built and ordered thicker aluminum hull. It added weight, but I find myself every year running through ice. Just slow down, let the boat do its job and i have yet to hurt the integrity of the hull after using it for 8 years now. My aluminum sure isnt near as cool as some of these boats in this forum though. Cool factor just isnt there... just another aluminum hull. Nothing to see here.

I bust ice pretty much every year. Mostly salt, but now and then in the fresh water. I've done it with glass boats, including a 17' Duck Wrangler. The glass takes a beating, if I was the OP I would avoid it wherever possible. I take aluminum boats whenever I can in the ice. As you say, take your time and the hull will be ok. In extreme years we have spots where we had to push the boats over the ice to open water, then ride a wave back onto the ice to get back to the launch.

 

[William Reinicke]

I bust ice pretty much every year. Mostly salt, but now and then in the fresh water. I've done it with glass boats, including a 17' Duck Wrangler. The glass takes a beating, if I was the OP I would avoid it wherever possible. I take aluminum boats whenever I can in the ice. As you say, take your time and the hull will be ok. In extreme years we have spots where we had to push the boats over the ice to open water, then ride a wave back onto the ice to get back to the launch.

Only sketchy thing is when you crunching along and then all of a sudden the boat hops right on top.... uhhhhh do i dare get out and push off? Seems like every time I am with someone thats the first thing they ask. NEVER!! jump up and down til it cracks through or I break the ice with a pole or my paddle and if i have to punch a 1" hole at a time with a mojo pole, thats what I will do. At some point, that boat will fall back down through the ice, but never get out. Death sentence in my mind. once it crunches through, back it out and get home. Aint making it to the hole if the ice starts to get that thick.

 

[roy brewington]

Only sketchy thing is when you crunching along and then all of a sudden the boat hops right on top.... uhhhhh do i dare get out and push off? Seems like every time I am with someone thats the first thing they ask. NEVER!! jump up and down til it cracks through or I break the ice with a pole or my paddle and if i have to punch a 1" hole at a time with a mojo pole, thats what I will do. At some point, that boat will fall back down through the ice, but never get out. Death sentence in my mind. once it crunches through, back it out and get home. Aint making it to the hole if the ice starts to get that thick.

Just last season I watched 2 kids in a 1236 aluminum boat trying to break out thru probably 4" of ice . Starting out at an ice free ramp with a bubbler and then down a channel that progressively got thicker heading towards open water in main channel. That channel freezes in thick due to limited tidal influence. When boat wouldn't break any farther out the one in front steps out on ice shaking boat to open a path. I was expecting any moment for him to break thru into about 5' of water. They finally gave up , thank god or surely there would have been a drowning that day. We all know those conditions can lead to extraordinary gunnin but at 70 I,ve done enough of it to wait just a bit for slightly better conditions, sometimes! And one of the main reasons I bought my 2072 Seaark.

 

[roy brewington]

I bust ice pretty much every year. Mostly salt, but now and then in the fresh water. I've done it with glass boats, including a 17' Duck Wrangler. The glass takes a beating, if I was the OP I would avoid it wherever possible. I take aluminum boats whenever I can in the ice. As you say, take your time and the hull will be ok. In extreme years we have spots where we had to push the boats over the ice to open water, then ride a wave back onto the ice to get back to the launch.

Something newbys at breaking ice never take into consideration is those bigger chunks of thick ice when hitting motor can wreck an aluminum prop if your not careful.

 

[SJ Fairbank]

Something newbys at breaking ice never take into consideration is those bigger chunks of thick ice when hitting motor can wreck an aluminum prop if your not careful.

Even as an old fart, I perform that trick from time to time.

 

[roy brewington]

Hey Roy, No the earlier model 14 classic's did not have kevlar reinforcement in the hulls 85-89ish. According to Dean Clark L.L. Bean required higher safety standards back in the day therefore more improvement was implicated into the design of the 14's and Kevlar was added because of the L.L. Bean contract in early 90's. They were by far the largest distributor of TDB's back then so whatever needed to happen was made. Nowadays in 2025, TDB has moved to a product called "Impact-Innegra" this is an integrated carbon fiber added to the outside of the hulls. We just displayed the first hull ever made with it down in NJ

View attachment 69563

View attachment 69564

Sounds like if I start shopping for a used 14 I better be looking at a hull from the 90.s forward then.

 

[William Reinicke]

I guess I forgot to mention this here, but I did on the other thread. I carry dig posts as my spud poles. Weight is a non-issue for my rig. They make life easy when breaking ice around a boat.

homedepot.com/p/Husky-69-in-Post-Hole-Digger-and-Tamping-Bar-34219/204168182?g_store=3502&source=shoppingads&locale=en-US

 

[Jeff Reardon]

One more ice issue for those of us in colder areas with big tides is that tidal areas dewatered at night can get really cold, and the incoming tide will flash freeze as it floods onto them. Some time later--often after the tide has risen enough to drive a boat up over it--those slabs of ice will break loose and float to the surface. It's an odd and sometimes scary event when that happens under your keel and you are suddenly bumped and then surrounded.