A4 as a duck boat?

Steve Seibel

Steve Seibel

Member
First, I'm not trying to sell this design, however I've been attracted to it and bought the plans (fairly cheap). Seems the slot top would be a natural blind, can float in a few inches of water, and I can see it all grassed up as a floating island. Fairly easy to build from four sheets of lumberyard plywood. Again, not trying to sell it ... Just wanting to know what y'all think?
See it at duckworksbbs.com
 
Hi, Steve~

I'm a little confused - I believe "A4" is a format designation - not the design itself. Which design are you contemplating?

All the best,

SJS
 
This one?
http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/af4/breve/index.htm
I'm no naval architect, but I'm not crazy about that dead-flat bottom. I suppose it would be great for sheltered water, and let you get into really shallow areas, but I hunt big water, and I think in a chop it would pound badly. There's an awful lot of freeboard, which would blow the boat around, and not much lateral resistance to counter it. When lightly loaded, I think it will take just about all of that 10 horsepower just to turn her into a strong wind, although maybe the chine would dig in and bring her around. I would also want to look into the stability of a square box hull section. I think I once read that it has high initial stability, but not much reserve buoyancy.
As with any boat, I guess it all just depends upon what you are planning to do with it and where.
 
Good morning, Steve~

My candid thoughts are much the same as Gordon's - although, having grown up with garveys on Great South Bay, the dead-flat bottom s not a deal-breaker for me.

As with any boat, it should be designed for it intended use. So, the type of waters you will encounter are key. My general thoughts on a floating island/boat-blind, though, would be to emulate the shapes in a TDB (or similar). To my mind, the key features are:

1. Ample beam so that you can stand to shoot and lean over to tend stool. I would want no less that 60 inches for a 2-man boat.

2. Relatively low gunwales so that the "blind" portion slopes in toward the cockpit opening. This will hide better by creating less shadow and also present much less for the wind to grab.

3. Comfortable height for both watching while waiting (sitting on something 14-16 inches tall).

4. Easy access to motor so you can get under way quickly.

5. Easy access to bow - for anchoring.

Also being a do-it-yourself inexpensively sort, my approach would be to look for an old but sound hull of the right shape and size - the hull being the hardest and most important part of any boat - and then customize it to meet your needs.

Hope this helps - and have fun with whatever project you pursue!

SJS
 
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