Any TDB Classic experts out there?

R. Greco

R. Greco

Active member
I have an original Maine built TDB17 that was handed down to me from my Dad when he retired to florida.
Today I came across the bill of sale dated 3/22/1992
Was shipped F.O.B. Waldoboro ME
It says 1 Ser#
The hull # on the registration is NFK00586O292
Could I possibly have the first or one of the first 17's to come out of the original plant?
Will appreciate any input.
 
I would say your serial number is: 00586, not #1, but that would depend upon what number they started with.
Lou
 
I would say Lou Tisch's assessment is correct.

The TDB-17' was first introduced by the Clark brothers a couple of years prior your manufacture date.The current owner of The Duck Boat Company, Tony Homer, has a collection of original newsletters, construction and marketing videos, and promotional pieces for the entire TDB line from the original Bristol, Maine production facility. I would guess the original production records were lost in the fire that brought the Maine production efforts to their eventual end.

PM me if you would like to compare notes on what you want to do to update the hull and blind. I am currently-weather cooperating- refurbishing/personalizing a 1996 TDB-17' Classic previously owned by Bill Clark(on this site)-just finished cleaning-up and re-organizing the wiring on the magnetic breaker panel prior adding circuits for a 800gph bilge pump that will discharge into the splash well, and 4 pods of 6" waterproof red LED strips to the cockpit coaming to aid in decoy setting and retrieval in low ambient light conditions. The blind frame tubing is supposed to arrive sometime this week from being anodized a bronze/black color. The connector hardware is powder coated and ready to receive a dab of Loctite on the allen bolts for re-attachment.

One thing I will pass-on: a 3/4" diameter, 72" hardwood dowel inserted inside the long-axis of the cockpit blind frame results in a very sturdy reinforcement.

P.S. I scanned through some of the old TDB Co. newsletters I recieved when I was trying to decide whether to purchase a TDB-17' or 14' back in the late 1980s. The TDB-17' was first produced in 1989.
 
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Is that the boat that I towed from Bailey's to All Island with my South Bay this season ?
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Yes it is, and thanks again! The brand new CPU in the E-Tec was defective and I lost a week of good gunning when the weather turned.
This boat has been hunted every season since its launch back in 92.
Still going strong and after a few rebuilds the original trailer is still in service. I completely renovated the inside of the boat and the blind and put synthetic grass rails on it after the wood ones finally rotted away.It has seen 3 generations,4 motors and 2 labs and untold numbers of ducks meeting their end. I will one day pass it on to my son.Ok guys thanks for the info
 
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I have lots of documentation and paperwork for the company but manufacturer records of the boats sold I don't have. Your boat isnt old enough to be the first 17 classic built.

I can tell you that the TDB boats are amazing and there is still a huge amount of 20+ year old boats still out there getting the job done. But with that said. these old boats are starting to show signs of needing some repairs. soft floors and wet foam. But that is to be expects after some 20 years of service.
 
I have pics if I can figure out how to post them I'll put a few up
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I look forward to seeing them. I wish I had saved the photos of the boat for sale in the Carolinas with a custom center console added-very efficient and compact set-up and use of space. Whoever did the work was a master at fiberglass custom work.
 
I have lots of documentation and paperwork for the company but manufacturer records of the boats sold I don't have. Your boat isnt old enough to be the first 17 classic built.

I can tell you that the TDB boats are amazing and there is still a huge amount of 20+ year old boats still out there getting the job done. But with that said. these old boats are starting to show signs of needing some repairs. soft floors and wet foam. But that is to be expects after some 20 years of service.
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Tony, since this is a TDB thread, would you care to update us on the current status of your prestated goal to resurrect the Sea Class 21" production this year?
 
We ran into a slight problem with the 21. However we have the molds prepped and ready to go just as soon as we can rectify the problem. The 21 molds require a minimum 9ft wide door opening and we only have 2 of them at our current location and they are in the layout boat production facility so we cannot work on it at the same time we are building other boats unfortunately. So we are doing little bits and pieces as time permits. Molds are prepped and ready to build. We hope to lay up the hull and deck in June. And then build the interior molds in July. If all goes well we will still have one complete before the season gets underway.

Lots happening around here. We now build over a dozen different boats. And always got one in production. Were working on it. Stay tuned. Plenty of time before hunting season and we still plan to have one complete.
 
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