Car-top duck boat suggestions???

Fat boys look great, but wouldn't offer much for that occasional second person. Brian, you didnt say if you would be shooting out of it or just transport. Either way, a workhorse as Scott described is what you need to haul a load safely.

I got a portage wheel last year, works great for some spots with a two track closed to vehicle traffic (still maintained for DNR access) so I can load deeks and gun in the boat and roll it down the trail. Otherwise I do as Jim mentioned, about 3 trips each way.

Chuck
 
If you go the canoe route, you need not necessarily settle for what's available retail. In canoe-loving parts of the country (New England, Adirondacks and the Great Lakes, and probably some other spots as well), you can find local "mom-and-pop" outfits that make custom boats, often at prices competitive with the better-quality commercial makers.

If I ever decide to buy another new canoe, it will be from these guys:

http://www.canoesandkayaks.com/


They are close to me, make a very nicely finished boat, have a bunch of nice designs, and are the only canoe maker I know who can make a glass or kevlar canoe in either dead dull grass or "marsh grass". I drool over the weights of their Kevlar boats--46 pounds for a 17.5' canoe!--, but most are well over $2000. But their fiberglass boats are still reasonably light, and most are under $1000.

Many of these outfits will work with you to customize a boat for your purposes. For example, if I ever order one, I'll ask them to add an extra layer of glass at the bow to beef it up for use around the ice.

Big enough for 2 men and a dog and also light enough to cartop is a tough combination, and I think anything other than a canoe or a pirogue is going to be too heavy for you. For canoes, to be comfortable for 2 men and a dog, look for boats with a 6" freeboard load capacity of at least 1000 pounds. A boat like that will paddle comfortably with 650-700 pounds or so. That sounds like a lot of weight, but it's not hard to get to with 2 big guys (say 475 lbs), a big lab (another 80), plus all your gear.
 
Any of those boats on top of a Forerunner would be tricky (Four Rivers, MoMarsh, Otter ((maybe)). IMO. They're awkward to move around, and it's a lot of surface area up there for the wind to grab etc. While it may be possible, I wouldn't want to do it, and certainly not too often.

Steve
 
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Thanks guys, some pretty good ideas and thoughtful review of the options I mentioned. I may take another look at various canoes and rethink the places I might hunt and the people I would bring. Scott, I may take you up on that offer to try out the canoe. It may be tough to train a 6+ year old lab to sit still in a canoe.

Thanks for all the suggestions and help.

Brian
 
Brian,

My training/reminder method was simple. Keep him in front of the bow seat. The canoe is narrow so he stays close the center line but still in reach of the paddle in your hands. Pile the decoys in behind him and he's stuck there. An occasional tap on the butt worked wonders when they stand up. The added benefit is that the pups act as a very effective counter weight to you in the stern. The biggest problem is when you add a second adult and you have to move the pup back. More room to shift and he will to try to see around the bow man. Make sure your bow man knows that if the canoe gets tippy that he should stay on center and drop to his knees to lower the C of G. You counter balance and control the dog in front of you since you can see and he can't without turning around.

And the offer is real, show up with roof racks and I'll set you up.

Scott
 
Hi Brian,

I just started this duck season with a new Momarsh Fatboy DP, and I am cartopping it on roof racks on my Toyota Matrix. It's doable, but I'm looking forward to getting a truck in the near future to make life a lot easier. It's not so much the weight of the boat that is an issue, but the shape of it. I'm a relatively young guy and stronger than most, and it's still quite a ritual for me to get it on the roof due to it's width and shape. I can't just throw it on my shoulders like a canoe. It goes on upside down, and I have a thick foam pad I put on the rear of the roof/hatchback, and first flip it and rest the nose (front deck) on the rear of the car, then grab the rear and slide it on. I also took a couple of 2x2s and cut them to fit just inside the cockpit on the roof racks and they're held tightly on with u-bolts to act as wedges. When all settled in, the boat is very secure, but I also remove my grass cover and everything to keep the weight down on my little roof racks, so that adds to my time each morning at the launch.

I have been pleasantly surprised at both the boat's stability and capacity though. I can stand up in it and walk around, and I stand on the rear deck to pole along when it's too shallow to motor. It is WAY more stable than any of the small cartopper jon boats I've seen or been in. It drags well on grass when empty, but I have a kayak cart just in case I have to go further or use a gravel/rocky launch. I used it to ferry 2 hunters, a big lab, and lots of gear on opening day and was impressed, though the lake was like glass and we packed it in as soon as the wind started to come up. Hunting two, we used it as a blind "platform" and just sat on the deck at either end. On a solo hunt the following day I had a chance to check out it's limitations in the waves, and much over 1 foot and I wasn't comfortable (but the same goes for a small jon with me). Fortunately, most areas I hunt I can just get out and wade it back if it's worse than that.

I also have a light (41 lb.) kevlar canoe at my disposal, and that's my boat of choice for exploring new areas or when I want to be quick and hunt from a blind or standing in the reeds. If you don't need to hunt out of the boat, then a canoe sounds like a good choice for you. If you end up going with a Momarsh boat and cartopping it on an SUV, you'll need to invest in on the loading-assist devices like a bar extender or hullavator.
 
Canoes are great and I have hunted/fished out of them a lot, but... there is always that chance of capsizing. Then you (in waders most likely), your buddy, dog, gun, shells, etc. are getting wet, and that's not pleasant if it's cold out. As a result I do not prefer to hunt with a canoe in most situations anymore...

Make sure you have all the appropriate gear if you go with a canoe, life vests ON, floating dry bags for guns & shells, etc. I learned the hard way, there is a brand new fishing rod and a few hundred bucks worth of bass lures at the bottom of a local pond. That was when the water was relatively warm, I dont want to try it again when it's 35 degrees and I am wearing waders!
 
Just because you can't back a trailer into the water in a spot, doesn't mean you can't bring your boat to the spot on a trailer. Having a boat on a trailer saves a lot of work, especially if you can have gear loaded in it too.
 
Sportspal canoe, almost impossible to flip due to the width and the foam spons, 14' weight 55 lbs.
Foam lined, 500 lb plus weight capacity.
Dogs can climb in out w/out feeling tippy, 2 men, a dog and decoys are no problem.
I sold my poke boat and bought one. I couldn't be happier.
 
I used a borrowed canoe to get to where I hunted for 4 years. I got bolder and bolder and continued to hunt later and later in the season and it was just too cold and exposed to the wind - tough to keep it going in a straight line. I saved my money for 3 of those years and bough an Aquapod! Lighter than a canoe, cartopable, VERY stable, and you can hunt out of it as a layout boat. I have since progressed to a BBSB, but only in order to extend my range, and prolong my muscles...

Anthony
 
Sorry to chime in so late but I missed the start of this thread. I car/trailer top my Pole boat and it goes about 85#. I couldn't do it w/o the loader I built for it. I bought one from Cabelas' and took it back with in the hour. It was a flimsy P.O.S. With the loader it goes up and down without too much pain. I did tear my back up before I built the loader so please be careful with whatever you put up there. BTW I also use a steel cart like the one Cabelas' sells and it works like a charm. Good Luck.
 
I have hauled a 11'6 Pelican Kayak on top of my Jeep a few times. It is very easy to load with one person but you are limited to what you can haul. I could carry myself, gun, about 6 decoys, and a backpack. It works great for those quick trips by yourself though! Here is a pic of it loaded down ( I just posted it in another thread also). Nick
IMG00092-20100123-0958.jpg

 
Thought I'd add one more picture - the canoe & Bogs Camo'd up for action. I noted earlier that keeping your pup forward kept him on the centerline - it works. Bogs was probably at 85# in this picture and only a couple of years old. In the picture he's still wearing the vest I bought for the springer before him. Took a lot of modification but it was free at that point.

Scott

View attachment bogscanoe.jpg
 
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