Decoy storage

John Robinson

John Robinson

Well-known member
I've been struggling with different ideas for decoy and general gear storage on my new 15'-4" Cackler. After years of sailing small to very large boats, I'm kind of anal about clear, unclutered decks and organized storage. I made some under deck storage shelves and gun racks, with a clear understanding that I would be giving up decoy storage in those underdeck locations. The system we use on my buddy's Snow Goose is store the cumbersome rolled up blind in two pieces lashed to the foredeck and our 20 cork decoys in decoy bags. Neil's boat ends up very cluttered with decoy bags, guns and gear all over to the point it is hard to find a place to for the dog to sit.

My boat with the underdeck storage.
IMG_3481.jpg


This becomes a two man operation with one guy pulling decoys out of the bag, unwinding the anchor lines and setting them on the side deck for the other guy to set. My idea is to store the decoys on the side decks, between the coaming and hand rail. I could install little hooks on the coaming and use a small diameter bungie cord doubled at each decoy and attached to the hand rail with a cow hitch. While on the road I would probably transport the decoys in the bottom of the boat, then move them to the side deck location just before launching at the ramp. The next best idea is the saddle storage, but I don't want to block access to to my underdeck gun and shelf storage. I think it comes down to either my new side deck idea or storing them in bags like we do now. BTW we are talking about a maximum 24 magnum size cork decoys.

decoystorage2009005.jpg

 
John,
When I first built my BB3 I tried the bungee cord across the side spaces (your gun spot) to hold about 4 decoys in each area. A single cord did not work and the decoys would slowly vibrate down the sloped hull, under the bungee and then slither all over the floor. I abandoned that idea and bagged them after the first season with the BB3.

In my smaller BB3 we did run with the blind stuff and decoy bag up on the bow deck when with a partner. Alone I tend to leave the bags on the floor, but they still get in the way and the dog wants to walk all over them. Now that one 6 slot bag has $300 worth of decoys in it I am not happy about that.

I have been wanting to install cordura curtains over these areas to hold some decoys and other "stuff" like the grassy net used to cover the motor and spot lights. I have yet to sew these. They would have a bungee on the top and bottom sewn into pockets on the curtain.

I think your idea of building a bungee hold down system between the grass rail and coming will work. You need to make it so that the bungee cords pinch the decoy and work against each other. If you just use one cord per decoy it will only work against the decoy and eventually the decoy will find a way to squeeze itself out and fly off the boat.
 
John,

What about having some custom gunnel decoy bags made that only hang on the inside? I'm sure you could come up with some way of either hanging them via some hooks over the gunnel or perhaps some sort of snap. With the weight of the cork decoys I don't think you would need to worry much about them flopping around under way and you could unhook/snap them once the decoys have been deployed. Hanging from the gunnel I think they would be in an ideal location based on how you like to deploy your spread. Just a thought.

Ryan
 
John,

What about having some custom gunnel decoy bags made that only hang on the inside? I'm sure you could come up with some way of either hanging them via some hooks over the gunnel or perhaps some sort of snap. With the weight of the cork decoys I don't think you would need to worry much about them flopping around under way and you could unhook/snap them once the decoys have been deployed. Hanging from the gunnel I think they would be in an ideal location based on how you like to deploy your spread. Just a thought.

Ryan
Click to expand...

Hi Ryan,

I actually did think of that when I saw the excellent saddle bags someone posted a few weeks ago. I could make some type of clip that hung over the coaming inside the boat. The problem with that is it would block my underdeck storage, but that would only be while we were under way to and from the hunting area. I could detach the blind bag, roll them up and store them somewhere while we were hunting.

It's actually kind of fun fine tuning the boat-hunting system.

John
 
One older fellow I used to hunt with (he does not hunt any more almost 90) used a small bungee to attach the decoy to an aluminum rail. Had a canvas "skirt" to pull over the decoys. He didn't attach this to the boat permanently but would strap it where he wanted according to the amount of load he had.

View attachment DUCK THINGY.jpg
 
Last edited:

This is the netting I got out of the trunk of my car. Spread it out over the front storage space on my TDB just so its kind of tight and I can hold about 18-20 decoys. Might work for you where you carry your gun, or if you have space in the front of your boat.
View attachment storage.jpg
Good luck
 
John,

I'm not sure of your cockpit dimensions, but if you only will carry a maximum of 24 decoys, I think one dozen on each side wouldn't interfere much with your storage. And as you pointed out, it would only be while underway. Once at your location you can roll them up and stow away, giving you full access to your storage.

Twist stud fastners may be the ticket if you go that route. Click here

Good luck!

Ryan
 
John

Putting your shotgun there eats a ton of decoy storage space. My decoys are stored in the side bins by orienting with the heads towards the cockpit and the tails to the boat sides. If you can rotate the decoy heads to point backwards it shortens the decoy length so they don't poke out. I can stack them two high in each bin getting somewhere between 10 -12 decoys per bin. I have 6 covers that keep the decoys from falling out of the bins. The covers are held in place with a cord run that runs the length of the cockpit, i.e., from the front bulkhead, through the base of each knee, and then into the rear cockpit bulkhead. The tops of the bins have bungee instead of cord and hook to eye bolts screwed in the bulkheads and knees. These covers are simple to make and work well in keeping decoys organized and out from under your feet.

Eric
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top