Duck Water 13' Mini Mee Hull Reinforcement

R

Robby S

New member
Hey all,

New to the Forum. I recently purchased a 2022 13' Duck Water Mini Mee. Boat thus far is perfect for my needs. I can hunt two-three no problem and has plenty of space for storage of decoys, etc. My only concern with the boat is the bouncy hull design. When I purchased it the seller had stated that this is how the Mini Mee series from Duck water are made. I had my questions but he had showed me his buddy's boat where he had welded aluminum channels to help stiffen the hull and stop the bouncy "with the water" feel. I reached out to Duck Water Boats to see if they could provide any input on this or how to modify but no response. Does anyone have any knowledge behind the reasoning towards the construction of this? Are there any members that could provide guidance as to how to stiffen the hull? Any feed back would be greatly appreciated!
 
Welcome aboard!
To clarify, is the hull flexing lengthwise or across the hull?
 
Isn't that thing like .19" aluminum? The floor bounces on my glass duck wrangler in the wake but with aluminum I'm kind of surprised. Now my raddison, sure.

Agree with Carls question
 
Welcome to the site!

Could you post a picture or two of the boat?
 
Carl said:
Welcome aboard!
To clarify, is the hull flexing lengthwise or across the hull?
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It definitely is flexing lengthwise. The hull is made up of .19 Aluminum. The back 2/3rds of the boat towards the stern is flat and the front is V. boat bottom.jpg
 
Dani said:
Welcome to the site!

Could you post a picture or two of the boat?
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The location of the back seat is the area in question. It's very flexible to the point that if I were going to stand in it oas it sits an the trailer there extreme bounce. The following pictures are some modifications the seller gave me of his buddies boat that he had modified to correct it. I'm planning on doing something similar.
1.jpg
mod1.pngmod2.png
 
Am I seeing correctly that the bottom of your boat, as from the factory, has no ribs? Just plate aluminum the entire bottom? No wonder it flexes. I can see why your friend added longitudinal support. Probably needs lateral support even more. I thought Duck Water boats were tanks, and heavy like a tank too. I wonder if they were after a lightweight hull on this model. Regardless, a good welder can add interior ribs and I'd want them to run up the sides, like a jon boat. I can only imagine a hull that bulges and flexes under your feet with every wave while under power would not instill confidence to the operator and passengers. You mentioned no response from Duck Water. Sorry about that. Like I said, any competent welder can fix it. If you do nothing eventually the hull will oil can and might fatigue and crack. Get it fixed.
 
There's got to be ribs and a stringer between the hull and the interior platform floor of the boat. I had a Duckwater boat when he first got started making them and it was a tank. I'd venture the reason you haven't heard from him is because this is high season for diver hunting in some places and he's probably out acquiring new customers or just plain hunting.
 
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Eric Patterson said:
Am I seeing correctly that the bottom of your boat, as from the factory, has no ribs? Just plate aluminum the entire bottom? No wonder it flexes. I can see why your friend added longitudinal support. Probably needs lateral support even more. I thought Duck Water boats were tanks, and heavy like a tank too. I wonder if they were after a lightweight hull on this model. Regardless, a good welder can add interior ribs and I'd want them to run up the sides, like a jon boat. I can only imagine a hull that bulges and flexes under your feet with every wave while under power would not instill confidence to the operator and passengers. You mentioned no response from Duck Water. Sorry about that. Like I said, any competent welder can fix it. If you do nothing eventually the hull will oil can and might fatigue and crack. Get it fixed.
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Absolutely and thanks for the input Eric! In addition to the longitudinal supports shown in the pictures above, I'm going to add the internal ribs like you stated. This boat is definitely a lighter weight design and I wouldn't for a second deem it a tank. Everything else really checks the boxes for me besides the flex. I have a 25HP mariner on the boat and currently with the flex and bounce I don't feel comfortable going past 1/2 throttle. I was in slight chop the other day and the boat handled great other then my decoy bags and passengers bouncing with every wave. Like you said, the continuous stress can cause the oil canning over time, cracked welds, failure.
 
Robby

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction. Keep us updated on the repair. It really sounds like once you get this one issue resolved you have the boat that suits your needs and will be happy.
 
One other thought. Take a good look at the transom and check it for flexing or points of stress concentration. If they went light weight on the hull there could be room for improvement in the transom while you have the boat at the weld shop. Sometimes a little bracing or gusset work can prevent bigger problems.
 
Todd Duncan Tennyson said:
There's got to be ribs between the hull and the interior platform floor of the boat. I had a Duckwater boat when he first got started making them and it was a tank. I'd venture the reason you haven't heard from him is because this is high season for diver hunting in some places and he's probably out acquiring new customers or just plain hunting.
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I'm hopeful they respond eventually and can answer some of my questions towards the deign. There is no interior ribbing or supports. interior.jpg
 
Eric Patterson said:
Robby

Sounds like you are headed in the right direction. Keep us updated on the repair. It really sounds like once you get this one issue resolved you have the boat that suits your needs and will be happy.
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Thanks Eric, I'll definitely keep the thread updated as things progress. Unfortunately, I could not find much information towards this on the web so I'm hoping this could help out other DW Mini Mee owners gain some clarity. Really appreciate all for chiming in!
 
As noted above, I'd be shocked if there were not stringers under the floor.
 
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