Gator duckhunter

C

clinton andrus

Active member
So I think I have settled on the first one to build. Think the gator boats duckhunter is what I will build.

But I have a few questions.

I'm wondering how hard would it be too change from ply on frame too stich and glue construction?

I really dont want the extra weight of ply on frame construction that the plans call for.

Already planning on removing all rocket from the rear to allow for a wider beam to up the motor rating some and also have a wider bottom for shallower drafting.

My 23 horse copperhead surface drive will be powering this. Unless it is underpowered, then it will be off to texas for a 30 horse to be dropped on and tuned up.

Kind of got the interior layout figured in my head, gas tank and battery stored up front under deck, gun racks/ push pole racks along each side.

Probably add just a small bit of width to the cockpit opening, since I'm a broad chested feller.

Length will be 15 foot oal.

Nice thick 1 1/2 transom for supporting the weight and torque of the surface drive.

Planning on making saw dust come march of 2022.
 
Clint, likely no one has done it for that boat. Just do it. Look at some other boats, and do it. You might want to built a scale model first. I built a stitch and glue hull, similar to the duckhunter, but made it a planing hull.
 
Thanks for the reply. Yea I have checked out your boat a dew times, fantastic design.

I dont have a problem just driving in and learning as I go. Heck looks like that's my only option. Since just about anything I ask on here gets ignored.
 
A good contact on this build may be Tollerboatworks.com. The boats he builds are I believe modified from hull you,ve decided on. He may actually have done the same in his smaller builds.
 
Well, I very much enjoyed the process of designing and building my own boat. Plus, it worked out. It is a great duckboat. I encourage you to go for it.

Ed.
 
Actually a member here by the name of Phil Nowack built a modification of this boat this year using the stitch and glue process. He modified the plans to look more like the Toller boat with a motor/hunt deck design. I'm surprised he hasn't chimed in. He did a fantastic job on it.
 
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You got a unmodified one for free.

I dont like the atc, to dang big and sits up to high off the water for where I hunt.

The diffrence in the ATC's hull bottom and the duckhunter's once modified to remove the rear rocker is nothing. It's the same exact hull design.

Mine will also be wider on the bottom and beam then the plans call for. Going 48 bottom and 60 on the beam and 15 foot oal length.

I did look over your build threads and took a few notes.
 
I'm not sure anyone has built a duckhunter with the stich and glue method. If they have, I haven't seen it.

I obviously can't speak to Phil's experience with his free duckhunter but in my experience "tippy" isn't a word I'd use to describe the boat. In fact, I'd say my experience was the exact opposite. My duckhunter was stable, predictable and handled well. The boat has quite a bit of rocker so it will porpoise when on plane but that was mostly remedied by shimming the motor and finding the "sweet spot" for passengers and gear. It's been 20 years since I build the boat but I believe the transom angle called out the plans is like 10* and limits how much you can shim the motor, 15* would be better. We fished, hunted and even bow hunted out of it for about 10 years before I passed it along to someone else. I often hunted two people with a dog and was never worried about the boat tipping, swamping or otherwise being dangerous. I wouldn't recommend the boat for big water or "large wave/wind" days but it wasn't designed for those conditions.

My boat had several modifications to the original construction (added transom thickness, transom bracing, invisible butt joints, floor stringers, flush storage doors, etc..) BUT I did not, in any way, alter the hull size or shape. If someone changes the hull shape or modifies it to a "planning" hull or otherwise, the handling could be better or worse than original design.

.
 
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Not to be an ass, but since you have all the answers why are you soliciting help and complaining when people don't help you? Is very simple to make the duck hunter Stitch and glue. Instead of framing you use bulkheads and knees. Have that point you make it just like a Devlin.
 
I dont have all the answers.

But I see your backside is hurting because you dont like when someone talks to the point. So sorry about that, it's how I talk and type, dont have time in life too beat around a bush.
 
HA not at all... Just.. what you think you know.. are not the facts... The ATC and the Duck Hunter are NOT identical minus rocker.. but.. I only have plans to the Duck Hunter, and certainly not my version of a ATC, since Brad doesn't sell or have plans. Make the boat how you like, but I have made multiple boats, and made these stitch and glue, as well as a similar boat stitch and glue. I have Duckhunter, and ran it with a heavy longtail on it. I know how it handled.

The best thing about a homemade wood boat. You can modify it as you like. and you can make it stitch and glue.
 
I was interested in the Duckhunter, years ago, but it's not a planing hull. Also, I liked Devlin's Scaup, but then it's not the flat bottomed boat I needed. So, I designed and built my own boat, which I posted most of that on this site. I call it the Peregrine. It's a great boat. I have really enjoyed it. I built it a long time ago. It was before Hurricane Katrina in 2005; I know that.

Ed.
 
Yea I checked your boat out several times. In fact you created it's own web page and I have that safed so I can revisit it when I need too.

Took several ideas from it.the gator duckhunter will plane when te rear rocker is removed.

Really like your boat but it's a bit to heavy and big for the area's I hunt.

15x48 is bout perfect for my needs.

Also why i want too do it stich and glue and lose the weight if the frame that is called out in the plans.

Currently i have plans for
Duckhunter
Gator
Bluebill
Black brandt III

The duckhunter with a few mods to make it a true planing hual fits my needs the best.

Devlin's boats while beautiful. Are well rather useless in our marshes and shallow bays.

For every spot i can hunt with my weldbuilt flat and mod'd merc outboard, I have 20 spots that I cant get even close to without a copperhead surface drive.
 
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