Brandon Yuchasz
Well-known member
Yes another I am going to build a duck boat thread.
I started the building a boat process with a list of the places and types of hunting I wanted to accomplish with this new boat. Without boring you all with that list I did discover one thing. There isn’t one boat that will do it all well I need two boats.
The first boat needs to be able to hunt myself and my dog, row easily for ½ mile, hide in open water or short saw grass and be safe on big water.
The second boat has similar needs but has to be able to hunt two men and a dog or two. I considered for a time building the bigger two man boat and using it for both sets of needs but there are some distinct differences I want between the two that are incompatible. The biggest being that I want a displacement hull on the small one man boat I want to be able to row this boat easily to pick up decoys chase a sailing cripple on cross some big water without the weight or noise of a motor. The second boat will be powered with an outboard motor and therefore needs a planning hull. In addition I want to really make the one man boat hide well. Open water just me and my pup in the spread of decoys. I want to pull her up into the grass on the marsh with natural cover tucked in the rails. I want a small intimate boat for me and my pup as this is 80 percent of my hunting in a season. My children will grow in the years to come and the second boat will fit the need of taking them on the hunt. It will fit the need of the 20 percent of my season when I hunt out of state or with another person but for now. I can fill that need with my existing boat. It’s a large 18’ boat with a folding blind I will get by with my big boat when I have company or am taking out the kids. Dragging my 18’ boat around the country chasing ducks gets old its to heavy to take to Canada, Ohio and the other places I find myself during a duck season and that is the main reason for the two man boat in the future.
I think the best boat to fit my needs for a small one man boat is a BBSB.
I have searched the archives and pulled all sorts of useful information out of them. To all of you that contributed thank you. I have read about the majority of the BBSB built on the site and narrowed the search to the two I feel will suit my needs the best. I have loved the idea of the Zack Taylor widgeon ever since I read about it in his book but the idea of building my own boat rekindled my interest. I ordered his other book “customizing small boats” and read it cover to cover. I read and reread the section on the widgeon until I understood it completely and could visualize the building process. I am confident I could build this boat. In addition I looked over the plans available on the Devlin boats and although the met the needs for my future boat I don’t think they are what I want in the small boat. I found in the searches the references to the Mystic Sea Port plans for the Perrine sneak box. I ordered them and have been studying them most nights I feel I have a good understanding of how it would go together. This boat seems ideally suited to the uses I have in mind although its constructions seems more difficult then the widgeon. I am reading “Building Classic Small Craft” by John Gardner and although some of it I find difficult to follow I am slowly digesting it all. The last part of my education is coming from sites and books on strip building canoes. They seem to give a good understanding on basic boat building and the names of the pieces.
With all of that background now in place I can FINALLY get to the questions I have about these two boats.
When looking at pictures of Zack Taylor’s Widgeon in open water I can’t help but notice the sides of the boat. I feel the more or less dead rise on them would show in an open water hunt. In grass I don’t see this being a problem. In addition I am wondering if the hull design would have more resistance to the water and make rowing it more difficult then a traditional design of a BBSB. I do feel that I could round the curve of the upper deck on this boat easily taking away from the sides and giving the boat a better overall look. Thoughts on that?
The Perrine boat is a great design. Although I wonder with the fully curved hull if shadows could be a problem with it in open water. When looking at Perry’s boat of this design though it doesn’t appear shadows would show much at all. She is so small and low to the water that a grey paint appears like she would disappear into the waves. Is she really as small as she looks and does she really move through the water easily with ores? Obviously being such and old design she must be sea worthy. I guess I am looking for people who built this boat to share there experience all around on this build. I think I am trying to talk myself into this design but am scared or her a little. This will be my first boat build.
I am mechanically inclined have built homes, carve decoys, so the wood working isn’t too big of a concern. I will have limited tools. I have basic construction tools and a table saw. I have access to a full wood shop but would like to limit my use of it due to the fact that I have to borrow time in it and I would prefer not to bother him to much. The shop is a few miles away so I have to transport wood there do the work and bring it back. The construction will take place in an unheated garage during spring and summer months.
Living where I do I have access to rough cut white cedar at a very reasonable price. So I would most likely be using it for my material. Would wet (green) wood be best or dry? I plan to use laminated fir for the framing material. Marine grade plywood is harder to come by another strike against the Widgeon design. On the Perrine design would there be any advantage to converting it to a strip built design. I have to admit the planking has me worried. Strip built seems easier. I would retain the frame just looking to make the planking easier. Finally how much work does the sail add to the building of this boat? My children would love to sail her as would I but it seems to get much more difficult with this sale not to mention I may need more specialized woods to add the strength.
Any and all thoughts welcomed and appreciated.
Thanks,
Brandon