Herters Duck Boat vs Carsten Canvasback (mud motor)

Brandon Yuchasz

Brandon Yuchasz

Well-known member
Well guys one thing about duck hunting and boats you never stop looking for the perfect rig. I have the need for a small light boat that will run a small mud motor and carry two guys a dog and some decoys around the marsh and let them hunt out of it.

I have been considering the 13 foot duck and goose boat made by Herters and found one I am interested in looking at. In addition I have been looking around for a Carsten Canvasback and found a few worth taking a look at. The Canvasback says it was built to take a mud motor but it looks like it would take almost no rough water at all to sink it. The Herters was built before mud motors and I believe has more of a displacement hull under her. But it looks like it could take a bit more water.

Does anyone have anything to offer on these two boats with a small long tail on them? Pulling dikes would be done from time to time in it but mostly it would be a light boat to trailer long distances and used for runing around in the large 10 mile wide shallow marshes.
 
Brandon,

I had a Herters duck goose boat years ago. The biggest thing I did not like about the Herters boat was the permanent seats built into the hull. I wanted to be able to get really low profile and lay down in the boat. If you want a low profile boat get one you can lay down in.

On a side rant, I have never understood buying a low profile marsh boat or duck skiff and putting a blind on it so I can sit up on a seat to hunt. If you want to put a blind on the boat, buy a boat with a deeper hull that will take rough water or get a BBSB with a dodger that can put up or down (maybe the best of both worlds). Why buy a low profile boat and turn it into a tall profile?
 
Brandon,

I have a Carstens Canvasback with a 6hp Mudbuddy on it. Works extremly well for me and will take a decent amount of rough water. Keeping in mind that "rough water" means a lot of different things to different people.

I have pictures on my home computer which I will try to post in the next few days. I can't promise them till after Easter weekend because I'm snowed under here at work (12hr shift= work ,eat,sleep) and have company for the weekend.
 
What about the Carstens Bluebill? I think the Canvasback is a lot better boat than an old Herters and wouldn't mind having one myself.
 
Lee and others,

I've had the Bluebill, Mallard and Canvasback.

1. Bluebill. It's a sawn off canoe with a small top deck. Bluebill has molded in seats. Not enough room between them to sit in the bottom. Very tippy. I rolled it with no effort at all leaning over the motor cleaning weeds once and leaning over to pick up decoys once. I had a 5.5hp Johnson on mine. The motor was not big enough to plane the boat out. I did put a whale tail type fin on and it helped in open water but was a weed catcher in the marsh. The weight of me (210 at the time) and motor there was less than 3" between top of transom and waterline while sittin on the rear seat.

2. Mallard is a double ended Bluebill. Seats are not molded in. Far to heavy for any paddling of any distance at 150lbs. (boat only) It drafts 6" of water with me and 2 doz decoys, shell box and gun. Again, very tippy.

3. Canvasback is a good boat for sheltered water and minimal to moderate chop. I didn't like the fact that the bottom thickness was in my estimation minimal and the bottom flexed a lot when motoring. Huntindave says he's fine with the flex hoping that it will flex against an obstruction rather than crack though. Dave hunts a smaller river than I do and the flexing I incountered was enough to throw my shell box and tool box around the bottom while motoring. I was affraid that the constant oilcanning would cause the fiberglass to fatigue and fail at the chine which is a somewhat small radius area. If I only hunted sheltered water I would have kept the Canvasback. I did like the boat.

Of course this is my 2cents and as Dave pointed out water conditions mean different things to different people.

Ed L.
 
You rolled a Bluebill? I could see larson doing that since he is 5' 24" and 3/8 of a ton. Man, that thing is 45" wide. I defer to your knowledge though since I never owned a Carstens or hunted out of one. I have looked them over though.
 
I have a herters, the are not a displacement hull, they are for sheltered water only. the downfalls are the permanent seats, heavy and I am not usre I would put a longtail on it. Don't get me wrong its a nice little boat for the money (approx $100-$500) but its limited in its use.
 
That's odd, I just went to Carstens website and they listed the Bluebill at 45" beam. My buddy Chuck Crump had one and it sure seemed wider than 39".
 
Looks like at some point they redesigned the boat. I guess I wasn't the only that was unhappy! When did your friend have his? Mine was 2nd hand I got from a guy up in the Twincites back in "double 0"...
 
I know he has had it more than 5 years. I was going to trade him for it but we never came together on it. I like my Zackbox now and with my BB2, my boat situation is almost perfect for about anything I want to do.
 
I really apreaciate the feedback everyone.

I did a search last night and looked at some of the past posts last night after I posted this. Lots of useful information.

Here is an interesting spin to the question. What Devlin boats are well suited to a mud motor AND a outboard motor.
 
Brandon, the MLB is having it's hunt this year at Au Train Lake, there may be a couple Devlin boats there. You should plan on coming over and looking at them. I'll probably drag my BB2 and Pete McMiller may be taking his BB3 but more than likely he will bring his big Lund and layout boat. I'm not sure which would be best..I'd guess that a Cackler or Snow Goose would work best with a big longtail and maybe a Broadbill with a smaller mud motor. Depends if you want to go through mud or just weeds I guess.
 
Brandon,

On a side rant, I have never understood buying a low profile marsh boat or duck skiff and putting a blind on it so I can sit up on a seat to hunt. If you want to put a blind on the boat, buy a boat with a deeper hull that will take rough water or get a BBSB with a dodger that can put up or down (maybe the best of both worlds). Why buy a low profile boat and turn it into a tall profile?
Click to expand...

Amen , Brother.
 
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