Ideas for a duck boat cart

Scott Bell

Scott Bell

Active member
I had one of my best hunts of the season yesterday. With all of our early ice, searching for new spots led me to a spot that was about a mile from the road that ducks were using. That meant dragging the boat that far so I could carry all of my gear in it.

I had bought a boat cart a few years back from Cabela's, but it was not up to the task of carrying the boat/field decoys/layout blind/gun through ag fields and brush :). The last half of the trip out I was half dragging the boat/cart. Both axle posts had bent under the load. Thankfully they did hang on all the way back to the road. So, I'm looking for a better option.

I've seen a few ideas around here in the past, but thought I would toss out the question to see if there are others that have come up with good solutions to this problem.

Home built is OK although I don't have any welding equipment.
 
I had one of my best hunts of the season yesterday. With all of our early ice, searching for new spots led me to a spot that was about a mile from the road that ducks were using. That meant dragging the boat that far so I could carry all of my gear in it.

I had bought a boat cart a few years back from Cabela's, but it was not up to the task of carrying the boat/field decoys/layout blind/gun through ag fields and brush :). The last half of the trip out I was half dragging the boat/cart. Both axle posts had bent under the load. Thankfully they did hang on all the way back to the road. So, I'm looking for a better option.

I've seen a few ideas around here in the past, but thought I would toss out the question to see if there are others that have come up with good solutions to this problem.

Home built is OK although I don't have any welding equipment.
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Scott,

I'll be watching this thread as I'm in the boat. Pun intended. I need something strong enough to hold a Four Rivers yet light enough I don't kill myself. I've been thinking of how I can utilize my deer hauler but a vision isn't clear yet.
 
Scott,
I have done some serious marches in my early days of duck hunting with a boat. Now I prefer to carry in gear and hunt a dog from shore but here are my thoughts after reading your post.

First is what type of boat and gear are you using. The lighter you go the better in remote area's and I would look at reducing your weight when ever possible for remote spots. After that I would think your going to need to do some fabricating if your breaking the factory designs.
 
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This is what we use. This was the final result after we tried a few other things. One of our friends, Scott, made one of these and we really liked it. SOOOOOOO EASY to pull. with either a bike or walking.

Uses the front fork of two bikes for the axles. So nice and sturdy and can carry a good load (which is good since we don't go light anywhere). They kayak is not light, the decoy sled, not light and then there are several dozen hand carved decoys in the cart and underneath the sled. QUITE a great rig for pulling lots of gear...

Dani
 
The kayak is not light, the decoy sled, not light and then there ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
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Ya, and I can something else "not light" in the picture :>) :>) Granted he is not in/on the cart, but it's still part of the total load!!
 
Dani, do you have a photo of your rig frame without the boat and decoy sled atop? Looks like a modified version of a game cart but presumably there are some cross braces over the V that support the sled.
 
I don't think we have a picture of the sulky unloaded but I'll be back in Florida first of December and will get some then.....though maybe Dani has something that she can post now....


One suggestion if you are carrying a HEAVY load....and like she says we typically do...for comparison to your "load" Scott we regularly have a 10 foot fiberglass Bender boat, (3) Dozen cork decoys-(half of those are Teal or Coots but still a considerable amount of wt), (2) pairs of waders, (2) guns, (2) five gallon dry buckets full of shells and cameras and clothes and food, a small kitchen sink and a flush toilet, plus various and sundry items....so a good amount of wt....we've pulled it behind bicycles, hand pulled it and have also pulled it at speeds of in excess of over 20 mph behind a flatbed trailer hooked to a p/u......slickest set up we've seen and it will do the job...


One suggestion on construction...use HEAVY DUTY RIMS, (spokes will be heavier gauge wire and HD thick wall inner tubes plus GOOD tires if you re going to be doing anything but walking it down level paths)....tendancy is to go "low end" on the rims and tires and tubes.....we've had two rim failures as a result of heavy loads on rough terrain...one at speed and the other while walking when the downslope rim collapsed from the wt.....HD rims has solved that problem for us....


Dave....cute...stand sideways to a camera and stick your tongue out....post the picture....unless you look like a zipper in the picture, which as I recall you don't, you might want to not throw rocks at glass boat houses.....don't forget to stand on an orange crate if your behind anything taller than a mailbox so we can see you in the picture...


Steve
 
I think a lot will depend on what the boat is. My grand father made a canoe cart that it more then up to the task for a canoe. It is made oout of flat steel and bolted together. Originally it was designed with 1940's steel bicycle wheels. I have been through a couple of mountain bike wheels and will be buying and using cart type wheels. It handles 80 to 90 pounds of canoe and say 40 to 60. pounds of camping and fishing gear. I figured it would also handle my merrymeeting scull but I would need to make a cradle specific to the scull. I will not kid you hauling a canoe a and gear a couple of miles up hill and down is taxing. I do not think I am up to moving my scull more than say 1/2 mile.
 
check out the dingy racing that they do in Australia, they have all sorts of contraptions that flip down to get across areas without dragging the boat.

otherwise know as Tinny boats in Australia.
 
Dave....cute...stand sideways to a camera and stick your tongue out....post the picture....unless you look like a zipper in the picture, which as I recall you don't, you might want to not throw rocks at glass boat houses.....don't forget to stand on an orange crate if your behind anything taller than a mailbox so we can see you in the picture...
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Steve,
I have been told that fat weighs less than muscle mass. It is therefore my position that in spite of what any scale might read, I absolutely positively am losing weight as I age. ;>)
 
Well guys, Scott Swartley is the genius who made the sulky.....he does check in and occasionally post on the forum. I am only too happy to use and promote what he made....we sure love it.

I did some looking and I don't have a picture of it unloaded or any better pictures so you'll have to wait til Steve gets here for the better pictures.
 
Dani,

Thanks for the photo. That's close to what I had in mind minus the sled. My sled probably won't support 150lbs but gives me some ideas. There was someone else with a rig that he hauls a Ducker on but I can't find the thread. It's a little lower center of gravity which would help to load the Four Rivers. Just have to keep looking.
 
Ed the sled isn't attached...its just a decoy sled that we use to float decoys into the marsh....the kayak is the dog stand and taxi to the spot in the dark, and the sled floats the rest of the gear....in transport it just sits in the cart...if you we don't need it we don't take it.....


Center of gravity would be up to the builder....would be a simple matter to lower the frame...make it straight instead of V'ed....or make any other modifications you needed for your application but still retain the larger diameter tires which makes this rig so much better than anything else we've tried.....just a matter of customizing the idea of using bicycle forks as your "wheels"....Easy Peasy Roll Your Boat Nice And Easy...


Steve
 
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Ed, when the sulky isn't attached to the bike you can set it so the tongue is facing down....like a ramp....then you just slide the boat up the ramp.....works for us anyway
 
This is a thread I had bookmarked with a setup I liked:

http://www.duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=199386#199386
 
Here is what I picked up a couple of years ago - a Yakima Rack and Roll trailer. While some might consider it pricey, it solves many of my issues of keeping a trailer around the house. If I recall, I got it off Craigslist for under $1000 and it has done everything I want it to do. I can hook it up to the vehicle and tow it at highway speed. Throw the gear in the boat and I have more room in the cargo area to haul other hunting stuff.

View attachment Yakima1.jpg

I get to the hunting spot and if it is a walk, unhook the trailer, shift the weight to where there is nothing on the tongue and walk it down to where I need to be. I'm a weakling and barely break a sweat hand towing this thing. I have been to several different spots this year, the last of which was today which was a walk of 3/4 of a mile or so. Get to where you want to, unload the trailer by tipping it up and the boat and gear slides right off.

After getting home, break the trailer down in under 5 minutes and it stores flat against the side of the garage barely taking up any room. For someone who doesn't have a bunch of room to store stuff, this is the solution that works well for me. Nice thing is that in the winter time, I can haul my flipover shack on it if I need the extra room in the cargo area of the Jeep.

View attachment Yakima3.jpg

View attachment Yakima2.jpg

There are other versions of a lightweight trailer that can be unhooked and used as a hand hauler. I don't think they break down like the Yakima however.

Mark W
 
That is really a nice rig, I like the idea of high speed wheels and have thought about using motorcycle swing arms with the motorcycle wheels to build a similar trailer but am going to work on my weed whacker long tail first. I can vouch for how nice Marks trailer is having seen it in action. Make sure you lock that one up good Mark heehee. Personally I use a modified portage cart from Cabellas and have had very good luck with that one.
 
Had the mini mudmotor freeze up on me the past couple of hunts Tom. Had to put it in the water to unfreeze the prop. I was a little worried that I was going to be paddling upstream which would have been a real big bummer.

You can take any of my small motors Tom any time. You can even borrow the trailer if you want to make your own. Just let me know. Maybe we can meet out ice fishing somewhere.

Mark W
 
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