Capt Rich Geminski
Well-known member
Looking for a all glass garvey for gunning and fishing. Need 19/21ft hull. Tried in Delmarva area but no luck. Anyone seen any around?
This is John Van Houten and myself during our early teal season. The boat is "Cold Duck" my 17' gator trax look-a-like. It is the current love of my life. Like "Desert Duck" I built this boat out of corecell, epoxy, kevlar and glass. Without motor and rigging the hull weighs 260-275 lbs. It's incredibly strong and solid. Runs 17.5 mph with 3 guys and gear using a stock 24hp longtail. I can run 19 and change with just me and my dog. Next to an airboat this boat is the ultimate offroad boat, If it floats, it will go thru it! There was a story on it in United Waterfowlers of FL website that eventually landed on duckboats.net. This boat is everything I hoped for. I love the looks of the gator trax boats. Just this one weighs one third of what a gator trax does. It pushes easily, is very economical to run and pushes out of a tight spot very easily. My 3 boats are all Garveys, just modified to fit specific needs. Note the bows, all normal Garvey bows - no flat fronts. I take issue with alot of boats on this site, they look like they have a transom on both ends. A conventional Garvey bow is much more seaworthy. No matter where you use your boat it will eventually face its "Perfect Storm" (read the latest DU magazine) You always want the strongest most seaworthy boat you can get, under your feet. Coventional Garveys whether Chincoteague, Jersey or Long Island versions were developed over decades by men who trusted their lives and livelihoods to this hull form. I know this will stir up a hornets nest with all you Devlin fans, but other than ease of construction those flat fronts serve no positive function. Like Chuck J, I basically grew up in boats like this. Made a living for 15 years working out of them and building them for other baymen. Great little boats provided you know and respect their limitations. Thanks to Chuck J for showing us how to do these posts. Chuck you've created a monster!!!
Tod, If your transom is traveling into 2 t0 3 ft. waves at 10 mph, you got problems! Usually it's the bow that travels into the waves. Seriously, the first time I saw a "hunt deck" I thought it was dumb. Now i couldn't imagine being without one. First, it's my flotation for the aft end (solid foam inside). My chessie, Diesel, has claimed it as his spot while hunting. He can climb onto it unassisted in up to two feet of water, me too! Last but not least, it's a great spot to take a l--k without folding down the blind!
Tod, I think you answered your own question with your question. It is a matter of utility, function and seaworthiness, not "tradition" or "what is acceptable." We should modify things to make them better not worse. In "seat of the pants" engineering, form should follow function. Ask any boat builder, captain or fisherman if their boat would be better if you sawed a couple of feet off the bow and glued on a flat front? 99% of their answers would be NO! Why do this from the start when you can build a hull with a more effeicent entry right from the get go? I'm sure when these flat front hulls were first thought up it seemed like a good idea. We've come a long way since then. Omie Tillet, a famous captain & boat builder from North Carolina, once said.."If someone didn't have a better idea, we would still be paddling around in dugout canoes." Flat front Garveys or scows, not a better idea! Rich