Mad River Duck Hunter Canoe: your eyes appreciated

L

Larry Eckart

Well-known member
Platinum Sponsor
Guys,
I am going to be retiring on July 1. We will be moving to the Raleigh NC area. One of the things I want to do is explore the many waters in NC in a 16' Mad River Duck Hunter canoe. This is the Duck Hunter version of the long-lived and very popular Mad River Explorer.

They aren't made anymore. They come up infrequently on Craigslist and other classified boards.

I would appreciate it if you would keep your eyes out for one. I would be willing to take a road trip to pick one up. If you happen to see one, email me at the address below. I frequently miss seeing messages on our board. Pic below.

By the way, next week I will be in the OBX on my third duck hunt there with friends. Will give a report.

Thank you,
Larry Eckart
RiverLarry2@sbcglobal.net

View attachment fMad_river_duck_hunter_canoe__850_Johnsto_5865fb9ab6746.jpg
 
The Explorer is my favorite Royalex canoe--maybe the best "all-around" canoe of the modern era. There are two Explorers in my fleet.

Good luck on this quest. I rarely see any Explorers come up on Craigs List or in the local paper anymore, much less a Duck Hunter.

As I recall, the only differences between a standard Explorer and the Duck Hunter were the matte olive color on the hull and a darker stain on the wood. They made for a handsome boat.

FWIW, if you are after function rather than looks, my oldest Explorer, which has been in my hands for 20 years and probably dates to the mid 80's originally, was converted to duck duty from its original bright red with rattlecan spray camo. I also replaced the original ash gunwales with plastic ones from Old Town Canoe when the wood rotted out.

It is not the handsome showpiece of the old Duck Hunter, but I got it for $200 at a yard sale when the new Duck Hunters were retailing for something like $1200. It is now very well suited for its current duty as a "stash in the woods" canoe, and it paddles and hides like a dream.
 
There is one on facebook in Sweetwater, Tennessee currently but it looks a little rough around the edges.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2006485556038790/
 
I picked one up a few years back that looked to have been rotting away in someones backyard for years. I picked up some ash and got it to bend to the gunnel by putting it in a pvc pipe with a wallpaper steamer hooked up to it. They are great canoes and as Steve said your best bet might just be to get an explorer and paint it. The original ones had holes drilled into the gunnels to grass up the boat for hunting which looks pretty neat but probably isn't all that practical. There are some websites you can do a broader search of craigslists or apps where you can setup alerts when one pops up. View attachment 413813_10150698525973689_833792966_o.jpg
 
Kris Winiarski said:
I picked one up a few years back that looked to have been rotting away in someones backyard for years. I picked up some ash and got it to bend to the gunnel by putting it in a pvc pipe with a wallpaper steamer hooked up to it. They are great canoes and as Steve said your best bet might just be to get an explorer and paint it. The original ones had holes drilled into the gunnels to grass up the boat for hunting which looks pretty neat but probably isn't all that practical. There are some websites you can do a broader search of craigslists or apps where you can setup alerts when one pops up.
Click to expand...

Nice work and done with hand tools I see :).

Looks great, I really like the ash.
 
Mark,
Thank you for the link. While I am willing to take a road trip for this canoe, driving from South Carolina to the Duluth area in the winter isn't the most practical idea!! I believe my wife would start divorce proceedings immediately.


Thanks for your support for Tom Scholberg. What a difficult time for him and his family!

Best to you and yours,
Larry
 
Hunting partner found one at the land fill. Someone had drill holes in the bottom to retrieve from the lake bottom. New gunnels ,great hunting platform. I have a mad river 16 blem built in the early 80's when they were first built in Waitsfield VT. Abandoned on my canoe rack,Grey floor,olive green . Fast boat.
 
John,
If you look close, that's a Mad RiverTahoe, close but not the same boat.

Thanks for your effort,
Larry
 
John Kirk said:
Larry Eckart said:
Mark,
Thank you for the link. While I am willing to take a road trip for this canoe, driving from South Carolina to the Duluth area in the winter isn't the most practical idea!! I believe my wife would start divorce proceedings immediately.


Thanks for your support for Tom Scholberg. What a difficult time for him and his family!

Best to you and yours,
Larry
Click to expand...

https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/woolwich-14-royalex-mad-river-canoe/6773216925.html
Click to expand...

John, are you trying to tempt me? Price is a little high fort my Yankee skin flint heritage, but it's been listed a while and the seller might come down.

Larry, if you want someone to check that one out, I'd be willing, and I promise not to outbid you. Another boat at my house means D-I-V-O-R-C-E, but I could get away with storing one for you until you could come get it.
 
She would never do that to you Jeff.... "storing it".....[w00t]


Jeff Reardon said:
John Kirk said:
Larry Eckart said:
Mark,
Thank you for the link. While I am willing to take a road trip for this canoe, driving from South Carolina to the Duluth area in the winter isn't the most practical idea!! I believe my wife would start divorce proceedings immediately.


Thanks for your support for Tom Scholberg. What a difficult time for him and his family!

Best to you and yours,
Larry
Click to expand...

https://maine.craigslist.org/...anoe/6773216925.html
Click to expand...

John, are you trying to tempt me? Price is a little high fort my Yankee skin flint heritage, but it's been listed a while and the seller might come down.

Larry, if you want someone to check that one out, I'd be willing, and I promise not to outbid you. Another boat at my house means D-I-V-O-R-C-E, but I could get away with storing one for you until you could come get it.
Click to expand...
 
Jeff,
Thanks for the offer. I'll wait and see if one comes up in my region. A road trip to northern Minnesota while also moving this coming summer from SC to NC would get me booted out of the house.

:)

Larry
 
I spent last summer looking for a Royalex boat. In my case I was open to a Mad RIver or Old Towne. It seems Royalex is no longer being made anymore and a good Royalex canoe is scarce and the prices are high. I have had a few but my last one was torn in half by a falling pine tree.

I find there is about a 25 -30 year shelf life on these boats unless they have been stored out of the sunshine. After that long the Royalex often tears instead of dents and I do a lot of white water paddling so I needed one that was still "bouncy" . I settled on a 17" 4" green Old Towne that was an older boat but it had been kept underneath a house in the crawl space. I have seen some deals but I would not necessarily balk at one in the $500 range as they are worth that for a good one. Remember they are not making anymore.
 
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