MLB Chuck Huff Sneak

Why did they stop production of these boats?
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For anyone from outside the parent company, any answer would be pure speculation.
Having said that, I personally own and use one of these exact model boats am and very pleased with how it functions on the water. Other owners have been less than pleased. One of the issues surrounding these boats was the lack of good quality control during production. The boats coming off the molds were quite often not consistent one to another in hull integrity.
The basic hull design of the Chuck Huff is good. Any hull coming off this mold, that has been built using the proper materials and building techniques, will be seaworthy and safe. If built improperly, any hull design will be questionable.
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Dave hits the nail on the head. My boat has the Diab Foam...this was one of the selling points in early purchase discussions I had with the former owner of the company. I have photos somewhere of my floor and you can clearly see the slabs of foam glassed in. I love this boat....heck, I'd probably buy the molds and have the hulls layed up as intended if I were in the boat mfg biz. This would be a great hull for any fiberglass duckboat mfg to build and market.
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Thanks Ron, I am liking the news i have been hearing on them. Found one but it does not have the foam on the inside. Not sure what to do. Wish it had the foam for sure. I will end up with one of these one way or another i am sure.
 
Thanks Ron, I am liking the news i have been hearing on them. Found one but it does not have the foam on the inside. Not sure what to do. Wish it had the foam for sure. I will end up with one of these one way or another i am sure.
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Gary, these boats have problems, they are not supported by the previous owner or current owner. Some boats are fine, but a good number are not. There are similar boats that don't have problems. The boat is not unique enough to head into potential problems to get one for me. Just because one you buy is fine when you buy it doesn't mean it is going to hold up. I wouldn't say I wouldn't buy one, but to focus on a model in your search that has known problems just doesn't make sense to me.
 
Do all the Higbees have a small cockpit area. One of the reasons i like the Huff is the bigger cockpit opening. I just like the lines of the Huff with that size cockpit.. I am definitely open to suggestions.
 
Garey why not look into a Kristiansen Custom built the way you want it He is located in Little Silver N.J. #732-977-5648. It can do anything a Higbee can do & then some . There is a lot of satisfied Customers here in N.J.
 
Do all the Higbees have a small cockpit area. One of the reasons i like the Huff is the bigger cockpit opening. I just like the lines of the Huff with that size cockpit.. I am definitely open to suggestions.
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From Craig F:

If you look on NJ and surrounding area craiglist listings there are quite a few higbee sneakboxes for sale, which is the hull the Chuck Huff was based on. They made a large cockpit and a small cockpit mold. The Huff I believe was large cockpit only.
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Seems like there are large cockpit higbees...
 
They made a large cockpit and a small cockpit. Also there were several manufacturers using the same mold. Higbee, Rays Plastics, Duck Machine I believe were a few names for the same boat essentially.

Supposedly someone has the molds and are building new ones but that's second hand information overheard at the boat ramp.

If you have the budget I would definitely look into Marty's boats though. If I was going to replace my Fricke I would have Marty build me a custom Highlands box.
 
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Guys money is definitely a factor. Single dad putting a kid threw college and trying to enjoy the sport he loves on a single income is not easy as most of you know. So custom boat is way out of the question. Want something i can hunt the coastal shores as well as the local ponds and swamps. I thought i could put a longtail mud motor on it for some of the swampy areas i hunt and then put the outboard on for the coast to hunt the bays and tidal marshes.
 
You may want to talk with Duck Boss boats I believe he has the molds for Dave Clark Estuary and is making them. I have heard good things about that boat.
 
I bought a MLB Wigeon this past November. I actually bought it from a family member of the owner of the original MLB company. Having used modified V's and Jon boats mostly, it took a minute to get used to the rocker this boat has; however, after running this boat most of the season on a 320+ acre lake, I would not trade this boat for anything.

It feels very safe, and the experience of hunting from a boat of this design is pure, old time duck hunting to me. I love it ! I'm going to try and locate someone to do one for me in an aluminum hull. Speaking of which, check out Countyline Boats. He has a nice layout boat done in aluminum that is fairly reasonable.

http://www.countylineboats.com/

Watch the classifieds here, and on other major duck hunting forums. They do come up for sale quite regularly, ranging in price from $600 to $1200, depending on what all comes with the outfit. You might want to use Searchtempest to search Craigslist. It will search all of the Craigslist ads within a specified radius of your zip code.
 
Its funny sometime you ask a question looking for an answer and next thing you are so overwhelmed with which way to go now... I am so appreciative of all this advice. I understand everyones reasoning for what they say. I am going to look into all these boats suggested and hopefully find the one that fits me and my budget.
 
Scott, how do you like the Estuary
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Love it! I feel extremely safe in it and workmanship is second to none. The only thing I miss is the speed of the planing hull. But that is the nature of the beast I suppose.
 
I saw a photo of one from the tuckerton show. I'm not sure if Dave or duck boss made that one, but it just wasn't the same. Even though it was only a picture I saw, the boat just looked "cheesy and cheap" to me.
 
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