MOMARSH FAT BOY DP: How good is the dual purpose

R

ryanbabb

New member
How good is the dual purpose boat for open water layout hunting in open water?
What about sneaking down a small river or creek how well does this boat do for multi purpose use?
Is it the answer for having one boat for all your layout and sneakbox hunting for one man?
What manufacture or boat will out perform it in this area?
 
Since Ira is packing for his next trip and hasn't answered I'll give it a feeble attempt. I was lucky enough to be the first to field test the prototype boat several years ago. I got started in layout boats with a 4 Rivers and hand built Karas. Compared to those boats it was wonderful. It poled and tracked like a Kara(the 4 Rivers was a pig to pole) and was lighter than the 4 Rivers boat(the Kara is fairly heavy). The flat sections on the bow and stern give you a flat place to stand or stack gear. I liked it so much I sold my 4 Rivers and bought one when they came on the market. Now as far as true open water layout hunting goes, it doesn't have the weight or tapered sides (projecting all the way into the water) like a true open water layout boat. It will however handle some rough chop(1' to 1 1/2') but due to it's light weight you'll get bounced around a little. If you're looking for a boat to haul 2mi. out into Lake Erie I wouldn't pick it as my primary layout boat. If you're looking for a boat to haul into a flooded rice field and then take to a river or shallow lake and hunt several hundred yards off the bank then I've had mine fill that roll very well. I know Lou T. has had good success using Visqueen to hide a boat with exposed sides/gunnels as a layout boat and I'm sure it would work very well for the DP as well. Hopefully Ira will chime in and set me straight if I'm off base.
 
the DP being "useable" as an open water layout even while acknowledging that thats not what its made for and that it has some shortcomings when used that way. Then I'll add that when compared to the other boats that would be used in the same situation, (Pod, Four Rivers, smaller Carstens, Marsh Rat), that it beats them all hands down IMO....

I've used my DP for an open water layout boat. As already stated it doesn't have the width to be as stable as a "real" open water boat so you definately need to be "tended" if you are any distance from shore. Add to that the fact that the clamping edge is above water and also that the rocker in the boat makes the bow and stern have more clearance than is optimal in a "true" open water layout. These two items mean you are going to get some water slapping up under the bow and stern and edges and the entry in the water will not be "clean"....if you are gunning in an area where layout hunting is heavily practiced those two items will hurt you and you may need to do something, like.....shuuuuuudddddeerrrrrrrrr....covering it with visqueen, to eliminate that. However if youare hunting in areas where no one guns open water in this type boat you'll be fine.

There is very little open water layout hunting done on the saltwater bays here in Washington and as a result when we use the DP in those situations they are deadly, even with the lack of clean water entry in mind.

For the rest of your answer regarding "is the DP the answer" to all of you one man needs I'd say its pretty close....it poles like a dream, tracks well with a paddle, is big enough to hunt you and your dog, has a cockpit wide enough to get your shoulders inside the cockpit so that you can actually recline instead of just "sit up" like with the Pods, is light enough to be able to man handle into the bed of a pickup or onto a roof rack, takes a motor on the stern whcih allows you to avoid those abominable side mounts like you have to use on the Pods, can be towed behind a big boat AT SPEEDS EXCEEDING any of the others, (I had a pair of DP's up to 38 mph behind my big boat last weekend), and it hides like stealth fighter in short grass....

Not perfect for ALL applications but definately the best "all around" small boat that I've tried...

Steve
 
I,m finishing up my first season with the DP. It's dam near perfect. I have yet to master poleing locomotion.Maybe next year. I did fashion a set of oar locks,and I can really travel with a set of aluminum oars. But by sitting and rowing you use up decoy carrying space.

Ken
 
Thanks everyone I am in Kentucky and would use this boat for layout hunting on kentucky lake and on the ohio river with chop less than 1 1/2 foot and use it to sneak up on birds in small rivers and creeks I would most likely never carry decoys or very much gear. I would also like to use it to fish small lakes how well would it work for fishing?
 
that you contact Ira and find out who has a boat close to you, then call them and see if they will let you try it out, (I know I do that with mine out here in Wa. when people want to try one and I know other people who own them that do the same thing).

You seem to be one of those TYPE A people, (thats not a critical statement so please don't take it that way), who needs all the answers to all the questions before you make the decision. If I'm right then the only way your ever going to be comfortable with the decision to pull the tirgger is to have sat in one.

Don't forget Ira is in St.Louis and has a boat there. I know Ky. is a big state and don't know how far you are away but if you're only a short distance away you might want to spend a day driving over and trying one out.

I don't fish out of mine that much but if it will work on a lake to hunt out of you can certainly fish out of it....

Steve
 
The only problem with fishing out of one is it doesn't have any of those nifty can or rod holders or built in coolers errr dry errrr wet boxes to keep your beer cold like those plastic duck errrrr I mean fishing boats have.


"Listen to me when I'm talkin to ya son.. Ahhhhh that's a joke son, you're built to low to the ground, the fast ones just go right over your head" - Foghorn Leghorn
 
I don't remember who put this picture up on the old site but it shows the effect of the clear polly on the boats shape in the water to birds coming in from the side and above.

SBSCOTTER w visqueen.jpg
 
I bought one last year, ran a 6 hp beaver tail on it. I ran up on a floating log one night, bow went up, stern went down and I had to swim out . I spent the first day of deer season salvaging my gear. If all my hunting was done in shallow water its the only boat I'd own. It hid well, was light enough for one man to handel, and poled well (I loved the blind and invisagrass). I tell this story , not to bash this boat, because it is a great marsh boat, but to possibly save a life. I wouldn't go to far from shore.
 
I bought one last year, ran a 6 hp beaver tail on it. I ran up on a floating log one night, bow went up, stern went down and I had to swim out . I spent the first day of deer season salvaging my gear. If all my hunting was done in shallow water its the only boat I'd own. It hid well, was light enough for one man to handel, and poled well (I loved the blind and invisagrass). I tell this story , not to bash this boat, because it is a great marsh boat, but to possibly save a life. I wouldn't go to far from shore.
Click to expand...


I am confused, does your statement mean that the boat broke in half!!! Also just how fast will a 6hp BT push a DP?
 
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David, Most people will read your post as bashing Ira's boat. You say you are telling the story to possibly save a life. If that is truly your intent you should tell the WHOLE story.

Your story starts out"[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica] I bought one last year, ran a 6 hp beaver tail on it." and then goes on to relate a bad experience with the boat.

A more accurate story line would be as follows; [/font]"[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica] I bought one last year, ran a 6 hp beaver tail on it." in spite of the 2.5 hp rating on this boat!!

At least that way your readers will understand the the whole point of the story is, do not grossly over power your boat.

The setup you described was/ is 240% over the coast guard rating.
[/font]
 
I've been in situations where we used a MoMarsh boat as a layout on Kentucky and Barkley. The first year we had the boat in open water in snotty weather and some 2-ft+ chop, and it is not my first choice on places to be - you definitely want a life jacket, radio and a tender boat. No spray curtain means that you will be taking some water, so a sponge or bailing cup would be advisable. As it turned worse, the strategy was to "scrunch" into the downwind end of the boat to raise the nose and keep water out.

We also discovered that the profile of the boat - that is, not being a rounded "hump" like an Erie-style layout - created an issue for the divers, and in the chop the boat would bounce in the waves.

Maybe this sounds too negative, but I guess what I'm really saying is that if you exceed that for which the boat was designed (any boat at all), forget it. The MoMarsh is a damn fine boat that can be used as an open water layout, and I would not hesitate to gun out of one on Barkley or Kentucky again, but its limitations are that you need to watch the weather, and on the lakes (like Kentucky and Barkley) where layouts are becoming more and more prevalent, the boat will flare some birds that an open-water layout will not. If this is going to be your "only" boat, where you paddle out onto broadwater with your decoys in it, set them, and hunt, I'd do some planning, no different than any other trip, but with the specific boat in mind.

For flooded fields or smaller rivers/creeks I would use one, but would want to be aware of current, debris, rocks, etc.
 
Ryan, as previously stated you cant get everything in one boat but the dp comes close. I have never hunted in a true open water layout but using the dp as a boat to lay down in and hunt out of on the larger rivers here in WV (the Ohio and the Monongahela) it works well. Even when grassed up and used out in the river the ducks and geese dont mind coming to the decoys. Like the others say if there is some chop the boat will bounce some and the water slapping on the under edge lip will either sooth you or drive you nuts.

Where the fatboydp really shines is in the marsh/ near bank hunting role. With the addition of the door system and judicious amounts of Invisagrass this boat becomes deadly. Pull her up to the bank lay down and close the doors and you are gone...just a hump of weeds. I use four methods of propelling mine....a kayak paddle, which works great, a push pole, a 30 lb thrust trolling motor and a 3hp gamefisher (Tanaka) gas motor. With these available choices I have the option of huning close or going long to hunt.

I think the stability of the dp is fantastic. I`m not a big guy 5 10 170lbs (200 with gear and waders) and I can stand, walk fore and aft and do all the reaching and leaning necessary to set decoys and never have a worry about upsetting the boat.

Transporting the dp is fairly easy also. While loading it in the back of a truck is doable I have found that using a trailer, I use my 5X8' utitility trailer, is much easier. The dp comes in around 90lbs and add a full complement of invisagrass which usually is wet and whatever else is in the boat and huffing it in a truck bed or on racks is a chore, especically while standing on a inclined boat ramp. A personal water craft trailer would be the ticket IMO.

All in all the dp is a great boat....if something were to happen to mine I would buy another forthwith.

Also take into account that Ira, Cathy and Joe at Momarsh are fantastic folks to work with.

Mike
 
Thanks everyone for the excellent feedback that you have given. I would agree with all of the comments above. The DP certainly works better as a marsh boat than a layout. The slapping of waves under the flange can drive a man nuts in an open water situation. I have used the DP extensively in open water situations here in MO, canada and ND. We always have a tender boat and usually hunt for divers out of the boat grassed up as we would on shore. The divers in the places I hunt may not be very pressured because I have never considered them to be very bright birds by and large. Some people may take offense to this, but none is meant. I mean how many species of ducks will decoy again after you have already shot into them?

A true layout is definitely better suited in both form and function to open water situations than the DP. I think that the DP is a good choice for the guy who spends 90% of his time in the marsh and less than 10% in an open water situation. If you have the money and space, then you should buy 2 boats. If not, the DP should be a good choice.

As far as Ryan's story- it is simply an example that you have to be careful in any small boat. There is no denying that the DP is a small watercraft. You can get into trouble with it. The great thing about the DP and the original is that they give you tons of versatility for such small boats. My biggest concern about them is that you have so much versatility in a small watercraft.

I have run 5 and 6 HP mudbuddies on my boats for many years and have only had a problem one time. It was due to poor judgement concerning a barge wave in shallow water. Not a good situation to try a turn under power in. The problem was that there was no wave in the channel, so I did not see it coming and was turning and sideways to the wave when it hit the shallows. I fell out of the boat (I was standing.) Also, I did not have the kill switch on (another mistake.) The same thing would likely have happened in any other small boat with the same poor judgement.

We all know that big boats are dangerous too- with poor judgement.

Remember Dave Boys. A very experienced hunter who had spent many a year in small boats. All it takes is for things not to go our way one time with the same risky situations we have always been lucky with before. Everyone please be careful when you are out there and especially if you are alone.

Ryan, the only boat that is great for any situation is the one that is made for it. The DP is a marsh boat that can be used in some situations as a passable layout boat. As far as a sneak boat to ease up to ducks on creeks- you probably cant beat a good old canoe.
 
Andy, sorry if I wasn't clear. The stern went under water when the bow rode up on the log. It sank.

Dave, I called Momarsh several times before I purchased the boat, I do not believe I ever talked to Ira in person, but was told many people use MM on them. I purchased a light weight one (6 hp beavertail 65 lbs). I don't know how the story could be taken as a "bash" since I stated If I only hunted shallow marshes it's the only boat I would own.

I believe now a 6 hp mm is too much, I also took her out on a windy day on the Annamessex river, I stayed close but didn't feel safe.

Make no mistake, THE BOAT SANK BECAUSE OF WHAT I DID! I tried, not on purpose, to do what I did many times in my Jon Boat.

90% marsh hunting 10 % layout on lakes .... The perfect boat!

There is no one perfect boat for all duck hunting, thats why I now have 3 boats.
 
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