Shorten Gator DH

Dan VanDeWoestyne

Dan VanDeWoestyne

Member
I have been reading this forum for a while and thought that I would share some pics of the boat I built this summer. Its a Gator boats Duck Hunter that I shortened 3ft and removed the rear rocker to make it a flat bottom. Its just under 12 ft long and 48 in across the floor. I didnt like the first set of blind doors so I rebuilt them and added a dog blind to the bow to allow me to have more room to lay down against a back rest and lower the profile. I cant wait for 2 weeks so I can hunt out of it.

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After reading this forum I have gotting a bug to try making my own decoys...I think it would be fun and satisflng to hunt ducks over decoys that I made, out of a boat I built, with a dog I trained.
 
Now I know why you go by woster on the Gator forums...LOL

Again, boat looks great. Love the fox red lab, got a buddy that has one.

Brad
 
I like the looks of that rig!!! With the length removed and the rocker out of it, how does the boat perform? What size motor are you running? And as long as I'm asking all the questions, what is that Behemoth in tha background of the one picture?
 
Now I know why you go by woster on the Gator forums...LOL

Again, boat looks great. Love the fox red lab, got a buddy that has one.

Brad
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Ya its a nickname I got in high school and have just kept it. LOL Misty is a pretty good hound, I love her color, makes her different and confuses people. You would be surprised how many people have never seen a red lab. I drove to Mississippi to get her, this will be her first season.
 
I like the looks of that rig!!! With the length removed and the rocker out of it, how does the boat perform? What size motor are you running? And as long as I'm asking all the questions, what is that Behemoth in tha background of the one picture?
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It handles pretty much like normal flat bottom boat. I wish that I would have put more angle in the transom as suggested on the Gator forum because I couldnt get it to trim out right. Ended up putting a hydrofoil on the outboard which helped alot and also made it get a little more bite while cornering. Im running a 15hp Mercury on it, little bit more motor than I probably need.I forgot to mention that I raised the sides to 10in verses the 8in called for.
The behemoth...LOL that is the boat I have been hunting out of for the last 5 years. Its a 16ft extra wide and deep riveted flat bottom that hunts 3-4 guys out of a removeable blind. Last summer I had it sand blasted and welded the ribs in. I also removed the front 2 seats and welded in an aluminum deck/storage compartment. I then rebuilt the transom since it was cracked and added pods. I built the DH for when its just me and the dog, the big one is nice but a handful when alone. Also the DH should disappear with minmal cover. With the blind doors completely covering me up the ducks shouldnt see any movement till its too late.


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It is going to get a paint job like the DH next summer.
 
Dan nice going ,thats a sharp looking rig and pup looks happy to wish you luck on your hunts.Lets see some pics of the rig on the water.Cas
 
Dan,
sweet boat and thanks for the pictures. I hope you have a great hunt in your new ride. The dog is gona love that front row seat.

The grass cammo looks very good.

Headlights are going to light up the night for sure.

Did you do the welding on your other rig? If so how was it with the light ga material getting a good weld for the pods? Was it done with a spool gun?


Thanks.
 
Did you do the welding on your other rig? If so how was it with the light ga material getting a good weld for the pods? Was it done with a spool gun?
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I did all the work on the big boat, used a Miller spool gun to weld it up. Had no probelm welding the pods on,they arent coming off without a grinder. Just make sure you have the paint ground off in your welding area and watch your heat. I also used alot of wire speed. I ended up using 4 lbs of wire on the complete boat.
 
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