Since we are on the topic of sculling?

When I lived in western PA, during late Goose season as I hunted on land. I watched a hunter scull through the mostly frozen lake with a hunting kayak. The man really knew his craft, and what to do and how to do it. Each time he put himself in perfect up wind position, and killed a limit of geese. I had a great seat and enjoyed the show.

Afterwards I drove to where I thought he put in, to congratulate him. There sat the Fish Warden watching him with glasses. As we talked, the GP told me he was going to give that guy a ticket for being out in very unsafe conditions. I explained to the officer that the hunter was sculling, wearing a life vest, and following all laws for boating & hunting. How was that wrong?

The officer had never seen anyone Scull, and could not understand why anyone would Ever Do It to shoot geese? My reply was - The man is a damn Good hunter and should be congratulated on his skill.

As I left, the officer said, I'm still going to go talk to him and check him out. I shook my head and went home.
 
I love sculling in large ice flows although it does add it's own twists and frustrations. I was coming down on a small flight of blacks one time and just before getting in range I ran up on a flow that "beached me". I couldn't figure out how to back off the flow and stay out of sight. Since the ducks were drifting down at the same speed as the ice it was FRUSTRATING!!! Never did get a shot as I eventually had to sit up and push off, I did get my black duck a bit later. It can also be frustrating to pull the perfect scull on cans and then only be able to take the single shot as the rest of the flock flies by to port at 5 to 10 yards.

Now a warning to all you potential scullers. Most guys try it for a few years then sell their floats. I pretty much followed that too except for hanging on to mine. Sculling is work, it's also hard to find the perfect partner, someone willing to learn to scull and put his equal time in on the oar. Sculling for others gets tiring as the fore guy gets the good shots and doesn't sweat. So unless you find the mystical perfect sculling partner it becomes a solo hunting method. You leave your dog behind, ducks and geese get a bit concerned when stared at by hungry looking black dogs, even if they sit very still. And most floats require their own trailer set up for the long skinny boat (just saying, l already have three boats on trailers and would need a fourth for the Merrymeeting if I'm going to use it again). So find an inexpensive used float that fit's your hunting style. Give it a try. If you fall in love with the method, upgrade or add to the fleet. But don't be surprised if after a few years you return mostly to dogs, decoys and friends.

Scott
 
I'd second the remarks made by Mr. Farris..It's hard work, rowing against wind and tide or current is a major workout. Most guy's only scull a few seasons then hang up the oar. It can be discouraging to row two miles to a raft of sleeping birds and have them bust early, or have a motorboat scare them off. But when your on, your on. I've many times had ducks try to climb up on my boat. Many times I was positive all I needed was a salmon net. But...its hard work on your elbows, and forearms. But for bluebird day's when all the morning hunters have packed it in, you are still in the game.

If you have the right dog, and the right boat you can take one. My 80lb chessie would ride up underneath a hardcover on my Brant II. It was basically just a huge dog crate. However, it was all blind retrieves for her. But floating 900 yards out in the middle of a lake, there wasn't much else for her to see but cripples, and feet up floaters. She could squeeze around and get from the front cockpit to the back one. So, I'd scull, shoot, and call her out. She'd climb out, then stand up on the forward decking waiting for the "back" command. It was nice to send her after cripples, and I'd go after downed birds. If I was tired I'd, pull out some decoys, and we'd beach the boat and hunt over decoy's. With a battleship's like the Whitneys, or Brant II's, (MerryMeeting Bays) you are a lot more flexible in the way's you want to hunt. I have a new pup (12weeks) that I can hardly wait to get in the boat. She's a GWP so I can hit ducks, beach the boat and point some upland.

With HBSB's its really a solo deal...but targeting specific birds (exotics) they can't be beat. It's exactly like trophy big game hunting.

There is a waterfowl sculling website.. branched off from here years ago. -Seth
 




1977 Three Oceans Marine float. It's blast on blue bird days. Scullers forum is http://thescullersforum.freeforums.org/

Best - Paul
 
Seth, it's great having you give the left side input but I have to ask a favor. Please stop calling me Mr. Farris, you've been around way too long to call me that, plus I already feel too old!!! ;^)

Few more pictures of floats since I have them:

Charlie and his dad Paul checking out Bill Wasson's merrymeeting. Anyone heard from Charlie lately? He's got to be around 28 now.

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A dry Joppa Flats scull.

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Another one wet, heck of a coaming on her:

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An interesting design, anyone know the region?
From the rear:

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From the ducks view she's a lot sleeker:

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Scott
 
Everybody is "Sir, and Ma'am", "Mr. and Mrs. and Miss" to me, even the 16 year old box boy's at the grocery store. Untill I'm otherwise advised Scott...:)I'm 43.

Most West Coast scullers are tight lipped, tight nit,....outlaw pirates...Especially, the hunting generation before me, say 1960's to the mid 80's. You would find a hole drilled in your boat, or a hatchet job, your tires flat, and a horsehead in your bed for even talking about sculling. Ok..I'm kidding about the horsehead. Builders would burn the fiberglass molds of the boats they built so nobody could copy it.... Boat ramp beat-downs were not uncommon if you were a stranger in "claimed" waters. Kinda like surfers with shotguns. Locals only Braw.... I'm totally serious, I missed that period, but I know a large part of that world still exhists around SanFran, and Humboldt Bay. A few of the outlaws moved up to Oregon. Never ever, ever, scull the back waters of Coos Bay, Oregon...there's a clan there that..well...old ways. I moved from the coast when I retired, a few years back and eastern oregon never looked better. Plus the duckies are clueless to a sculler.
-Seth
 
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I love the pics of these boats. Thanks for posting them. I just finished my building my go-to, all purpose boat and have no desire to jump into another stitch-and-glue build... but a skin-on-frame scull boat could be very cool and would go together fast. That Whitney is beautiful. I may have to see what I can draw up. One day in 30 years or so, I might tackle a strip-built scull boat, but I won't have time for another time intensive boat project until after I retire:) This last one kept me off the water too long.

Regarding the "sir or ma'am" discussion, joining the military messed me up. I spent most of my youth in Louisiana where everyone older than you was sir or ma'am. I was thrown for a loop when suddenly I was insulting a grey haired NCO if I called him sir.

Nate
 
Boy this post sure has brought back some memories. Work is right! If you what to know the truth. I can also say I owe some hearing lose do to this craft as well. You really have to trust the person behind you to be able to turn the boat at the last second so as not to be greedy and keep all the shots to themselves. But when you are 12 years old and you are more for weight to keep the bow from bouncing around.

I was taught how to scull by getting into the boat and being pushed out. My uncles started laughing and said have fun! It was a very warm and sunny day so nothing was going on. They would yell something every once in a while to help. After about an hour I was finally able to make it back to the blind. Oh so fun. After a couple of times I would push myself out and go all the way across the river and back. Which was about a mile.

One thing I noticed, it seems every oar I see is straight. Ours had a nice curve on the blade to the tip.

I was looking through some of the photos of the boats in the archives and there is a photo of Ralph Thompson with Pool 13 boat. He made a bunch of these. I know ours was built way before he was building his. But his copies the same bottom of our was.
 
Scott

Joppa Flats refers to a area at the mouth of the Merrimack River in Newburyport, Ma. commonly known as "Joppa Flats" One of the best known float makers in Newburyport was Ed English and this style became commonly known as Joppa Flats floats. I have seen several of these used on the coast here. I took the lines of a float English built in 1967 and build a copy. Mine is 16' long with a beam of about 44'', completely glassed. They commonly have a weight well in the bow but I always slide the weight forward as far as possible from the inside.
Whitham floats were also made here on Great Bay back in the 1970s -80s? and have similar lines to the boats from Newburyport.

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Most West Coast scullers are tight lipped, tight nit,....outlaw pirates...
Click to expand...

Haha... easy there Seth. I resemble that remark. haha

This whole thread is making me cringe.
 
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