TDB or Bankes ?

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Bill Abbate

Active member
Looking to purchase a boat. Any thoughts on either, or both, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Bill
 
I have been out in the TDB 14 classic, 14 Sea Class and 17 Sea Class. All are very nice boats made for specific purposes and you will be very happy with them as long as you use them within their limitations. The TDB's are very popular and there are usually a few for sale used within a reasonable driving distance every off season. I know that Waterfowl Works recently purchased the TDB molds and will be bringing the TDB's back to life, in fact the guy who owns WW and TDB now regularly posts on this forum.

I have no experience with the Bankes, but have heard nothing but the best about them. That being said I have never seen a used one listed for sale... that speaks to their popularity, but maybe also he fact that there aren't too many around here in the northeast.

I would suggest finding someone on this forum who has the boats you are comparing and asking if you can come our to take a test drive. Most guys are very accomodating, at the very least you may gain a new hunting buddy.

Best of luck to you...
 
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I have no experience with the Bankes, but have heard nothing but the best about them. That being said I have never seen a used one listed for sale...
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A quick search of the classifieds show that 4 Bankes boats have been put up for sale here in the last 4 years. Not a huge volume, that is for sure.
 
Looking to purchase a boat. Any thoughts on either, or both, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Bill
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It depends on what kind of hunting your gonna be doing Bill....If your looking to hunt big water...Bankes 17ft-25ft are the best out there....Period.....Bankes boats are great and so are the owners of the company.
New TDB's aren't on the market yet so we dont know what the finished product will look like but back in the day the old ones were the chit.
Tell us what you want the boat to do but remember no 1 boat will do it all perfectly LOL
 
Ihave used both the TDB (14,17,and 17 seaclass) nice boats for thier attended purpose. If big water is part of your hunting I would go with a Bankes. I currently have the freedom and it take the big water very well and can still be hidden in the marsh.

Add the fact that the people at Bakes marine are top shelph folks to deal with and it is a hard combo to beat.
 
I know you asked about Bankes and TDB, but there is a Duckwater 18'er listed in the Classifieds currently. The boat is located in NJ. I have no vested interest, but just thought I would point it out.

Another consideration would be to look at the DuckBoss boats. They are made over in OH and shouldn't be too long of a drive for you. As others have mentioned already, it really just depends upon what you want the boat to do.

Regards.

__________
 
I have had both the banks boats and tdb boats and i now own a duck boss 13 ft sneak ,and a 15 ft duck boss that i would not sell unless i was getting a new duck boss they are built solid and priced fairly i would take alook at them.
 
I have Bankes 17 freedom and its great, i cant compare to TDB as i have no experience with one but i totally love my Bankes, this year i've used it to hunt sea ducks in some nasty weather, hunted divers and chased black ducks along NJ coast, i couldn't be happier on performance of the boat.
Thier customer service is GREAT, a guy backed his trailer in my boat , long story short Mike at Bankes went beyond customer service and even mailed me stuff i needed to make repairs, above all he personally spoke to me more than dozen times to walk me through process while looking at my pics via email.
Thats some great customer service. If you are ever going to Cabels's i'm right on 78 , stop by and take a look .
Farrukh
 
X2 on the duck boss love mine you can't beat the quality and price. When you look at price take into account trailer, blind,cover and wiring
 
I have the 14' bankes. The 14 tdb classic is not even in the same league. It does not handle rough water well.
The 14 tdb sea class is in the same league as the 14 bankes dominator. Both are big heavy 14' boat blinds.
the tdb classis a true flat bottom boat and is know to roll over in a chop. On the plus side it is ligher and can be pushed off the mud with a couple of guys . The other two you will wait for the tide.
 
I've had the TDB 14 ft classic, and currently hunt from a TDB 17ft sea class. Wouldn't trade the tdb for nothing. Handles the big water just fine, hides well, holds a ton of stuff, trailers nice and doesn't kill your gas mileage when pulling it. I've had mine in Pamilco Sound NC, the Ohio River and Lake Erie.

I know the duck water boats are some ice busting machines, but are very heavy, draft a lot of water, and kill your vehicle's mpg.

Don't know much about banks or duck boss, but I'm sticking with my TDB!
 
I've hunted out of a 17ft seaclass TDB and a 15ft duck wrangler(basically a seaclass 17 with 2 feet chopped off) both are outstanding vessels built like tanks and handle nicely.

I've never hunted out of any bankes boat but the craftsmanship looks fantastic and their owners rave about them and you seldom read any complaints or see many used ones for sale.....they are a sexy looking duck boat!

I just bought a duck boss 13 and like it very much. The craftsmanship is good and the boat is sturdy....it's sort of like a hybrid TDB'ish craft with a much beefier transom(rated for 30hp) and lower profile....I've seen the 15 & 17 ft versions and all the feedback has been positive....plus there price point is VERY economical...best of luck in your search.... Purchasing a new duck boat is exciting!
 
I have a 17ft Bankes Freedom that i love best boat made and have decided to sell if your interested only reason selling gonna upgrade to bigger boat Pm if your interested
 
All these boats listed are great boats...I have a 14 tdb sea class. The first season with it. Great on small lakes and swampy areas. But on large lakes it was a bit small and had to err on the side os caution when it came to the weather and hunt the calmer days. ( can't hunt if your dead). Some other questions you need to ask yourself are. - how many people will you or would you be hunting with? - how much gear do you have, How much do you need? - what type of water will you be hunting, open water or swamps? How much are you willing to spend? Once you purchase your boat of course tweaking it out to how you want it to be,and that takes time but that's also half the fun. This forum is a great place to ask questions. Best of luck in your decision.
 
I have been in and extensively used all three banks tdb and duckwater. The tdb is the original but it was highly improved on by banks the banks boats size per size is larger and a much dryer ride. I like things about the banks and the duckwater but there are things to dislike about both. The duckwaters are now built with a jig and plasma cutters which will take care of the issues i had with them. The dwb is size per size larger than the bankes and in my opinion the boat to own...all around. Not necessarily better but the most user friendly of the three

R
 
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