Trailer-less duck boat

Jim Strutty

Jim Strutty

New member
I'd like to begin building a duck boat but my criteria is that it can't require a trailer. For one I don't have the space to park a trailer and boat and the other is that a lot of spots that I hunt just don't have ramp access, so I'll be pulling the boat a short distance to launch.
Here in NH we really have two different zones and hunting styles, I live further inland and while I would love to learn to sea duck hunt the reality is most guys jump shoot ducks on small beaver ponds. My plan is to run the contookook river or head over to the CT river and hunt.
I'm currently thinking of the Devlin Bluebill...too heavy?
 
I dont think a Bluebill will be light enough to load into a truck unless you have two guys, then maybe.
How about on the MoMarsh boats? You can run a small motor on them. Is that too small for the rivers you will be on?
 
I built a Devlin Bluebill. You will need a trailer for it. Weight is really the issue. The Devlin Poleboat or similar for the dragging but may not be what your looking for for the river. I run my Bluebill on the river without any issues.
 
...I'll be pulling the boat a short distance to launch.
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If by pulling you mean dragging, I'd be a little leery of doing that with anything other than aluminum. I use a collapsible canoe cart to wheel my fiberglass Momarsh DP from truck to water. I'm still able to deal with loading and unloading it atop the pickup solo just shy of age 50 but carrying it from truck to water is more of a chore due to its awkwardness and the wind-catching issues rather than weight (90 lbs bare bones). Loading in the back of the pickup is easier than cartopping but doesn't diminish the challenge of getting it to the water.

Brad Taylor's link on another thread reminded me that you needn't have a full length boat trailer to get the job done.
 
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I think Carl got it right, if the waters are fairly protected, on the momarsh. Light enough to throw in the truck and bully around if you need too. Would work well on your beaver ponds.
 
I think this would be a really neat rig with a few mods:

http://www.butlerprojects.com/boats/montanaguideboat/index.htm

For one thing, it needs less freeboard fore and aft -- very easy to do. And , I'd use 5 mm okoume to offset (some of) the weight of fiberglassing the exterior.
 
Canoe? Kayak? Float tube?

I've hunted out of all three--all have pluses and minuses.

A buddy of mine has built 2 boats--a "rail skiff" that is around 16 feet and a scull boat around 14. Both are under 100 pounds. He trailers them, but by himself can wrestle either of them off a steep bank and into the water and back onto his trailer. They'd be tough to cartop, but you might be able to transport them in the bed of a larger truck.

For my $.02, that Momarsh seems really heavy for a short fiberglass boat that can carry 400 pounds. There are lots of lighter canoes and kayaks with larger capacity. I'd like to see some creative duck boats that adopt some of the construction techniques the higher end composite canoe and kayak makers use. There are 17 foot canoes on the market that will carry 1200 pounds and weigh under 50 pounds. Unfortunately, they are pricey and tend to come in day-glo colors.

I've never understood why the market for camo canoes and kayaks is dominated by heavy plastic and chopped fiberglass boats.

Here's a company that will make you a lighter canoe or kayak, and they have a "Marsh-grass" camo. My next canoe will likely be from them. Several canoes under 50 pounds: http://www.canoesandkayaks.com/canoes.html

And they have both "Marsh grass" and "Dead dull grass" as color choices: http://www.canoesandkayaks.com/boats.html

I'd love to see what they could do with a mold for a duckboat.
 
For my $.02, that Momarsh seems really heavy for a short fiberglass boat that can carry 400 pounds. There are lots of lighter canoes and kayaks with larger capacity.
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And they paddle better than a MM. Unfortunately, they pale in comparison as a layout or floating blind so my 17-foot canoe remains in the garage most of the time. I do agree that someone is missing the boat, so to speak, by not creating lighter ducking craft using the materials available these days but stuff like Kevlar would be a pricey option. Maybe Jim can shed some more light on his specific needs: Need room for a dog? How many decoys? Motorized?
 
Unfortunately, they pale in comparison as a layout or floating blind so my 17-foot canoe remains in the garage most of the time.
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Agreed. But there is nothing better for hauling you, a buddy, a dog and 2 dozen decoys in to a shore blind. I'd love to see some creative use of the newer technology in the canoe/kayak industry trickle down to boats for hunters and anglers. Unfortunately the target market for "sporting canoes" seems to be folks who've never paddled one, and are convinced that flat-bottomed canoes with a 40 inch beam and a "keel" are safe. I have experimented with using a camoed 17 foot canoe as a layout "blind" in salt marsh, and it can work pretty well at lower tides if you find a creek to provide some cover, and even in high rice or cattails.
 
I have hunted a fair amount out of a canoe, a 16ft Dagger Legend. Great for slipping down a river, or tucking away in some brush or reeds. The canoe is RoyalX and is tougher then tough..Sure I could have something similar in kevlar, but I would sacrifice durability (white water and boulders love to eat canoes). I use this canoe for class 3 white water also and some fly fishing. For the 1100.00 bucks it cost it has been well worth the investment...

I would not claim that it is the "perfect" duck hunting boat...or a drift boat...or a white water craft...I ask it to do many things and it works as long as you abide by the limitations of the canoe and are a tad creative when it comes to the application. For example: I carry a 16x8 ft mesh camo net and a green camo poly tarp and with bit of native veg added and the right location the canoe "hides" very well. Sure it is a tad high and takes a bit to camo but it works.

Matt
 
I struggled with this same issue for years! I did tons of research online, asked questions here, and on other forums - I even called up Sam Devlin himself and couldn't find anything that I could lift, carry and launch from cartop, by myself. I hunted out of an old row-jonboat and an old towne canoe for years until I bought a ten ft aquapod. I mean wow. It is very seaworthy, if a little cramped. Perfect for paddle jump shooting and even for layout hunting. Very light, only 50 lbs. Very stable, I've stood up in it many times! Unfortunately, they are not cheap... and WA is far to ship from...

Good luck and let us know how it goes. I'd like to know if I missed something :)
 
Thanks for all of the quick replies! I currently have a 5x8 utility trailer that I can load the boat up easy enough on. I'm more concerned about what you guys do when there isn't a convenient boat ramp near your hunting location? I guess that maybe what I need to do is launch the boat but make sure I have enough motor to get me to a blind without taking all day to get there.
I have a 15ft royalex mad river canoe that runs the river pretty well so I guess I should look at using it more. It's kind of a beast but you never worry about it when you run over rocks or pile into the shore.
I have a dog and currently only about a dozen decoys. I haven't done much hunting here in NH, it looks like most guys hunt the sea or simply sneak into the beaver ponds and jump the mallards and woodies off the pond then go to work. I have visions of setting out my decoys and working birds into the set...maybe I'll need to travel to actually make that part happen.
I think everyone is right that there is a niche for a light weight MoMarsh style boat that one could easily put in at any bank.
Ok... so now if I use my canoe to get into really small water I should be looking at a trailerable boat. (still need to find a place to park it...but I'll work on that). So now it's back to the age old question of Bluebill vs BBIII. I'll search again for all of the posts on that as I'm sure it's been covered before. I thought I had all of this settled years ago when I built a Glen-L Duck Too boat. I ended up leaving that with a friend when I moved here from Ohio.
 
The poke boat is what you are looking for in stoopid lite boats. http://www.pokeboat.com/

The reason MoMarsh, Four Rivers, and that ilk are made heavy is that there are too many users out there that don't know how to safely use a small boat and beat the tar out of them. Who wants to do all that warranty repair?
 
Jim, Look very hard at a Devlin Poleboat. I built one and it has become one of my favorites. If you are intersested I am making a few more CDs of the build, just let me know. I cartop it with a loader and wheel it around with a portage cart just fine.
 
Dont forget about the Broadbill too.

If its going to be just you, dog & dzn dekes, the Broadbill or Bluebill will work fine. Bluebill is just alittle bigger and has a motor well. That is the boat I was going to build before re-marriage and a baby sidetracked my plans.

If you plan to ever hunt with someone else, the Bluebill would be the smallest and then it will be just transportation, not to hunt from. The BBIII would be the ticket to transport & hunt 2 guys.
 
I have been researching this for quite a while myself. My circumstances are similar. I have come up with build your own. This model is quite simple http://www.gatorboats.com/Croc-Boat-Plans.htm. They have a great readers forum. The modification I would make is not to taper the rear half; just go from the widest part of the beam straight back to the transom. Previous builders have stated the stability was increased, but harder to propel with "people" power.

The "if I had the money" alternate would be http://www.scottcanoe.com/...id=51&Itemid=100 (12ft model). I like the totally uninhindered cockpit. You could use it for fishing, then throw a Zackbox type cover over it for duck hunting.

The "dream" would be to find a manufacturer who would build this in aluminum http://www.bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=GV10&cat=16. So far I have only received rejections - to small to build.
 
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Jim, Roy Schellinger makes an 11 foot all fiberglass sneak box which wieghs just over 100 lbs here in NJ. It can be loaded into a pick up pretty easily by one person and is a very sea worthy craft. He also makes a meadow muffin, 9 foot all fiberglass boat, same width as the sneak box but can be lifted up with one hand.
 
Jim, this is a very interesting thread for me, I was close to starting a similar one myself. I have very similar needs to you in a boat for this season. I mostly hunt protected bays and coves on Lake Superior, some of which are very, very shallow. There are also several other small river/creek systems and rice lakes here that don't have launches, and for now I have a car so I need something I can car top (and shove in a truck box next year). I'm looking at a very small outboard or a trolling motor for power, as everything needs to be small and portable, and I'll probably use a kayak cart or something to get my gear to anything beyond a hundred yards. My longest run with a motor would be about 15 minutes.

I also hunt alone with a dog, and I'd like the option to layout, preferably with the dog behind me, as I'm often in sparse cover. Further, I want the boat to be stable enough to safely get the dog in and out while floating in a few feet of water, and to stand up in (and perhaps shoot at a cripple). Anything under about 120 lbs. is manageable for me. It doesn't need to handle waves more than a foot - any more than that and I wade and drag back or go elsewhere. I typically use 1-3 dozen dekes.

I keep coming back to the momarsh boats. I'm also intrigued with the miniature DH that Brad Taylor built and showed on this site, and I still haven't ruled out a devlin broadbill (though I think it would be less suitable to layout in). I had a loaned Kevlar canoe this season, but it was a flatwater touring boat and way unstable. It was lightweight to be sure, but I was also concerned a bit by durability.

Bob - does Roy Schellinger have a website or anything, or do you know where I could look at a photo or two? That sneakbox of his might fit my bill nicely.
 
Tom - How do you find the poleboat is for stability? Can (or do) you get a dog in and out of it easy while floating?
 
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