want to find some info

Dani

Dani

Well-known member
I was talking with a friend about duck boats and which ones we would have if we had unlimited monies and what not. Anyway, he mentioned the Outlaw duckboat and I have only found one page referencing the boat : http://www.picsearch.com/info.cgi?q=outlaw%20duck%20boat&id=PQjXwpTO05-2rnBWFcaKaSKAd4_ff3z7betWbYq-KLk&opt=%26cols%3D6%26thumbs%3D18

where could I find specs and other info about these boats? Have any of y'all ever hunted out of one or owned one? I'd like to see other pictures since this one picture isn't terribly great. I was really curious about these boats and thought someone might have some idea on where I could look. Thanks in advance y'all!

Dani
 
Dani

If you had been on the net ten years ago, maybe as few as five, you would have heard a lot about Outlaw boats. I've never ever ever seen a waterfowl related company have more bad pr than them. Think Exxon Valdez for a point of reference. From the hunters that died in Saginaw Bay on their maiden voyage, to the lawsuits, or threats of, Jim Cripe (founder and owner) was a party to. I don't know what the status of that company is or if they are still making boats, but their apparent demise is no surpise. Now take those unlimited funds and go with a TDB or Bankes, etc.
 
was it a bad design or something? why'd the hunters die out on Saginaw? I've checked around the internet and I haven't seen any info about the company. The website that they said it was is now some other registered website so I assume that it is no longer around.

my unlimited funds I think would go more towards Devlin's honker before TDB, if I was going for big like that. But I don't hunt big water the way my friend does.
 
My buddy has the 14' Outlaw and it is a pretty nice boat for puddleducking calmer waters. It is really heavy but all the accoutrements make it super comfy in the snottiest weather. He was going to be a dealer in Michigan for them but the owner tried to hose him and he told him to pound sand. Not sure if the boat is to blame for the deaths on Saginaw bay or not...the day it happened, no one should have been out there anyway. The boat is like a Carolina skiff with a rounded top on it big enough to sit upright..it has a roof that pops up and you camo the ends and one side and shoot out the other. We killed a ton of ducks out of it and if I could find one real cheap in great condition...I'd probably buy it and use it on small lakes around here..it would be perfect for my grandson since you stay dry in all weather.
 
Dani,

Your ad is for an Outlaw Ducker, not the Outlaw Duck Boat. The Ducker was a fiberglass version of the classic Alumacraft Ducker. Jim Cripe ran a nationwide ad where her offer (I think) $2,000.00 for an original Alumacraft Ducker. Cripe's ad is one reason those little boat went from a few hundred bucks to thousands. Back in the late 80's, prior to Cripe's ad, I saw an Alumacraft Ducker for sale at Pt. Mouillee. It even had the original stamped aluminum oars. The asking price was either $250 or $300. Had my wife not been along with me I might have brought that little boat home with me... She would have made me paddle it to Ft. Wayne and portage it the rest of the way home... LOL! Last year at Pt. Mouillee I saw a guy write out a check for one that the dealer had been trying to sell for close to $2,000 for several years. I'm not sure what the final price the guy paid for that little ducker.

I recall reading about the Saginaw accident in the Outlaw catalog... Of course this was Jim Cripe's account. If I recall correctly, he blamed a faulty gas fill fitting for the motor getting fouled with water which left the guy without power while trying to return to port in that storm. Why the guy did not have a water separating filter system installed, a kicker motor with its own gas, and or a separate back-up gas tank for the primary motor; may have been because the guy was out for his first voyage/hunt with his new boat. Unfortunately, he picked a day when the weather went bad in a hurry and he was not equipt to handle what mother nature threw at him.

If I recall correctly, it was thought that he didn't even have anchors aboard to allow him to anchor the boat against the wind in the marsh area where they were hunting. The guy should never have been out hunting in the storm that hit the Bay, no doubt about it, but I think the storm hit after they were already out. However, had the guy stayed along shore and waited out the storm in the boat (like Lee said, they are nearly weather tight!) or, tied off and went ashore he and his party would have made it home alive. Lack of preparation, inexperience, and overconfidence may have had more to do with the drownings than the boat design. But then, isn't that almost always the case... Just one seemingly minor problem can often lead to serious consequences out in mother nature if poor choices are then made.

One year at Pt. Mouillee I had a chance to look over one of the Outlaw duck boats. I think it may have been a 16 footer. It was on display at the festival before delivery to the new owner. I would have loved to own one... If I found one in good shape for the right price, I would still love to have one.

Last year an Outlaw Duck Boat was on Ebay a couple times. It was being sold by a car dealer in Texas. This boat was a 18 footer. It may have been sold off the dealer's lot since it disappeared from Ebay with no bids offered.

Rich
 
Wonder where that boat is? My buddy paid about 14k with a 3cyl 35hp Evinrude, roller trailer and the boat. The first time we took it out, we were putting in on the Kalamazoo river in Dec. I can't remember the year..96 or 97..and there was a lot of ice. We backed it out and the ice was so thick it supported the trailer so we decided to unload the boat ON the ice and slide it out to open water. We unhooked the straps and bow eye and with the smallest of the three of us holding the bow painter line, Bill backed down..he barely touched the brakes and the boat started rolling back off the trailer...when it went past balance point the bow shot straight up in the air...picking the guy holding the line up and swinging him around the other side of the boat. There it sat, on it's transom looking like an ICBM missile. Like I said, those things are HEAVY! We finally got it winched down and got out hunting and Colby made 3 or 4 great retrieves.
 
I've had some extensive dealings with Outlaw & Cripe. He/they/it is to be avoided.......long story.

The outlaw boat that killed the hunters in Saginaw Bay.......is an unsafe boat. He had a team of lawyers and that's why he was able to set the blame on the gas cap. Truly, the boat will hold water in the front if you take on a bow way.....submarining the boat. Once in the water, the primary floatation is in the floor and that flips the boat upside down........which is how the Saginaw Bay boat was found.
Lou
 
Once in the water, the primary floatation is in the floor and that flips the boat upside down
Click to expand...


Exactly. If you put all your flotation below the waterline and it swamps and then leans too far over physics wins and the boat flips. Top heavy only makes it worse and that boat was top heavy. Of course putting the gas fill right near the waterline defies common sense too.
 
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"Exactly. If you put all your flotation below the waterline and it swamps and then leans too far over physics wins and the boat flips"

Isn't this typically with most boats? My Lund has foam pour under the floor and my Scaup has foam under the floor in addition to the pods and bow. From the pics I have seen of the duck water boats they are probably the same way.

I never heard the story before, but it sounds like the guy didn't know what he was doing or didn't make the best decisions and the mfg. got the blame.
 
Devlin designs his boats with three point flotation, front and both rear corners, the most stabile configuration possible. Think of a Zodiac. The foam you added under the floor was not in the plans. Many boats have flotation under the floor. Not many have a heavy top like Outlaw, Duckwater, TDB, etc. Flotation under the floor in a top heavy boat is something I'd steer away from. Imagine this, your boat is partially swamped, flotation is below the waterline, your boat is top heavy, it gets crossways to a big wave and water moves to one side. Yep, you are now in the drink, hypothermia, maybe death. Yes a lot of circumstances have to happen all at once but that's the way ships go down. A chain of events that can't be stopped. Bad designs prop you up for such a string of events.
 
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