LGF, I use the term kayak very loosely. The layout boat that I am referring to is called a "scooter" on the Great South Bay here. It looks something like a double wide kayak. Two gunners can sit/lie in it side by side. They used to have ice runners on the bottom of the scooter. The old time duck hunters stepped a small mast in the scooter and then sailed out over the ice on the half frozen bay, until they got to open water. Then they would unstep and stow the mast & sail and get ready to shoot in the open water, near the edge of the ice. You use quite a few decoys, doing diver and sea duck hunting, so I don't know how they got the decoys out to where they rigged out. Maybe they towed a skiff with the decoys over the ice too! There are still people who use scooters for ice sailing when the bays freeze, but on the one hunt from, the runners were long since removed. Scooters are very stable and I've always felt secure in them, even in some fairly rough weather. The scooter is now used in combination with a dory for carrying the decoys and towing scooter and an old fishing boat as the "mother ship" for the whole operation. The mother ship also has a stove and coffee! If you want to see a picture of a Great South Bay scooter, send me an email address and I'll shoot you a few. RichardBrewster1@verizon.net
