doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT, Small water duck boats. OPINIONS??

Jack what was the empty weight on these? Was it 64 lbs? When were the last ones produced? Do you have a picture of what the aluminum oars looked like so I can keep an eye out for them?

Hal, those Duckers look perfect for small water. We'd last five minutes in them where we go. Too short for any chop. Another observation re this very interesting thread is that canoes have a narrow space for duck hunting, in small and generally undisturbed waters, for transportation only, lashed together or alone.

My Dad had a boat in the late 50's which might have been a Ducker - Seems to me it was bought from Abecrombie's or Bean's. is that possible?

Empty weight 67 lbs., less than a standard Grumman canoe. The last original LD (Lifetime Ducker) produced, #2784, left the AlumaCraft factory in 1959. Economy Duckers #3001-3453 were built from 1967 to 1969 but never became successful.

The original oars were formed from two aluminum halves, joined around the edges by heliarc welds. Oar handles were ashwood. Oarlocks were pinned to the shafts. Only picture I have is the oar mounted on the boat in this link - http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8df28b3127cceb326a8b03c5800000025100EaNm7RsycMT - which I can't seem to bring up here.

The very first AlumaCraft Ducker I ever saw was in the gun room at Von Lengerke & Antoine in Chicago in 1954. VL&A had some kind of business connection with Abercrombie & Fitch, so it's likely that the old A&F sold them, too. I would think the Ducker would have been too pricey for L.L.Bean.

King, I agree the Ducker is a small water craft. But you'd be amazed at how well they handle big chop. The Ducker was designed by a Swedish naval engineer, and it's like a little cork - I've rowed mine many times in waves where the horizon totally disappeared in the troughs. I always kept a waterproof nylon cockpit cover in it for rough weather, but never needed it. The boat's 42-inch beam and low profile make it incredibly stable.

You've convinced me, Jack. From time to time, someone somewhere gets it just right. What a loss they're no longer around.

Thanks for the photo Jack. Now I know what to look for. I guess the upper midwest is the best place to look for these. My dad got one of these new in the '40's (46-47?), but I never saw any oars like that. I have had mine in very treacherous waters also, and even waves coming from the side are not too bad because of the great bouyancy. As I remember, they advertised that a 300 lb man could sit on the 'gunnel and they would not tip. There was an article in Minnesota Waterfowler about these where they showed the original moulds used to form the hulls. Everything built with WWII aircraft quality in Minneapolis.

As for opinions, I love hunting duck in the reeds in Alaska in a small rowed skiff, etc. I would sneak throught the reeds in S.E. Alaska on the coast and do very well. It was great fun and relatively safe as it was protected water.
However, when I tried it in Oregon on a river, using the current, everything when fine until some of the "3 1/2'" duck hunters came roaring by with their power boat. I did not get sunk but decided that it was totally unsafe. It changed how I hunt down here.
John

The beauty of small boats is that you can hunt where motorheads fear to tread. No offense intended to the many good hunters who use them, but big motor boats seem to carry most of the skybusters, too.

Quietly poling a sneak boat through rice and rushes before dawn, hearing quacking on the water, unseen birds rising into the dark sky and whistling overhead - to me, that's a quintessential experience of duck hunting that the motorheads miss.

Hal, Thanks for posting your photos. Question? I keep looking at the Ducker with your dog sitting in it. Does that happen to be a fox red(or chocolate) pointing Lab? Just curious. One of my yellow PL's has a body structured very much like your dog. Randy