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

Just a regular viszla. Loves the water, but I don't take him in the boat when its below freezing. But when in a shore or nearshore blind no amount of cold bothers him. He goes off ice shelves, breaks thin ice, and will swim in waves full of broken ice to get at the birds. After the bird is onshore, he simply finds some dry grass and dries himself off and is ready to go again in minutes. As I understand, the wirehaired versions are the retriever of choice for some European waterfowlers.

Hal - looking at your photo (great looking dog, BTW), I see a metal ammo box. Looks a lot like my old steel Herters box with a padded, pop-up swivel seat - great in the blind, and I used to lay it on its side and use it for a seat when I was rowing.

Your comments on ice bring back good memories - the Ducker's a great performer through - and up on - the ice. I've always hunted with field-bred springers, and found that a neoprene vest keep's 'em comfortable right up to freezeout. The dog could come up out of ice-choked water, and within minutes I could slide my bare hand under the vest and she'd be warm and dry.

I also note that you're going after cans and 'bills - my favorite waterfowl - there's nothing to compare with the sound of divers ripping the air overhead!

Ammo box is one of those elusive pre-WWII side openers originally used for .50 cal BMG I believe. I glued some foam rubber on mine and usually sit on it only when in an onshore blind. I'm too tall and gangly to row my Duckers while sitting inside and so have to sit on the dogdeck. Dogdecks on both ends is another nice feature on these duckboats. I put an old piece of carpet on the bottom to reduce noise.

Jack- There used to be a place on the web to date your ducker but I am unable to find it any longer. Any idea where this info is available? My serial is LD-1453. Thanks.

Don't know of anything on the web, but I have all the dates. Your LD-1453 was one of 308 built in 1953.

Thanks Jack! That's a bit older than I thought. My boats still in great shape and my 12 year old boy started duck hunting in it with me this year. He wants to learn to pole the Ducker this summer so I think it has a lot of seasons left. It's nice to know others still use and appreciate these boats. GJS

Speaking of poles, the Duckers have open 2 inch pole pipes through the dogdecks and through the bottom for holding the boat. I have found these pipes useful on especially windy days. If you want a regular drop-anchor merely bolt two boards across one of the carrying handles and put a pulley on the end. A duckbill on the end of the pole is great for pushing into tall vegetation when the oars can't be used. I also carry some spikes mounted on wood handles to use to get up on the ice and scoot across it when poles and oars are useless. I wire an extra oarlock under one of the dogdecks.

Hal - For late season use I made a push pole with a duckbill at one end and a steel tip on the other. Getting the dog at the back with me to raise the bow a bit, I used the duckbill to push the boat up onto the ice - then reversed the pole and used the steel tip to bite the ice and push it. It's surprising how fast you can get the Ducker skittering across the ice. Awfully noisy, though!

Pinning the Ducker to the marsh bottom by pushing a couple of poles down through those stabilizer tubes made it virtually untippable. Probably the safest small duck boat ever made.

Jack, Thanks for all your input. Question? My brother builds boats and I would like to present him with a schematic of the ducker and have him loft one up. Do you have such info? Chance of finding an original one seems pretty remote. Building one might be the next best thing. Thanks, Randy

Randy - I can't help you with a schematic - best bet is to borrow one you can spec out. General specs:

weight 67 lbs.
length 12 ft.
beam 42"
cockpit 36" x 84"
depth 12"

But be advised: no one has ever succeeded in making a Ducker copy that compared well with the original - they've all been too heavy and clumsy (and damn near as expensive). Available aluminum stocks won't take the bend, and that 67 lb. weight would be hard to approach with anything else (except perhaps Kevlar). The light weight is a lot of the Ducker's charm, 'cuz it car-tops so nicely, hauls easily into potholes and skitters across mud and ice like no other.