Topic: The Best Duck Hunting Boats of 2023 (Read 31 times)
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Why It Made the Cut
The removable transom on the MOmarsh Fatboy DP makes this a versatile duck hunting boat that allows you to hunt open water divers or backwater teal with ease.
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Product Description
The MOmarsh Fatboy DP (dual-purpose) is suitable to hunt layout-boat style in open water for divers one day and then in shallow water marshes the next. It can be paddled, push-poled, or even equipped with a small outboard motor with the addition of an optional transom.
The DP is perfect for solo hunters, and their retriever and can be outfitted with a door system that turns it into a field layout blind for ultimate concealment, including a dog door. The Fatboy DP can’t handle big waves, so you’ll have to wait for perfect conditions to hunt bigger waters. But, if you enjoy solo hunting, the DP is an affordable, versatile option.
Why It Made the Cut
Expanding on Pro-Drive’s popular X series, the Timber Deck (TD) Edition is a versatility option for hunting in the timber. This hull can maneuver in the tight quarters that are co*mon in flooded timber, and it offers easy in-out access at the rear of the boat for hunters and four-legged friends.
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The X Series is the most popular hull in this Pro Series line, and the addition of the Timber Deck makes it easy to adjust your setup when you need to. If you’ve hunted timber before, you know the difficulty of getting in and out of the boat. Thankfully, the TD makes it easy for you and your four-legged friend to bail in or out without damaging gear or taking a spil*. This entry method also reduces wear and tear on your duck hunting waders, gear, and body. Add this feature to Pro-Drive’s triple-taper chines handling ability, and you have a great duck hunting boat for tight timber.
Why It Made the Cut
Designed specifically for use with surface drive mud motors, these GO-DEVIL boats are rugged and can handle a variety of tough hunting conditions.
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Putting a surface drive (AKA short-tail) mud motor on just any boat hull can lead to lackluster results. For example, you wouldn’t want to put a mud motor on a deep V-hull. To answer that call, GO-DEVIL knocked it out of the park with this Surface Drive hull specifically designed for integration with a surface drive mud motor.
With maximum bottom surface area, this hull will get out of the hole and get on plane quicker. This allows for faster response, which is important when you’re hunting areas of varying water depth to avoid getting hung up on obstructions or mud flats. Additionally, the tapered chine allows the hull to slide off banks and other obstacles with ease.
Why It Made the Cut
Excel’s co*prehensive F4 line offers a variety of boat hulls designed specifically for shallow water mud flats and marshes.
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Excel’s co*prehensive F4 line includes five different models with additional configuration options available for each of them. One of their most unique offerings is the Shallow Water F4 Pro Console, which pairs a fishing style console with a duck boat designed for a mud motor. In addition to the console model, their tiller Shallow Water F4 is loaded with standard features like gun boxes for your best duck hunting shotguns and dry storage for other gear.
The entire F4 line was designed to hunt shallow water, including mud flats, rivers, and even timber. The rugged hull design has a unique bull nose that can stave off unexpected bumps and bruises. And the only drawback is that transom angle is designed specifically for mud motors, so it may not be ideal for conventional outboards if you’re into that kind of thing.
Why It Made the Cut
While not a conventional deep V-hull, the modified V-hull on the Blackhawk series makes these boats a versatile option for hunting a variety of water depths.
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The Blackhawk Series by War Eagle pulls double-duty as a versatile duck hunting and fishing boat. First, its modified 18-degree V-hull cuts through choppy water, which allows hunters to cut across bigger lakes with added safety and co*fort but still get shallow when they need to. Second, you can fish this boat in the off-season, but it doesn’t sacrifice co*fort or features like a lot of other co*petitors.
While the dual-purpose is nice, depending on how may features you add, they’ll quickly take up space and add cost. Additionally, the hull design will not get as skinny as a true flat bottom that has a smooth surface and is designed to minimize friction. The Blackhawk was also designed for use with a conventional outboard, so there are limits when it co*es to truly shallow conditions.
Why It Made the Cut
Layout boats are subjected to a lot of abuse, especially when they are deployed and retrieved with a tender boat. While fiberglass has long been the standard, this layout board adds durability by way of aluminum.
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Layout hunting for divers has long been my favorite fall activity, even more so with a friend. After all, who doesn’t want to relive every layup miss they’ve ever made? The GHOST 2 Man allows you to do just that. This layout boat is super durable and made co*pletely from aluminum. It hides very well, even in small chop, and includes an adjustable spray shield for rough waves. The only detractions are that the aluminum can be a little louder on calm days and transfers cold to your body easier than fiberglass, but those are minor drawbacks that the Hydro-Turf helps mitigate.
A good size duck boat depends on your hunting style and the waters you hunt most. Having extra space is always ideal, but the bigger the hull the less maneuverable and the more difficult to handle. When you’re looking for a boat, consider the tightness of the areas you hunt, your average hunting crew, and if you ever intend to hunt alone. Armed with that information, consider buying a hull that has enough space for your average hunting crew without going overboard.
Again, depending on how and where you hunt will determine which motor is best for your style of duck hunting. The two main configurations for duck boats are conventional (think standard long shaft propeller outboards) and mud motors (both short and long-tail varieties). Selecting between the two co*es down to the environments that you hunt. If you only hunt shallow water, mud motors are ideal. If you hunt deep water, conventional outboards are perfect, and if you hunt both, choosing between either is a little murkier, but short-tail mud motors will likely satisfy your needs. A better explanation requires a much more detailed article, but following these guidelines is a good place to start.
Duck hunting boats run anywhere from just under $1000 for smaller hand-powered marsh boats to more than $50,000. While cost is always important, nothing is more frustrating than choosing a cheaper option to save a few thousand bucks only to find it isn’t big or safe enough for your hunting environments. To get the most bang for your buck, do your research and investigate multiple options before you open your wallet.
When it co*es time to make a purchase, start by listing out the environments you intend to hunt, the number of hunters in your party, any must-have features, and the style of outboard you intend to use. Once you have this information, you can quickly narrow down your options. It also never hurts to consider used boats, and sometimes you can find a great deal on these, as long as they’ve been maintained. Just like buying a used car, always operate in a buyer-beware mode, and make sure you check over any used boat you buy with a fine-tooth co*b by looking for damage, signs of abuse, and user modifications that may be detrimental to performance.
I’ve hunted some of the toughest ducks and other waterfowl for thousands of days over the past few decades and have had the privilege of hunting out of nearly every style of boat imaginable. To best evaluate the differences between different boat models and configurations, I always look at the finer, more subtle details that often separate one manufacturer from another. In most cases these details define the specific types of hunting environments that a boat’s hull will best fit.
The best duck hunting boats have co*e a long way over the past decade. Boat manufacturers have seen the need for duck hunting specific hull designs and features, which has given buyers plenty of options for boat hulls that are specific for their hunting environments. This includes everything from obstruction-choked timber to the ocean. So, whatever hunting styles and waters apply to you, there’s a boat that can fit them.
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