# The 13 footer "Baby Ducker" Gheenoe Duck Boat



## TomFL

Another project in the works, I picked this little gem up for $250 and will be transforming it into another duck-hunting rig for some smaller NMZ marshes near my home and the STA area. I can't think of a better way to hunt these areas than with one of the smaller gheenoes. 

Started with a little weathered but otherwise really good structural shape 13 foot gheenoe. She's got a few marine-tex patches, and some super-faded blue paint. Perfect duck boat starter!










First step was to remove the center box to make more room for decoy bags and cooler. Started with a cutoff wheel only to have it conch out on me, so we switched over to the sawzall. All was going great till we hit the corners and we couldn't get the sawzall in there. So making a few vertical cuts, real careful.....cutting...and BAM, she grabs and pokes through the bottom. About this time my buddy Kenny about pisses his pants laughing, and I'm of course pawning it off like I meant to do that, coming up with stories about filling the center portion of the boat with water to make it blend in better when in the field hunting (I figure the ducks could land IN the boat if they want, right?)   . 

Regardless, I haven't seen him laugh that hard in 20 years, so a little extra patch work was well worth it...










Finally got it all out and now it's time to level it off. Found some small soft spots on the inside of the ends, so I'll need to get all that outta there. 










Progress coming to a halt for the evening; she's definately opened up a lot more without the center box. 










My plan is to finish removing the box and repair the floor area, add a false floor, touch up some misc repairs and prep for paint. Want to paint both this one and the classic "mother ducker" at the same time to make things easier. 

I can say that the weight difference between the 15 and the 13 hi-siders feels a lot more substantial than what's published. The 13 footer is much easier to move around by yourself than the 15, which will be a big plus as a lot of the times I'll be using this boat I'll be alone in a small marsh. 

Stay tuned..


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## rkmurphy

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

I like it. Very nice little boat. I was going to restore an old highsider (looked like the Jesnew when he first bought it) and it was a pain in the ass to move by myself. It is approx. 2.5' longer which is a lot more to handle. Try picking up a 100 lb dumbbell...fairly easy even with one arm. Then try a 100lb bag of cement or something. It feels like you're lifting a truck.


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## tom_in_orl

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Very Cool! Thanks for going the extra step documenting your progress and sharing it on the forum.

[smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> Very Cool! Thanks for going the extra step documenting your progress and sharing it on the forum.
> 
> [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]


HA! You call that progress, eh?   Next time I have a sawzall in my hands around a boat I'm going to charge admission.

She'll be patched up tonight. I really, really like the open floorplan without the box. Lots more versatile. 

-T


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## Frank_Sebastian

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Thanks for the report Tom. I have high hopes I will be doing something similar before early teal season. I already have a blind made up so camouflage paint and small rod holders for the blind are all that stands between me and the marsh. 

I just hope my newest best friend doesn't got too attached to the object of my affections.

Best regards,
Frank_S


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## HialeahAngler

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

If I found a deal like that I'd have that boat as well as my flats skiff. lol.


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## goodhands_gheenoer

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

That's good stuff! Are you going to put a false floor in since you have a clean slate?


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> That's good stuff!  Are you going to put a false floor in since you have a clean slate?


Yes, although I'm trying to work around the issue of the drain holes in the seat bottoms. I think the only way to do what I want without fear of future issues is to run a full length of PVC pipe under the floor from front to rear. 
-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

More progress today.

Bulk of grinding and heavy sanding done:









And removal of these funky plates from the previous owner:









I'm hoping to get time to finish up the remainder of the sanding later this week, and also to think over and decide how to approach the flat floor and draining issues. 

-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Been making progress on the hull over the last few weeks when time allows and promised Brett I would post some pics as I took them. 

I've decided to trash the idea of the false floor as it'd open up too many possible drain issues between the seats, etc. 

But I did want to cover up the center drain channel, or "ankle breaker" as Brett calls it, so I cut strips out of the original center box, ground them down to fit and MT'd them in place. Hey I recycle, who says I'm not thinking "green", right? 

Also filled/smoothed the variances that were left in the floor from the box cutout with some MT in preparation for laying some glass in there to bring it all to one level. 

Pic from Thursday night:










I've also put a few layers of cloth and matt over the seat tops to reinforce that area when I install the seats. 

In that pic you can barely see it, but the vertical portions of the rear seat are *paper* thin, and once the paint was removed there was litterally nothing left. Very flexy. 

Over the weekend I addressed that with some good glass, and also laid down some matt and cloth over the center strip and one layer of 6oz cloth over the entire floor. 

Next step is to touch up the bottom where I FUBAR'd the seat cutout, then paint up the exterior for a water test and see how stiff she is. 

Will post more pics tonight....


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## noeettica

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Tom It is lookin Awsome ... Lookin forward to more Pics ...

" Defrost " the camera first I have the same problem LOL

dave


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## Brett

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Looks like you got the hang of glasswork pretty quick.
Not near as hard as you thought it was going to be, eh?


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> Looks like you got the hang of glasswork pretty quick.
> Not near as hard as you thought it was going to be, eh?


Nah, nothing hard about it. Having fun too. Wish I had more time to work on it....

-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Progress report and pics so Brett doesn't suffer from withdrawal symptoms... 

Bulk of floor work is done; all that's remaining is touch-up/finish work around the drains and sanding. Went with 2 layers of 6 oz matt between 3 layers of 6 oz cloth. I have to admit, I am completely shocked at how stiff this little hull is now. I don't think it added any weight at all over how it was with the box installed as I can pick it up alone from the side. It feels like a toy compared to the old 15 footer. Very happy with it. 










Next pic shows what I wound up with for the drains at each end of the center area. I'm going to sand and contour this area more to bring it back to the edge of the 'glass base I MT'd in in the last step and finish it nicer once I wet test it and decide whether to add any more 'glass to the floor:










Now I've turned my attention to the outside; touching up my "goof" and a few nicks here and there with marine-tex..



















These will be the last pics of the little smurf-mobile before it gets primed and painted with a solid base of drab green in preparation for a camo pattern over the top. Should have the primer/base done by the weekend and then I'll toss it in the water for a wet test before moving any further along. 

Will post more pics as I move ahead with it...


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## Bush_Whacker

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Looks good. That little thing is gonna turn out bad-azz.
What kind of primer and paint are you gonna use? 
I'm about to prime and paint my hull also. I was planning on using Awlgrip 545 primer, but the stuff is really expensive.


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> Looks good. That little thing is gonna turn out bad-azz.
> What kind of primer and paint are you gonna use?
> I'm about to prime and paint my hull also. I was planning on using Awlgrip 545 primer, but the stuff is really expensive.


For the outside of the hull, Brett turned me on to Interlux fiberglass no-sand primer which I'm picking up this afternoon after work. Over the interlux I'll be using parker duck boat paint as my color base, then work on the camo pattern with Krylon spray cans over the top of that. 

The interlux has some pretty specific instructions to follow as to how to prep the hull, so if you're going to do it make sure to read them. They are available in PDF form on their website. If you mess it up you'll be starting over. 

The interior I am going to do with Cabela's Tuff Coat: http://www.cabelas.com/link-12/product/0021475016662a.shtml

Will be priming and painting the outside possibly tomorrow night, but more probably Friday evening. 

Will post pics of course so Brett has something to peruse..



-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

I should also mention DO NOT BUY THE INTERLUX (or anything else for that matter IMHO) at West Marine. They will rob you. 

$42 a quart!!!!!

A quick look online and you can buy it for half that shipped. Another local merchant here had it for $26 a quart, and I chose to shop local. 

-T


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## rkmurphy

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> I should also mention DO NOT BUY THE INTERLUX (or anything else for that matter IMHO) at West Marine. They will rob you.
> 
> $42 a quart!!!!!
> 
> A quick look online and you can buy it for half that shipped. Another local merchant here had it for $26 a quart, and I chose to shop local.
> 
> -T


AMEN. I was at Ace today picking up some gasket sealant and saw they had Marine Tex for around $12. It's around $18-$20 at West Marine.


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## noeettica

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

It may be hard to swallow The Extra $$$ at west but ... What if they were not there when you need them ..

I am very fourtanate to have Mahoney's fairly close by ..

Dave


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## DuckNut

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

West Marine has been run a little better than Boaters World in the past but now they are having their own problems...hope they can hold on, the aftermarket industry need the competition for price stability.


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## mark_gardner

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

enjoyed the pics and looking forward to more


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Last pics of the smurf-blue, I promise...

Tonight I removed the rails, got off the raggedy old FL#'s and the registrations stickers...

Plopped it on some horses for the final prep:









Now starts the fun part!

Next pics and she'll be a different color!!

-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

********NEWS FLASH*********
*

Throughout this thread we've been talking of using Interlux Fiberglass no-sand primer, which after some last-minute research and a slick eye for details from Brett, it turns out is not a good choice as it's compatible only with antifoul bottom paints....

I wanted to post this clearly on here so that anyone looking at this thread doesn't get mislead with some bad product info. 

Brett and I are researching some options here to find a good primer to use that's compatible with a flat-finish top-coat approved for use below the waterline. 

I'd prefer just doing the whole hull in one flat color, but if I'm forced to do a black bottom and just use the camo base color on the sides I'll wind up doing that. 

As it sits now the only hunting I can do with the original color will be for bluebills...

Will post here what we find.. 

-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

OK, so with a sharp eye from Brett I didn't lay down the interlux no-sand primer, as they have changed the formulation on it sometime in the past for EPA reasons, and now it's for use under antifoul bottom paints ONLY. 

With a quick call to the helpful folks at interlux, here's what I'm using: 









The only downside to switching from the no-sand primer to the Pre-kote is, well...the sanding :-/ . The flexible sanding sponges are worth their weight in gold. Use them in addition to the R.O. Sander for the hard to reach areas and curves.









The white whale:









Sand between coats this evening, lay down the first color tomorrow... 

Getting there...

-T


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## Brett

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Application question...brush...roller....spray?


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> Application question...brush...roller....spray?


Foam Roller worked well

-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Today I was able to lay down the base color, flat "marsh green". 

Rolled out nice, and it is definitely FLAT, no glare whatsoever. Nice. 









Tomorrow I should have some time to sand the motor plate, prime/paint that, and possibly start some stencil work. This is when it gets fun..

While waiting for the paint to dry, I spent some time on the trailer. The last 2 seasons I've loaded and unloaded the gheenoe by hand in spots that there is no boat ramp, which is typical of the places I hunt and fish with gheenoes (and one of the reasons I switched from the 15' to the 13'). The boat sat high on the trailer, and I never was happy with the way the edges of the bunk boards contacted the bottom of the boat while you were loading it. 

I dropped the rear of the bunks about 4" to angle the boat downward on the trailer. In this shot you can see the shackle on the left as it was, and the shackle on the right has been lowered. With both shackles low it should be easier on my back to load and unload by hand:









Then I pulled back the bunk carpeting and used the grinder a bit to take the edge off the boards to save my hull bottom: 









More pics tomorrow...



-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Turned the boat over today and put the rails back on it. Tomorrow I'll hang the motor on it and take it for a spin to make sure the floor is the way I want it before prepping it for paint inside. 

Here's the super-flat monotone hull back on the trailer:










-T


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## noeettica

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Lookin Good !


Dog too 

Dave


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## Lil_Tate

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

very nice..


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Well she wet tested perfect. Hung a 9.8 on it and she rides nice, no floor flex to be concerned with, and the joint where the seat sides meet the floor are solid as a rock. 

I'm very happy with it. The open center makes the boat so much more usable, I don't have a clue why they come with the center bench. 

Floor is great the way it is, so now it's back to the garage to install the bow eye and make up the laydown seat. 

I did notice that there is a major difference in the transom between the 13 and 15 models, as the transom on the 13 is paper thin. Even a moderate squeeze from the motor clamps will damage the transom. I guess that's one reason why the 13 is only rated for a 5hp motor. I will probably do a little reinforcing work there before painting the inside. I won't be running a motor on her much but when I do it'll be a 9.8hp. 

I may have to name her the "coyote" duck boat (coyote ugly??) because on my way to the ramp I had a coyote walk across the road in front of me. Pretty cool as you don't see them every day..

-T


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## noeettica

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

You Hear Coyote every Night Around Live Oak


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

OK, so it's been a few weeks (months?) at least since I've made an update on the Baby Ducker. Haven't had much time to devote to it but early teal season starts in a few weeks so I needed to get my butt in gear. 

Wound up replacing the transom as the wood that was in there was nothing more than termites holding hands. I went a little overboard here, with a larger and thicker transom panel than was in there, but I think that's a good thing given I'll be running a 9.9 on her at times. 










I have mentioned a lot of the areas I fish/hunt with this boat are remote with no ramps, so I do a lot of dropping the hull down canal banks and pulling it back up by the bow eye via winch or truck, so I was concerned about the bow eye pulling out. I took a piece of scrap hardwood and shaped it to fit snugly inside the hull as a backer and epoxied it firmly into place. I also drilled the SS bow eye into place a little lower than most run them to make it easier for the bow to come up and over bank obstacles while pulling it up. After feeling how sturdy this is I can honestly say if the bow eye comes up the canal bank, it will be attached to the hull!










And the outside. In this photo you can see some of the plastic hooks I rivet into the hull that are used to hold down the ghillie blind when I'm using it: 









This weekend I spent finishing the sanding prior to painting and what a complete PITA! I'm using a product from Cabela's for the interior called Tuff-Coat which is a thick paint with a lot of ground up rubber aggregate in it. Supposed to make for a great non-skid, as well as a sound deadener. 










The specs call for sanding the entire surface with 36 grit sandpaper to really give the primer and paint a surface to bite into. The only way to do 90% of the hull is by hand as there are just too many curves and details to do with any type of sander. Here's the hull after the 2-part primer was laid down this morning:










After a 6-hour dry time it was time to lay down the first coat of the paint. This stuff is a little hard to work with as it's the consistency of pancake batter with all the aggregate in it. You need a special open-cell foam roller to apply it. I also used a brush for the hard-to-reach areas, although you cannot make any slides with the roller or any strokes with the brush as that'll make skid marks in the paint. Roll smoothly with no pressure, and "dab" the brush onto the surface to cover hard-to-reach areas. Instructions call for the first coat to be a little light and not to worry about opacity as the second coat is to fill in. Here are some shots while I was waiting for the first coat to dry:

Inside the bow:









Seat Tops; here you can really see the graininess of the finish:









Overall shot:









I'm a little miffed at the color, which was supposed to be "tan" but really came out a lot darker than the tan I had in mind. Not a big deal but something to keep in mind if anyone else is thinking of using this paint. 1 gallon was enough to do 2 coats perfectly. If you are going to paint a 15 footer, or have a center seat bench in your 13, you'll probably need to order another quart to finish the hull off. 

Here's the overall shot showing the inside and outside colors:









Tomorrow I'm probably going to break down and do a camo pattern on the outside after all, and start working on the camo netting and ghillie blind to set it up like the old 15 was. 

Should be ready for the water next weekend..!!

-T


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## paint it black

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Looks great.
Makes me feel like doing a search and rescue mission for abandoned jon boats or gheenoes on the side of peoples house that usually either give them away or sell them to me for $50. lol


When doing the camo, make sure you start with the brightest color and work your way to the darkest.
If not, it'll look really bad.


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## Brett

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Looks tasty...caramel outside...nestle's crunch inside... [smiley=happy.gif]


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> Looks tasty...caramel outside...nestle's crunch inside... [smiley=happy.gif]


Mmmm, nestle crunch. Frozen. Mmmm... Suprising to see the color of the inside when it's advertised as "tan", eh?

Today I had every intention of installing the seat bases, but ran out of steam with the heat. Plus I didn't have a 3/4" drill bit for the wing-it toggle bolts I'll be using to install the bases. 

I was able to put the TM bracket back on, as well as the starboard bracket for the powerwinch plug. The PW plug is a great setup, very good trolling motor outlet and in this case will double as a power outlet for the fog/spot lights on the bow that are to come. 










Hopefully I'll finish this thing up during the week after work and get to take it for a spin next weekend. 

-T


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## wallbanger2

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

I had the pleasure of seeing this in person today and Tom has done a great job on the "Baby Ducker". 
I'm really impressed with the work he did covering over the "ankle Breaker". You would never even know it was there if you didn't see the before pics.


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## crb099

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

With a good camo paint job and a ghillie blind on her, she will vanish into the marsh..  You've inspired me to customize my 13' in a similar fashion, and if it turns out half as good as yours did, then I will be very pleased.


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

HnB, I like the sound of that, hope you find the gheenoe as great to hunt puddle ducks out of as I have.

Some shots of the gheenoe ghillie that I made for the old 15 below; I will be using the same netting but have added more local plant life than shown in the pic.










Once out in the marsh, the gheenoe and ghillie setup completely disappears. 










-T


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Today was the seat day. 

Green Hornet did some seat installs with the "Wing-Its" bolts from Home Depot and liked them so I figured I'd give them a try too. The are made of SS and nylon resin, so they should last for a while on a boat. 

Here's the 3/4" wing-it drill bit (a must if you don't have a 3/4" bit), a wing-it before it's installed and 4 of the wing-it bases installed in the seat top:











For seat bases, I'm using the standard metal swivels that will of course rust out in about 2 years, but haven't found a better replacement yet. Rather than install them directly to the bench tops, I'm using a combination of two different removable mounting bases. I couldn't make up my mind between the two so I figured I'd be a guinea pig for you guys and give one of each a try. 

The plastic one is called "Release-A-Seat" from Action outdoors. Available at BPS or Gander. The second one I'll be using is metal and looks identical but is made by Wise, called the "Quick disconnect seat mount". 

Here's a shot of the "Release-A-Seat" and the swivel base seperated:









And here they are together:









If you lift up on that "V" shaped thingy, you can slide the seat base forward and release it from the mount, and take the seat off the boat quickly. 

Here's the "Release-A-Seat" installed on the seat base. The screws that come with the Wing-Its have a pretty small pan head on them, rather than a tapered head that the "release-a-seat" is made for. I don't think it will be an issue as it's a pretty beefy area, but I used a small pop-rivet washer under the panhead for extra assurance. 









I also replaced the hardware that attached the seat swivel to the seat with SS bolts. The nice thing about using the QR brackets listed above is there is no clearance issues so you can use a conventional bolt head rather than the panhead screws that come with the seats. The bolts are about 1/4" longer than the screws that come with the seats, but I think it's a non-issue as the seats have a ton of padding on them. 










Installed:









Finished seat in the upright position:









And folded for travel:









And lastly, the seats I'm using are from Cabela's and are called "Cabela's Camo Angler High Back Seat" in Shadow Grass. A bit pricey, but I watched them since last season and bought when they were on sale at $20 off apiece, then used my $25 rebate so they worked out to be about the same cost as the cheapy folding plastic ones. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0030640017339a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=Cabela%27s+Camo+Angler+High+Back+Seat+&Ntk=Product_liberal&sort=all&Go.y=0&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&_D%3Asort=+&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1&Go.x=0&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

These seats are super-comfy and have A TON of padding on them. A huge step up in comfort for my back and bum while hunting/fishing. The only drawback to them is they have so much padding on the bottom, they increase the seat height by about 5" over the conventional, folding plastic seats we've all used. I'm not thrilled about that, but I'm getting older by the day and I'll take a few less ducks if I can walk after sitting in the boat for 6 hours.

This weekend I'll jump into some starboard brackets to hold the depth finder/GPS, and some Scotty rod holder bases for when I'm fishing, and some other tricks to make the boat disappear in the marsh when hunting. 

Getting close now...

-T


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## backwaterbandits

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*


Looks very, very good... Great work!


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## paint it black

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Looking good.


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## Frank_Sebastian

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Looks great. I would say superrb, but not sure how it's spelled. With the gillie blind I suggest a no smoking sign.

Best regards,
Frank_S


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## JaredFacemyer

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

The boat turned out awesome. Makes me want to find one and fix it up.


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## TomFL

*Gheenoe Duck Boat*

Things are coming along now...

Decided to do some camo on the side, half because I had the paint already and half because there was no Steelers game on today 

Here's a shot of all the paints and supplies. I only used about 1-2 spray cans of each color to do the boat: 










Started with adding the numbers, and I just stuck on the outlines from an old set I had and taped them off:









Then sprayed the base green:









Here they are after the fade along with the remaining camo parts:









More shots:



























Here's a blast from the past; pics of when I got it:









And now:









Once the camo was dry, the rigging was next. Seems I've been wiring a lot of boats lately and have picked up a few things that have really helped me. First is the hydraulic wire crimper, which really makes a secure connection. The next item a friend turned me on to was a cigar cutter, which is used to trim the shrink-tubing to length accurately and cleanly. 









I ran out of Starboard so I made a base board out of worm wood for a pattern which allowed me to mock things up and started placing the batteries and breaker. I'll need to add the charger, a Marinco 110v outlet and a powerwinch plug for a 24v outlet for the transom trolling motor when I run it in place of the outboard (which will be 99% of the time) as well as a 12V supply cord to the bow for the fog lights and a 12v bow trolling motor (for when I use that in place of the 24v transom unit, primarily when I'll be fishing) .

Mounting everything on the starboard will allow me to just undo the wires from the terminals and remove the whole thing for when I need to portage the boat or put it on top of the truck to hunt the STA areas. Brett, the wing nuts are there only because man has not invented an easier way to add/remove wires while I'm measuring and cutting; they will be replaced by nylocks when I'm done 

This is about as far as I got before I ran out of steam for the day, but it's looking good so far. Technically, the jumper wire should be yellow but I'm using what I have on hand to try to keep this thing affordable, along with the Wally-World batteries which have held up fine with the Cabela's charger keeping them up to snuff. 










This week I'll pick up some starboard for the base, and make a few brackets for the electrical stuff and some fishing rod holders. 

I can almost smell the marsh now..

-T


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## Gramps

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

[smiley=1-thumbsup1.gif] That is fantastic Tom!


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## paint it black

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

Looks great. 
I just think you should have gone a little darker with the camo.
But it looks great nonetheless.


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## TomFL

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*



> Looks great.
> I just think you should have gone a little darker with the camo.
> But it looks great nonetheless.


Funny, I think it's definately too dark as it is! Wanted something with a lot of tan and some very light green in it. 

Just goes to show we hunt different areas. 

-T


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## rkmurphy

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

WOW!! Looks amazing Tom. You do some great stuff. Hopefully I'll get to see it up close pretty soon!


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## FSUfisher

*Re: The 13 footer "Baby Ducker"*

I really like your mods and ideas. Also, that is one of the best camo jobs I've ever seen! Great job! [smiley=1-thumbsup1.gif]


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## TomFL

Well obviously since this weekend was opening weekend of waterfowl and I was working on the boat I'm behind schedule. 

Plus the places I built this boat for are dry as a bone this season so this boat's probably going to get fished more than hunted this season. 

I added a few finishing touches this weekend:

Rear battery tray and wiring for both 12v and 24v plugs on left. When duck hunting I'll have this tray in with the 24v plug to the 24v troller on the transom and the 12v plug running a line to the bow for lights. 










When fishing in the boat, I'll be running the 9.8hp outboard on it so the battery tray will come out to save weight and to make room for the fuel tank. Simple disconnect of the wing nuts (just for Brett)









Then I made a removable, single battery tray and little storage box for a group 27 battery behind the front seat to run the trolling motor when fishing. Notice the Anderson-style quick disconnects, which I can unplug here and then connect to the 12v line from the rear when running the twin batteries in the rear. 









I added a starboard box for a set of lights in the bow, but didn't have a blade-style fuse holder so I had to make due with what I had for now: 









Showing the rear and top of box. Top has a few vent holes which I think will let the heat out from the lights. The rod holder base on the rear serves double-duty.









Here it is with a scotty rod holder in place for when I'm fishing, notice the 12v outlet that powers either the 12v trolling motor when fishing, or the headlights when duck hunting:









And I found a 3/4" piece of PVC pipe fits in there perfectly as well, which makes a great pole to hang the blind from, here showing the rod holders in the rear with pipe installed, ready for netting:









Poles removed and a rod holder slipped in place:









Lastly, I installed a set of rod holder bases mid-ship, again to serve double-duty. Shown with a rod holder in one:









The only thing left to do to this little rig is to cut the mesh netting to size, affix it to the pipes and cut some reeds and zip-tie them in place. Should make for an easy to remove and install, roll-up blind. 

Unfortunately the next week I'll be up north laying in a corn field for geese, hopefully I will be able to finish this little thing up and sneak into some backwater area when I get back. 

Will post pics..

-T


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## FSUfisher

Again, awesome! I really like the double-duty rod holders that can hold up the blind.


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## Canoeman

Lots of talent on this forum. Great work Tom. I was out in a friend's 13 footer today (first time in one) and it was a perfect boat for the tight creeks here.


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## DuckNut

Looks better than the owner [smiley=1-lmao.gif]


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## noeettica

This is GREAT stuff ! Unlike those of us that sometimes never finish our "projects"

Dave


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## TomFL

> Looks better than the owner  [smiley=1-lmao.gif]


My wife may second that opinion!

-T


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## mark_gardner

can anyone say " quack quack "  ;D looks like a duck hunting machine for sure [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]


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## HighSide25

> can anyone say " quack quack "   ;D looks like a duck hunting machine for sure  [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]


and this does not?!!


















camo is over-rated, boys


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## TomFL

> can anyone say " quack quack "   ;D looks like a duck hunting machine for sure  [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]
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> and this does not?!!
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> camo is over-rated, boys
Click to expand...

Ummm...no, it doesn't look like anything I'd hunt out of for ducks. Would I drive it to a duck hunting spot, hop out and try to hide it and hunt somewhat nearby? 

If that's all I had, I guess. 

I will kinda agree with you on the camo thing, as i think so many are caught up in this pattern or that, or that you even need camo. To which I say no, as long as you're using earth-tones and stand still, which in itself is probably more important than camo. 

But, I wouldn't ever consider using the LT pictured as a duck hunting boat if I was going to hunt out of it without a blind, or especially a laydown boat. Not sure if there's a better way to flare ducks short of using an air horn, white interior and all. 

But hey, if that works for you, go for it. Just not near me 

-T


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## HighSide25

wish i coulda got the pine green outside/tan inside one, but this teal color had more function than the green one. i was kinda just joking with you tom. your boat looks sweet, i just have killed to many birds using light blue jon boats and this LT to think camo is what makes a duck boat so good. 
a good duck boat has....
1 a fast 20-30 mph motor that can and will go through some nasty hydrilla and carry 600 pounds of gear( at least 3 people plus dekes/guns)
2. a good spotlight.
3. low profile
4. natural color(camo)
5. someone on the boat that knows what hes doing


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## TomFL

Feiday I finished up the blind on the 13 footer as Saturday was opening day. 

Basically made a quick frame out of PVC which fit into the rod holders, and cut some netting to hang up on it. Then brushed out the frame. The netting removes very easily in under 2 minutes and rolls up pretty danged compact for easy moving around. Frame is glued together in just a few pieces so the main parts stay together, and comes apart in less than a minute. A real quick, easy way to set up a blind for 2 people to hunt out of. 

These are the 3 main parts to the blind which are the only pieces glued together: 









Here's the horizontal pieces that attach to the 3 main parts shown above. These just slip in place to the connectors on the main parts:









And here's the blind with the whole frame slipped together:









Showing how the frame slips into the rod holder bases:









Netting up:









Hooks on hull previously shown in build pics. These are the quickest way to hold the bottom part of the netting close to the hull. Top is tied to the horizontal PVC parts with cut pieces of bungee cord. 









Start of brushing it in:









Finished blind, there is also a roof panel between both seats that you can't see in this pic. The bottom of the reeds still need to be trimmed a bit in this pic:









A good looking blind that's quick and easy to remove and put up once you get in place!

-T


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## DuckNut

Killer job...no pun intended!


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## tom_in_orl

I am a little lazy about setting up blinds. That looks too complicated for me. Can I just drive it like this.  ;D


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## Brett

I'd be sneezing so bad I'd scare off every duck in a 1 mile radius!
           Do you know how bad hay fever can get?


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## TomFL

> I am a little lazy about setting up blinds. That looks too complicated for me. Can I just drive it like this.  ;D


Tom, I bet I could have it set up before you could pour yourself a cold one and find a comfy seat!

-T


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## FSUfisher

Wow, it just keeps getting better. That's a great pop-up blind idea. Good job Tom!


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## pole_position

Congrads Tom ,what a cool boat. Enjoyed the pics and picked up a few pointers and ideas for my new project.


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## tguasjr

Gotta hand it to you Tom, You did an awesome job!


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## TomFL

Have finished my layout "sneak" additions and will be testing them in the morning. Even in 22 degrees of lustful, frigid coldness in the morning at moore haven....

Will post pics from the field. May need an ice scraper....

-T


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## Brett

> Will post pics from the field. May need an ice breaker....


fixed it for you...


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## TomFL

She's up for sale here in the classified section!! 

     

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1262813664/0#0

Time for a new project for 2010!!!

-T


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## gnuraider

> Time for a new project for 2010!!!
> 
> -T


So when will we see a new project thread? "Before" pics are a good place to start 

Dave


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## TomFL

> Time for a new project for 2010!!!
> 
> -T
> 
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> So when will we see a new project thread?  "Before" pics are a good place to start
> 
> Dave
Click to expand...

This is true! Will post some pics up shortly...


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## Jacbo

You know I want to see a project thread! 
Did you get your bill of sale yet? I put it in the mail a few days ago.

Haha I have a few "before" pics! ;D


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## TomFL

> You know I want to see a project thread!
> Did you get your bill of sale yet? I put it in the mail a few days ago.
> 
> Haha I have a few "before" pics! ;D


Got it today as a matter of fact, thank you for following up with that

-T


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