Cartsens Mallard duck boat?

[bmc]

I'm going to buy a duck boat this spring and am looking at getting the Carstens Mallard. My dad is retiring in a few years and wants to duck hunt with me. So it'd be the 2 of us, my 70lb lab Maggie, 3-4 doz dekes and our guns and shell bags. Has anyone hunted out of this boat and what's your thoughts? I mainly hunt smaller waters and most of my spots are within a short paddling distance from where I land my boat at.

Brian

[poutpro]

Haven't tried that one, but I have a Crestliner 12 foot flatbottom that I absolutely love. I have dropped it off of my dads pontiac station wagon at 55mph and crashed it on countless rocks when I was on the river and the current was too fast for me to handle. The boat is still floating and really looks like nothing has happened to it. It will hold 2 ppl 3 bags of decoys guns and my dad in there fine, but 1 more person may be crowded.

[superfish2]

I've heard good things about the cartsons, I think the only problem you may have is the capacity. I am not sure what the specific weight capacity of the mallard is, but you figure two guys and a dog and you are pretty close to 500lbs. Add in decoys, guns, gear, and you are sitting pretty low in the water.

[lawdog]

I have a Carsten Pintail and its small for two people but it can be done. With my bro and I and my 70lb lab, its a load. When hunting two, the decoys usually have to float along side or in back. Its not a problem at all once you get it stuck in the reeds and the poles in to secure it, its just real iffy going out and back, I would never try it on anything bigger than the sloughs and VERY small lakes we hunt here in SW MN. The Mallard is a touch deeper and should handle it better. I often wish I had that boat instead of my pintail. I've had it several years and its holding up well. Easy to haul too, at 80 lbs, I can load it into my pickup by myself and put the dog kennel in the boat and then still shut the topper.

I really like the Carstens line. Would certainly be glad to provide any other answers I can. Hope this helps.

[ChuckN]

I have an old Pintail too. Maybe Biglakeba$$ can confirm how many deks we had that day in 40+mph winds on a slough last fall. I think I had all my 3 dozen weighted keel bills, dozen mallard deks, him and I and my 100 lb lab. That was a boatload full of weight. These boats are incredibly stable.

I regularly hunt 2 guys, my dog and a couple dozen decoys. It's a tight fit, but it's doable.

I've used a friend's Mallard and they are considerably larger and can handle more weight. I would say it's a good choice.

I've thought about getting my hands on the Otter Stealth boat too.

[mwktrapper]

Hey Brian, How you been doing? Did you ever get out trout fishing this winter? Shoot me an email at mikekeller@(Contact US Regarding This Word).com

[bmc]

I couldn't send you an email Mike. Try sending me one at bmc 2680 at yahoo dot com.

Brian

[bmc]

Thanks for the replies guys. ChuckN, how did you propel the Mallard? Does your buddy have a trolling motor on it or did you paddle (double ended kayak paddle or canoe paddle)? I see the trolling motor mount is $150? I think a guy could make one for a heck of a lot cheaper, what do you think?

Brian

[J. Browne]

I have, what we think, is a mallard, but modified. It is as stable as a stealth. I have hunted with 2 guys(200 lbs each) with my foam and cork dekes(75 lbish) and our guns and shell bags. Its a pushpoling boat. If you are able to put a motor and run it, then have you considered the Bluebill? It can handle a 6.5 mud motor, a 200 lb guy, 90 lb lab and dekes. I am sure it will handle 2 guys and a dog, just slower Good little boat, although i dont like the fact they are fiberglass.

[Dean Schellinger]

I've hunted out of almost every kind of carstens boat made. They are incredibly stable, i am able to stand up in the littlest one and shoot no problem. No canoe and alot of little boats are to unstable to do that! I would recommend the largest one that you 2 could carry, that way you could have the most room and such.

FT

[ChuckN]

He had the oars and the kayak paddle on the Mallard. If you had a long distance to go, the oars make the boat really go across the water, while the kayak paddles are stealth mode. I always use the kayak paddle to move my boat as my oars for the Pintail are in poor shape, and I'm missing an oar lock.

You should be able to manufacture a trolling motor mount quite easily on these. All you need is creativity.

[Mark Christianson]

Hey Chuck

I think if we had one more decoy or if the wind was 1mph more, we woulda been a little wet...

Well, not that close, but it was a LOAD!

We gonna do it again? Lets test it out some more.

I have an Alumacraft Ducker. Pointed on both ends and just another AWESOME duck rig. Very low profile, VERY light, and holds a lot of crap for the size of it.

[bmc]

biglake,

I looked under a search engine for alumacraft boats, but didn't find the ducker. Is it a discontinued boat? How old is yours, any ideas? Do you have a pic you could post of it?

Brian

[Gissert]

I love those Carstens style boats.

I made two of them back in the early 80's while in high school, and still have one of them. I am a big guy, and have no trouble getting my dog and a couple sacks of decoys in mine.

I made a side mount for mine , and have run an electric trolling motor and a 2 hp Mariner, both of which work very well.

The are also great trapping boats.

[bassman222]

Hey Brian, why don't you make one?...

I just got done making one a few weeks ago, 8ft long X 42" wide, and weighs only 35lbs . Mine is only designed for one person, but you could make yours to haul whatever you want. For the use you stated I'll bet you could make one for around $300, Don't know now how much a Car. Mallard is...but I'll bet not for $300.

[lawdog]

I always use a push pole to move the duck boat. They take some getting used to and some learning, but you can make the boat turn on a dime and go anywhere you want it to. I keep a canoe paddle in there too, but RARELY use it. Fleet Farm sells a telescoping octagon push pole and that's the way to go!

I've hunted out of the bleubill that someone mentioned too. That's a heck of a nice boat that EASILY handles two.

Don't buy an extra seat for the Mallard or Pintail either, I forgot to mention that. Get yourself one of those Rubbermaid action packers and put your gear in it and use it for the extra seat. That's what I always sit on, even when I'm in it alone as it gets you up a touch higher...

[Mark Christianson]

Hey bmc,

Yes, its been discontinued for over 20 years I want to say.

I tried to post a pic, but for some reason I am having problems.

[bmc]

Hey bassman,

I'd thought about building one, but probably woudln't have any finger's left afterwards! My dad is talking about splitting the cost with me so I really can't beat that. Where'd you get your plans for your boat? It looks like it turned out pretty good.

Brian

[bassman222]

Bmc:

I really didn't have plans for it, but I got the idea from a different forum and just built it to how I wanted it.

[hanson]

BLB-

You are a lucky man. I will have a Ducker in my garage for no other reason than to own one. I love traditional things and the Ducker, in my opinion, is the greatest duck boat ever. Well, I'll own it and of course use it too.

I'll try to take a photo of the duck boat my dad & I hunt with. I have no idea how old it is. Its my grandpas and very similar to the Carstens boats in shape. 2 guys and a bunch of decoys and it is riding low but very stable.

[fisherking01]

The Alumacraft ducker was built in the late 50s and early 60s, at the time it was the most expensive boat that alumacraft made. They have not been reproduced since, but Alumacraft still has the jigs for them. I had a friend by the name of Jack Reshetar (of little Jack's in Minneapolis) who had a couple of them that the factory reconditioned for him. I know of about ten of them in my area and have hunted out of them many times. The going price for one now is around two thousand to twenty five hundred dollars and the oars themselves are going for up to two fifty. I have anothere friend that has three of them and he doesn't even get out hunting. He pretty much just likes to look at them and remember the great days of the divers in the area.

I had posession of one twenty years ago as a friend was in Fl. He came home and used it one weekend, and someone stole it from his hunting place. It was kinda a bum deal because I could not afford a hunting boat of my own.

I like the carstens for small water, not so dry loaded down in a wind. They are great for retrieving cripples and downed birds and go through rushes and cattails nicely. I also like the stealth, have not used it on big water. There are a lot of great products out there, you just gotta find the one that suits your kind of hunting the best.

[Mark Christianson]

Thats right. It was in the 50's/60's era that they were made. Dang. I got some bad math.

We paid a whopping $250 for ours about 8 years ago. And it was mint. And to this day it does not leak a drip of water, nor is it in rough shape.

I wouldn't sell that boat for a million bucks. Well,,,,I better take that back.

My best friend and his Dad have had one since we were in High School, and we put some serious hours in it. My Dad and I loved it, and one day out of the blue, my Grandpa called and said there was a duck boat for sale near where he lived. My Dad asked some questions about what it was and the details are limited. From the description Grandpa gave us, we thought it must be a "ducker". So Dad told him to buy it, and we hoped for the best. BINGO. A darn near new Alumacraft Ducker!

Right place, right time.

[lawdog]

Hey BLB.

Go to outlawmarine.com and look at what they sell as "the ducker" I think its supposed to be built off the alumacraft design or something. Is it like your boat????

[Mark Christianson]

Very close.

I dont understand why I cant get pics posted properly. When I post, the image is tiny. I am doing nothing different than before, but the image comes out so small on FM, you cant make heads or tails of the pic.

[Crusty old Swede]

As mentioned above the mallard will be tight with two people a dog and that many decoys. I've carried about that same load in my mallard several times and it's a squeeze and the rowing is slow. My suggestion is buy two, the load will be moderate in each boat and they'll row much easier. A tip that was mentioned already and I'll second, is ditch the factory seat for one that's lower and movable. I made one out of a portable boat seat mounted on a piece of plywood. I use a set of 6.5 foot oars for the trip out and back and a paddle for setting decoys & sneeking birds in the rice. I have used a push pole in thick rice and cattails and it works very well but oars are much easier to use in open water.

[bmc]

Crusty,

Thanks for the info. How does it work for one hunter, dog, dekes, and such? How easy is it to row/paddle with just one person and have you used a trolling motor on it? I'd say 85% of my hunting in the boat will be by myself. My dad is a hardcore bowhunter and once he retires, we'll see how much he wants to duck hunt. LOL

Brian

[Crusty old Swede]

BMC, for what you describe, a mallard would be just about perfect. After seeing my mallard in use for a season my friend the Crusty old Norwegian bought one to replace his puddler. My usual load is 28 standard decoys in one big bag, 65# lab, 12ga, .50cal ammo can, 5 gal. pail of extras, boat seat & lifejacket, oars & paddle. This all fits comfortably in the cockpit, when I have to haul another person the decoys ride on the stern deck. Rowing this amount (one person)is easy even in winds up to about 15 mph and you'll stay warm if it's windier, paddling this much is not bad for trips less than a mile. Never tried a trolling motor on it. C.O.N. used the factory seat his first season along with a kayak style paddle, with no dog, only decoys, the front end was to far out of the water and made for hard paddling in cross winds. Which reminds me to re-mention the tip about ditching the factory seat. It was located in a poor spot for me to row from, so I rigged up a lower seat that I can move around to just the right spot. The new seat also has a back rest for extra comfort.