Carstens Canvasback or Bluebill??

J

JayDeeg

New member
Does anyone have any experience with either the Carstens Canvasback or Bluebill that could give me input on each good & bad, I am thinking of purchasing one or the other. I need a small marsh boat that would work well with a mud motor, 2 hunters & a dog. Any other suggestions other than a carstens?

Thanks, Jay
 
Give me a call and I discuss the Canvasback with you. (my typing sucks)

(319)885-6687 I'm busy tonight, but usually home anytime after 6.00pm.
 
If you talk to him I would love to know what he had to say about his boat as I try to figure out if I should buy or build some type of small hunting boat.
 
If you talk to Dave, just remember he has that Iowa Amish accent.
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Then you must mean polite, respectful, and no cuss words :) You have to speak Amish and Mennonite if you want to pheasant hunt in Iowa.

Hitch
 
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Heh heh heh..you Florida people are cracking me up this week. Yes, that is EXACTLY what I meant..all the Amish around here were exiled from Iowa and Pensylvania when they couldn't get along with anybody.
 
After typing my first response I kinda figured others would like to be included as well. After all, that is the whole point in this forum, the sharing of information.

SO, I will put together, a hopefully informative post regarding my likes and dislikes about my boat and the mods I've done to it. Generally speaking, I am pleased with it. Owning and hunting with it has been a positive experience. More details to follow in a few days.

I'll try to keep the Amish references and terminology to a minimun.

Lee, Don't you have a lumber yard lacky you can go harrass or something? Oh I forgot, you ARE the lacky!!
 
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I've owned both the Cartens Canvasback and the Bluebill, and for my type of hunting the Canvasback is far superior to the Bluebill. The major prob with the Bluebill is the built-in middle seat, which makes using the boat as a layout almost impossible. Also, the overall design of the Bluebill is very similar to the ubiquitous 12-ft aluminum v-bows that are found in half of the backyards in America, so if you like that design save a bunch of money and just buy an aluminum.

Tha Canvasback is a great boat. Although not perfect, I think it's one of the most versatile small boats on the market today. I bought my first one 6 years ago and have since added another because I liked the first one so much (it's nice to have a backup). The only thing I would change if I could would be to make it at leat 6 inches wider, but otherwise it's a great boat for my style of hunting. I use it a marsh layout, and it hauls a tremendous load. I loaded over 100 dekes, including a dozen Bigfoot floaters, into mine most of the season and never had a problem. Very stable for a relatively narrow boat.

Hides almost as well as a Four-Rivers or Momarsh, but handles rough water MUCH better than either of those boats, and hauls a lot more as well. I have had mallards land within feet of my Can on many occasions.

I used a 6.5hp Beavertail initially but wasn't happy with the performance so I replaced it with a 9.9Johnson and it performs perfectly with it. It's only rated for a 6.5hp, but the 9.9 is a perfect match.

I painted my second Canvasback in open-water grey for use as an open-water layout. Works OK, but not as well as a true open-water layout. However, the higher freeboard makes it much safer than a Four-Rivers or Momarsh on the big water, and it will haul several dozen diver dekes without a problem.

In my opinion the advantages of the Canvasback would be severly limited if you wanted to use it as a two-man boat. It's big enough to carry two, just not the best design. If you want a party barge get a bigger boat. Best option is to make your buddy buy his own.

Overall a very good boat that will hide well in minimal cover but haul a lot of gear and get you home safely in fairly rough conditions.
 
The C-back is a great boat....I have had mine four four years as well as my friend...We run the 6.5 beavertail that has been modified with go kart racing parts for more speed. The boat is super stable and handles two guys, dogs and as many decoys as you can fit in it and bungee to the bow. It has taken us to spots that no large or wide boat can get you to. We would not trade them for anything since they are a great shallow water boat which is super stable. You would be thrown out of the boat before it would tip..It sits very low in the water giving it the stability performance that is second to none. I attached a zig zag bungee over the whole boat which you can load up with any type of vegetation for concealment. If your anywhere near NW Indiana , I'd be more than happy to give you a ride. Thanks Markus
 
Jay,
I have had a Canvasback for five years. I added grass rails to mine. It is very stable and surprisingly seaworthy. I can drag it up on a sandbar, drape netting over the engine and the cockpit and use it as a layout blind. With the grass rails I can bungee lots of dekes on the forward deck. Like Bret said, it is not really suited for two guys. I run a Nissan 5hp on mine which gets me where I need to go. The Nissan has a built in tank and it is not a heavy motor. However, I bet the boat would really scoot with a 9hp. I also plan to add flip open conduit blind doors on the cockpit like Mark W put on his Hoefgen. I suggested to Carstens that they ditch the oar pylons and make the boat a little wider but they said they would have to make a new mold and it wasn't worth the cost since the boats are really just a small part of their business.
 
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