Cork Decoy Questions

Capt J. Stieben

Capt J. Stieben

Active member
Ok I will start with this I am not a guru of cork decoys but I believe there are several folks in here who can provide some insight on cork decoys:

1.) Are tail boards a necessity?

2.) Are the shapes the LL bean uses in their coastal the "gold" standard of cork decoys or is their better shapes and sizes?

Thanks for the input.
 
Since this has been up for a while, I'll start. Understand that I am not a prolific carver but have made a few for myself in both dark and tan cork. The number one reason we make decoys is to toll ducks into our spread, the second reason is to please our own eyes. Beyond those two criteria the possibilities are endless. There are few if any hard and fast rules beyond - do they work or not. How a decoy floats and how it looks on the water to the ducks is the most important thing.

With regard to tail boards and by extension, bottom boards. No, they are not required. I made mine with tail boards but without bottom boards. There are those that will insist that bottom boards are necessary for cork and especially black cork - I disagree. I have been hunting my black cork cans without bottom boards for almost 20 years and have yet to see any chine damage.

Shapes. There have been 100's of books written on carving and many include patterns for head and body shapes. There are no 'gold standards' though there are shapes for each species that seem to work better. LL Bean marketed decoys that were reasonably easy to make, worked good and looked good. If it looks and floats like a real duck your golden. Take a look at the posts every month under the "What's on your workbench" . Most everyone who posts under those threads are way better at shapes than the average guy. Some like the late Jim Schmiedlin are true decoy sculptors.

Best advice I can give you is just start carving. Maybe buy a book or two but be advised that once you start you may be in it for the rest of your life.
 
Thinking only reason tail boards were standard issue on beans was to protect the black cork they were made from. As they haven,t really changed much thruot their lifespan its probably as much tradition as anything now. Wiley tan cork should be dense enough to not require any tail boards as long as tail section wasn,t thinned out to the extreme. Made some tan cork buffies many moons ago for kids to shoot them over when they were starting out. Left tail section about 5/8" thick and never a problem with breakage.
 
Capt. Stieben

1.)Cork gunning decoys have been made with, and without tailboards (same goes for bottom boards) since their inception. Boils down to personal preference, local tradition, and use.


2) As Jim Schmiedlin said "Decoys are vessels." Their are many types of vessels, and there are many types of cork decoy shapes.

Bean Coastal Decoys are large flat decoys, with a low center of gravity, made for big water gunning. They do not self right, and have no need to. Some folks scoff at their style and side view, but from a birds eye view they Work.


Over many years I have made/rasped decoys from all types of cork. Some have tailboards and bottom boards, some don't. Others have been covered with linen. Many were made for big water use, marsh use, and light weight for "walk in" use. Size and shape varies. All work just fine, and are always ready to go to work.


This life vest cork Coot was made for my "walk in" small rig. It has a thin bottom board, no tailboard, and is coated with a cork dust and Spar Varnish slurry. It does self right and the ribbon was a bonus. It has it's own decoy bag and is stuffed in the canvas duffel bag I have used for many years.

The GW Teal were made for a friends walk in rig.


just my 2 cents worth

If you need any help making your own decoys there are many high quality decoy makers/carvers here to get you on your way.

I wish you well.



View attachment coot cork naked.jpgView attachment coot cork with slurry.JPGView attachment coot finished outdoors.jpgView attachment cork green wing teal 2013.jpgView attachment cork gwt complete pair 2013.jpg
 
Good morning, Capt. John et al~


Regarding tail boards/inserts, I agree that most black cork birds need them - unless the tail section is cut to below the waterline - as in this Al McCormick Broadbill (which is supported by a full-length wide keel):



View attachment sm McCormick BB Sleeper 1.jpg



...or this Wildfowler Black (with full-width Pine bottom board)....


View attachment sm 08 Wildfowler Black Duck 1.jpg



...or even these Wildfowler Mallards. (Note that the undertail is beveled so that they can be set on their tails when in a stool rack.)....


View attachment sm 06 Wildfowler Mallard pair 1.jpg



Tail inserts are not necessarily a panacea. I have seen LOTS of Beans with broken-off tail sections. In my opinion, the tail inserts did not extend far enough forward. McCormick inserts extend further forward and are locked in with a big lag screw.


Regarding "gold standard" for shape - there's plenty of good competition for that title. Bean's shapes have varied lots over the decades. My favorites are George Soule's from the 1950s and 60s. Even those, though, can a bit too wide aft in my opinion. Both McCormicks and Wildfowlers taper more naturally. And, the Bean's heads can be a bit undersized.





View attachment sm 01 Beans Mallard 3 on lawn.jpg



Here are McCormick Mallards.


View attachment sm 04 McCormick standard Mallard pair on puddle 3.JPG



These are Lake Ontario Decoy Company - nicely proportioned in my opinion. No tail inserts but still beefy sterns.


View attachment sm 03 LO Seven.jpg



Here is a Cabela's Pintail - nicely-proportioned.



View attachment sm 02 Cabelas McDuffie Pintail Hen - painted 2011 WS.jpg



BTW: I like keels that are easier on their rig mates. The Lake Ontario keels are raked fore and aft - as are these on the Wildfowlers.


View attachment sm 07 Wildfowler Mallard pair 2.JPG



In my experience, all black cork decoys need to stay well-sealed. I like a soaking coat or two of spar varnish - when they are bone dry. The cork dries out and then can crumble or simply absorb lots of water. I once lost a Wildfowler Black when it submarined during a hunt - and I didn't miss it until it was too late to find it.


As others have said, too, tan cork has a lesser need for inserts - and there are plenty of excellent carvers around.


Hope this helps!


SJS










View attachment sm 02 Cabelas McDuffie Pintail Hen - painted 2011 WS.jpg
 
The input is greatly appreciated, Mr. Sanford can probably guess where this is leading LOL Again thanks for the input, I am just a old Herter's guy learning new tricks!
 
quality tan cork no, unless you want to really thin down a tail, but for gunners a thicker tail is usually preferred.If you choose to put in tail inserts, make sure your grain is running correctly. Also, bottom boards may be necessary to get the required height of a pattern you want to use, for instance if you have 4in cork and the pattern is 4 1/2 or 5in high. In my experience though, you can carve about all puddle and divers with 4in cork.

black cork, yes on inserts and bottom boards

As far as shapes, that's a personal preference. You can go for a more correct shape for the species you are carving or a more generic shape that may cover many species.
 
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