Jon, I think its best to first differentiate the Great Lakes from brackish and saltwater large water bodies. Wave period in freshwater is quite a bit shorter in a hard blow, making boat handling, control and ride issues significantly different from saltwater. IF you are not hunting Superior, which has only roughly ten percent of its shoreline as sand beach, you are not dealing with rocky shorelines and shelves. Huron has some rocky shoreline sections, but I can't think of any duck hunting hotspot that is not primarily sand. How long a run, on average do you make from the ramp to your principal hunting grounds is another consideration, since a Duckwater will cost you more to operate, since it is heavier.
Bankes are built via the same techniques as your Boston Whaler 17', as are Contender, Yellow Fin, Everglades. etc.; expanding closed cell foam injected between two laminate layers that comprise the deck and hull. The bow of a Bankes Crusader contains Kevlar 49 laminate layers, laid with ply direction running at a 45 degree angle to the underlayment. Beyond abrasion protection, Kevlar 49 also provides significant crush strength enhancement protection-think ice breaking at the ramp or the river to get out to open water. Olsen Marine also builds a TDB-21 that contains several plys of Kevlar 49 in the bow, and is a combinations of CNC machined synthetic stringers and ribs with foam injections used for both floatation and structural enhancement applications. Laminates are applied via vacuum injection, which yields a very strong final hull/deck layer. Most of their laminate consists of 1708 biaxial cloth, as does the Bankes Crusader, and all hulls Bankes makes, which are hand lay-up built. I put a Keel-Gard on all my fiberglass hulled boats to offset any damage from ramps and beaching.
I have owned three BWs as personal boats, and worked out of five others, as well as a variety of other fiberglass and welded aluminum hulls over a ten year interval as a Great Lakes Fishery Research biologist, on the water over that interval five days a week from ice-off to ice-on, as well as four years fishing gillnets under the ice on the St. Marys River. What do I like about a foam injection hull? The ride in the short wave period conditions common in the Great Lakes is well damped since the concussion of wave impact is spread over the breadth of the hull, minimizing pounding. I have hunted out of a Bankes Crusader for three years, owned by my partner. I found the boat for sale in Holland, Michigan and convinced Steve to go take a look. He was impressed enough to buy it. He has grown VERY fond of it. I own a TDB-17', which I have reworked extensively since purchase used. The Bankes provides a very stable work deck, is exceptionally well made, and handles rough water, as well as dangerous wave conditions better than my TDB. Customer support is second to none. It does need a pair of keelsons added to the hull about two and half feet out and parallel to the keel to gain some "bite", or a deeper keel, since it tends to blow around at slow setting speeds while deploying longlines. It has a very well made blind frame, and cockpit travel cover. I spent enough time freezing my butt off in welded aluminum west coast style fishing boats. Consequently, I am not a big fan of aluminum boats for use in cold weather waterfowling, particularly those that don't have floatation foam in them. Hunting waterfowl on the Great Lakes which kick-up faster than saltwater, particularly in Saginaw Bay and western Lake Erie, since they develop shorter wave period than saltwater in a blow, which is dangerous enough due to the season of the year, without adding-in the reality of a hull that will provide you no level of floatation support should something go desperately wrong.
I would also encourage you to research Wearlon Wetlander hull coating; super-slick and rock hard abrasion protection. I have it on my TDB now, since I hunt both Superior and northern Lake Michigan in an area riddled with dolomite limestone. Very nice addition when sliding a boat that size out of the mud after the water drops on a seiche event.
I have never figured-out how guides get liability insurance, hunting their clients out of a Duckwater.
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