Larry Eckart
Well-known member
Boats I have owned...
One day recently I took the time to think about the boats I have owned. I was startled to discover that the list was 14 boats with another planned sometime this year. This is not a list I will show my wife! I must say, however, that despite her occasional protests, she has been very forgiving of my boat disease.
I thought it might be fun to start a thread listing the various boats we all have owned with a few brief comments regarding those boats.
Every boat I owned was used except the kayak and Hoefgen Duck Boat.
My first boat: a 15' fiberglass canoeof unknown manufacture, painted white. I used this boat for fishing small lakes (I remember fishing three guys in it at one time and the other two guys were larger than me; God watches over babies and fools!). I used that white canoe at Harsen's Island waterfowl area in Michigan many times. Why I never painted it, I can't remember. I simply threw camo tarps and gunny sacks over the canoe. In the parking lot I was regularly harassed by catcalls such as, "put a head on it and it's a snow goose!"
16' aluminum semi-V. The leaks and field mice were free with this boat. I brought that bought home soon after my wife and I were married. We lived then in her condo. When she raised the garage door I heard a shriek. A family of field mice had been included with my new boat. Not sure how I lived through that and stayed married, but we are still together after 29 years.
I learned how NOT to paint an aluminum boat from that boat. The first time I took it out after "painting" it, all the paint peeled off. Realizing the lesson I was learning, all I could do was LMAO at myself. I then learned how to properly paint an aluminum boat.
That boat also leaked. While hunting the marshes of the St. Clair Flats, my buddy and I noticed that the bilge pump never stopped running. "Time to get a boat that doesn't leak, Larry," said friend Dale. You know where that led.
18' Starcraft Mariner with a 70 hp Johnson two-stroke with no trim and tilt.This was a great boat that friend Dale still has. I bought a custom Pop-Up Blind to use with it. Many walleye were taken from the Detroit River with this boat. And many ducks shot on Lake St. Clair, the Upper Penninsula and northern Ontario. The 18' Mariner is a sturdy, roomy craft that can take some serious water.
View attachment St. Joseph 2002 010.jpg
Carsten's Mallard.This is the only boat I ever owned that I was happier on the day I sold it than the day I bought it. This boat was and I believe still is a beast to paddle. After paddling out for opening day one year friend Dale said, "Either get rid of this boat or I'm not hunting with you anymore."
Hoefgen Duck Boat.Perhaps the best one-man boat I have ever used also with the prettiest lines. I bought this new, having never been in one or seen one in person, but only read the rave reviews of guys on this forum, the Michigan Sportsman forum and The Mighty Layout Boys. I drove from Detroit to the far west Upper Peninsula to the "factory" where Paul Hoefgen made his canoes and duck boat. Something about the design of the boat didn't un-nerve ducks as you approached. More than once I paddled it into mallards on creeks and redheads on Lake St. Clair. I was lying almost flat, sneak boat style, but I was still surprised how close the birds let me come.
View attachment IMG_E1955.JPG
15' Grumman square stern canoe. This was a good rig for hunting and fishing as long as you used it with a motor. Paddling was not its strong suit.
Busick One-Man Layout Boat: I co-owned this with friend Dale. It is hard to beat the Busick for quality construction and the ability to disappear on the water. Loved using it. We ferried this on the bow of the 18' Starcraft. One of the most memorable days on Lake St. Clair found the wind blowing hard and me thinking, "no way can we layout hunt today." Dale was/is a better mariner than I. We planned to hunt a shallow flat. He knew that if we just got to the flat, the waves would be small enough for the Busick. He was correct. And the bluebills rewarded our persistence. I do remember on the way back that Dale put on his life jacket. He had never done that before that I could remember.
View attachment DSC_1181.JPG
14' Starcraft Mariner semi-V. Is there a more useful and multi-purpose craft than the 14' semi-V? I bought it without a motor. I bought a used 15 horse Johnny-rude to go with it. That combo was great? once you got the dang motor started. No matter how many trips to the repair shop, that motor never became a friend. The 14' boat, however, was a great companion. We drifted the Muskegon River for trout and steelhead. Painted Dull Dead Grass, it became a go-to boat for duck hunting when the Great Lakes system was down low. We used it to tow the layout and killed many birds with that combo.
View attachment DSC_1082.JPG
13' Grumman Canoe. This canoe has its entire life with me connected to Duckboats.net. Steve Sanford spoke glowingly of his 13' Grumman. When one came available I bought it. I used it in South Carolina but that was when kayaks were really coming on strong. I decided to get my first kayak. So I sold the 13' Grumman to our Dave Diefenderfer, also from our website.
View attachment IMG_1652.JPG
10' Wilderness Systems Tarpon Kayak. Wonderful craft. Caught many redfish and a few sharks with it. But I discovered I liked canoes better due to their hauling capacity and the fact that you don?t have to get down so low to get in and out. Of course, that might have more to do with being in my 60's as opposed to the kayak itself!
View attachment IMG_1594.JPG
13' Boston Whaler. I used this for several years when I lived in Hilton Head. Amazing stability. Floated on moisture. Lovely in tidal creeks. In a chop, however, that flat front end beat the crap out of you. So I decided to sell it and get a 15? Whaler featuring a "smirk" hull. (Note: some crafty guys have painted those 13' Whalers in camo and they become a terrific low profile duck boat.)
View attachment DSC_0807.JPG
15 1/2' Boston Whaler Sport. The hull of this boat together with the original 17' Boston Whaler Montauk featured the famous "smirk" profile that makes it amazingly smooth in a good chop. I have a 60 hp Mercury four-stroke on it and this boat flies. Using this boat I discovered that buffleheads won?t shy away even from a white boat, as long as you hold still. In South Carolina, the only ducks I hunted were buffies. Now that I've moved to North Carolina, that is no longer the case. Thus I am selling this lovely boat for a more flexible fishing and hunting craft.
View attachment IMG_2806.JPG
Old Town 119 canoe. A few years ago I noticed on some kayak websites that there was a movement by some kayak guys back to canoes, specifically, this canoe. This boat is a great one-man craft for fishing and hunting. 12' long. You can trick it out many ways. It comes in a nice camo color of grey shades. As long as you sit low, it is a stable boat, though I wouldn?t go so far as to stand up in it. I used it for salt water fishing, fresh water fishing, paddling for marsh hens, floating for wood ducks and will use it also to paddle in for marsh duck hunting. Great craft.
View attachment IMG_1538.JPG
Mad River 16' Duck Hunter Canoe. Last year I told you all about buying this canoe on the way to close on our Raleigh house. Not sure how my wife allowed me to do both on the same trip. This is the Duck Hunter version of the Mad River Explorer, the first open canoe to navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Same canoe, just different paint scheme. It is everything I hoped it to be for fishing and hunting. Stable, not too heavy, durable, paddles great, and with a little weight in the boat, I find it easy to stand up and fish, a helpful asset as I get older. If I attach my 2 horse on it, she flies. I look forward to using this in the years to come that God gives me.
View attachment 59958936079__3DB9D4F3-73F1-4A2D-A795-A277ABF076F5.JPG
In the works: as I stated in the other post about trim/tilt, I plan to sell my 15' Whaler and buy a 16' Lund. At this point I only own the Whaler and the last two canoes. This boat thing is a lovely disease!
One day recently I took the time to think about the boats I have owned. I was startled to discover that the list was 14 boats with another planned sometime this year. This is not a list I will show my wife! I must say, however, that despite her occasional protests, she has been very forgiving of my boat disease.
I thought it might be fun to start a thread listing the various boats we all have owned with a few brief comments regarding those boats.
Every boat I owned was used except the kayak and Hoefgen Duck Boat.
My first boat: a 15' fiberglass canoeof unknown manufacture, painted white. I used this boat for fishing small lakes (I remember fishing three guys in it at one time and the other two guys were larger than me; God watches over babies and fools!). I used that white canoe at Harsen's Island waterfowl area in Michigan many times. Why I never painted it, I can't remember. I simply threw camo tarps and gunny sacks over the canoe. In the parking lot I was regularly harassed by catcalls such as, "put a head on it and it's a snow goose!"
16' aluminum semi-V. The leaks and field mice were free with this boat. I brought that bought home soon after my wife and I were married. We lived then in her condo. When she raised the garage door I heard a shriek. A family of field mice had been included with my new boat. Not sure how I lived through that and stayed married, but we are still together after 29 years.
I learned how NOT to paint an aluminum boat from that boat. The first time I took it out after "painting" it, all the paint peeled off. Realizing the lesson I was learning, all I could do was LMAO at myself. I then learned how to properly paint an aluminum boat.
That boat also leaked. While hunting the marshes of the St. Clair Flats, my buddy and I noticed that the bilge pump never stopped running. "Time to get a boat that doesn't leak, Larry," said friend Dale. You know where that led.
18' Starcraft Mariner with a 70 hp Johnson two-stroke with no trim and tilt.This was a great boat that friend Dale still has. I bought a custom Pop-Up Blind to use with it. Many walleye were taken from the Detroit River with this boat. And many ducks shot on Lake St. Clair, the Upper Penninsula and northern Ontario. The 18' Mariner is a sturdy, roomy craft that can take some serious water.
View attachment St. Joseph 2002 010.jpg
Carsten's Mallard.This is the only boat I ever owned that I was happier on the day I sold it than the day I bought it. This boat was and I believe still is a beast to paddle. After paddling out for opening day one year friend Dale said, "Either get rid of this boat or I'm not hunting with you anymore."
Hoefgen Duck Boat.Perhaps the best one-man boat I have ever used also with the prettiest lines. I bought this new, having never been in one or seen one in person, but only read the rave reviews of guys on this forum, the Michigan Sportsman forum and The Mighty Layout Boys. I drove from Detroit to the far west Upper Peninsula to the "factory" where Paul Hoefgen made his canoes and duck boat. Something about the design of the boat didn't un-nerve ducks as you approached. More than once I paddled it into mallards on creeks and redheads on Lake St. Clair. I was lying almost flat, sneak boat style, but I was still surprised how close the birds let me come.
View attachment IMG_E1955.JPG
15' Grumman square stern canoe. This was a good rig for hunting and fishing as long as you used it with a motor. Paddling was not its strong suit.
Busick One-Man Layout Boat: I co-owned this with friend Dale. It is hard to beat the Busick for quality construction and the ability to disappear on the water. Loved using it. We ferried this on the bow of the 18' Starcraft. One of the most memorable days on Lake St. Clair found the wind blowing hard and me thinking, "no way can we layout hunt today." Dale was/is a better mariner than I. We planned to hunt a shallow flat. He knew that if we just got to the flat, the waves would be small enough for the Busick. He was correct. And the bluebills rewarded our persistence. I do remember on the way back that Dale put on his life jacket. He had never done that before that I could remember.
View attachment DSC_1181.JPG
14' Starcraft Mariner semi-V. Is there a more useful and multi-purpose craft than the 14' semi-V? I bought it without a motor. I bought a used 15 horse Johnny-rude to go with it. That combo was great? once you got the dang motor started. No matter how many trips to the repair shop, that motor never became a friend. The 14' boat, however, was a great companion. We drifted the Muskegon River for trout and steelhead. Painted Dull Dead Grass, it became a go-to boat for duck hunting when the Great Lakes system was down low. We used it to tow the layout and killed many birds with that combo.
View attachment DSC_1082.JPG
13' Grumman Canoe. This canoe has its entire life with me connected to Duckboats.net. Steve Sanford spoke glowingly of his 13' Grumman. When one came available I bought it. I used it in South Carolina but that was when kayaks were really coming on strong. I decided to get my first kayak. So I sold the 13' Grumman to our Dave Diefenderfer, also from our website.
View attachment IMG_1652.JPG
10' Wilderness Systems Tarpon Kayak. Wonderful craft. Caught many redfish and a few sharks with it. But I discovered I liked canoes better due to their hauling capacity and the fact that you don?t have to get down so low to get in and out. Of course, that might have more to do with being in my 60's as opposed to the kayak itself!
View attachment IMG_1594.JPG
13' Boston Whaler. I used this for several years when I lived in Hilton Head. Amazing stability. Floated on moisture. Lovely in tidal creeks. In a chop, however, that flat front end beat the crap out of you. So I decided to sell it and get a 15? Whaler featuring a "smirk" hull. (Note: some crafty guys have painted those 13' Whalers in camo and they become a terrific low profile duck boat.)
View attachment DSC_0807.JPG
15 1/2' Boston Whaler Sport. The hull of this boat together with the original 17' Boston Whaler Montauk featured the famous "smirk" profile that makes it amazingly smooth in a good chop. I have a 60 hp Mercury four-stroke on it and this boat flies. Using this boat I discovered that buffleheads won?t shy away even from a white boat, as long as you hold still. In South Carolina, the only ducks I hunted were buffies. Now that I've moved to North Carolina, that is no longer the case. Thus I am selling this lovely boat for a more flexible fishing and hunting craft.
View attachment IMG_2806.JPG
Old Town 119 canoe. A few years ago I noticed on some kayak websites that there was a movement by some kayak guys back to canoes, specifically, this canoe. This boat is a great one-man craft for fishing and hunting. 12' long. You can trick it out many ways. It comes in a nice camo color of grey shades. As long as you sit low, it is a stable boat, though I wouldn?t go so far as to stand up in it. I used it for salt water fishing, fresh water fishing, paddling for marsh hens, floating for wood ducks and will use it also to paddle in for marsh duck hunting. Great craft.
View attachment IMG_1538.JPG
Mad River 16' Duck Hunter Canoe. Last year I told you all about buying this canoe on the way to close on our Raleigh house. Not sure how my wife allowed me to do both on the same trip. This is the Duck Hunter version of the Mad River Explorer, the first open canoe to navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Same canoe, just different paint scheme. It is everything I hoped it to be for fishing and hunting. Stable, not too heavy, durable, paddles great, and with a little weight in the boat, I find it easy to stand up and fish, a helpful asset as I get older. If I attach my 2 horse on it, she flies. I look forward to using this in the years to come that God gives me.
View attachment 59958936079__3DB9D4F3-73F1-4A2D-A795-A277ABF076F5.JPG
In the works: as I stated in the other post about trim/tilt, I plan to sell my 15' Whaler and buy a 16' Lund. At this point I only own the Whaler and the last two canoes. This boat thing is a lovely disease!
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