DUCKBOAT SEATS - How low can we go?

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
Good morning, All~


Flowing from discussions with Matt Latini about his South Bay Duckboat renovation, I wanted to consult the members here about duckboat seats -especially in regard to their height off the floor.


I grew up in grassboats and scooters on Great South Bay where there was only one way to hunt: laying on your back whilst waiting for birds, then sitting up to shoot. The low Salt Hay in the marshes or the open bay drove this style of vessel and gunning.


In recent decades, we have seen many fowling craft get taller and taller. I added a removable blind to my Sneakbox so my Dad and I would be more comfortable - and have gunned for many years from my partner's TDB 17. Although I've enjoyed many, many fine hunts in these taller craft, the cover has not gotten any taller and hiding can be a challenge.


I - and most of you probably - have hunted sitting on everything from bare floorboards to padded swivel seats. My purpose here is to poll members about their experiences to find out how low can we go - and still be comfortable on long hunts and be able to swing the gun as needed.


This rowing bench does its job - getting up off the floorboards - for more efficient rowing in my Great South Bay Scooter. It does as the backrest when wedged up under the forward coaming.


View attachment Rowing Seat 04.jpg



This is another of the same concept.


[inline "Rowing seat & backrest-in-one.jpg"]



I have used a turkey hunting seat that's about the same elevation. This is an H. R. Strut. I see Mack's PW sells one similar by Avery.


View attachment HR Strut turkey seat.jpg



I've used milk crates. Standard:



(BTW: This mostly serves as a seat and step stool in my shop and around the farm. Half-inch plywood on top makes it sturdy enough for standing and it is inherently stable.)



View attachment Boat Seat - Standard Milk Crate.JPG



Square:


View attachment Boat Seat - Square Milk Crate.JPG



Spackle buckets. I used one for years - for both gunning and projects - but have since bequeathed mine to my wife for gardening.



View attachment 91auLyn2dBL._AC_SL1500_.jpg






There are lots of different lids on the market - some which swivel - which is not important in my experience.



View attachment 158752.jpg



Fancy factory jobs. A back, swivel seat, dry storage - but awfully tall. The last feature certainly makes it easy if you want to stand to shoot - but one's head is way up above the decoys.....




View attachment ACT5613+10.jpg



My ideal gunning seat would be:


1. Waterproof
2. Keep personal gear safe and dry - but accessible

3. Modest in size
4. Comfortable for sitting
5. Comfortable for shooting
6. BE NO TALLER THAN NECESSARY



View attachment Boat Seat - design sketch.jpg



Your experiences? Thoughts?


All the best,


SJS




View attachment Rowing seat & backrest-in-one.jpg
 
I,ve used the plastic milk crates in the past. Great for storage and seating but just to low for me anymore. I,ve found for myself I prefer a seat about 18" tall to seat. In my Blackjack with upright blind I used The Primos Ground blind seat. Folded up compactly and stowed under deck when not in use. Perfect height for me with a boat cushion on top. I did use a milk crate with cushion on top as seat running boat which doubled as anchor storage , motor cover storage area. Liked the lower profile when running boat as it let me get a little side bracing from cockpit combing but rather be taller for rising to shoot. My 16' jon boat blind I use the fold up, swivel, Banded Blind seats with boat cushion on top. Several brands of these but when purchased originaly got a great deal on a pair. If I can,t get that seat height I,d just as soon hunting laying on my back layout blind style but it is so much easier and affords more available shot angles when I can stand to shoot. With the taller boat blinds required I,m a stickler for grassing , brushing and positioning of boat blind. Done right birds don,t flare. Old knees and hips just can,t deal with ultra low seating for extended periods.
 
roy brewington said:
. Old knees and hips just can,t deal with ultra low seating for extended periods.

I'm with Roy on this one!!

After years of different seating options in my TDB 14, I have finally settled on a Primos folding "Tri-legged" chair with a backrest. I went with the tripod style as opposed to a regular 4-legged folding chair as I found it makes for a very easy way to drop my right leg & foot back when wearing waders and standing to shoot (especially if there is a second gunner in the 14!).
View attachment Double Bull.jpg

I like the comfort afforded by a back support, and I even keep one of these "Backjoy" seats in the boat to throw onto the seat of the chair. The combination makes for a comfortable seat that is just the right height for my boatblind set-up.




View attachment Backjoy.jpg


View attachment 121104 001.jpg
 
Last edited:
Steve,

I guess the right height would be subject to what boat or location you are hunting. Most of the areas I have hunted don't have short grass. Even the salt marshes I have hunted has tall salt grass. Tall enough to poke you in the eye if you are of medium height like me and aren't careful. So the right height down here in FL is probably a lot taller than up in the northeast. If I am not in my canoe, then something like this is what I normally use:

71NbsU4lkmL._AC_SY679_.jpg


Different colors than that but a life jacket or throwable boat cushion makes it comfortable enough. Even in the mudboat that's what I would use. Good height for standing up from, good height for seeing/shooting over the palmettos (we typically use large palmetto fronds down here as opposed to grass to cover up the boat or place in front of us for a blind) and it keeps everything you want dry, dry. Enough space for snacks and camera and shells and another shirt and lights and...and...and.... And all of that stuff is contained.

Sometimes when I am in the canoe I will sit down in the canoe with my back against one of the side rails. Then I use lifejackets to sit on and against, but it's not the best system since they frequently move out from under/behind me if I am moving around trying to get comfy. When we used the Puddlers for boats to shoot out of, they were either stood next to or just sit on the bottom of the boat and do a hybrid of laying out/sitting up.

Down here, the buckets work really well so I don't imagine I will change my choice of seat any time soon though I'll be watching this thread with lots of interest.

Dani
 
As for seats, I have to use a low profile. I bought a momarsh invisi lounge. It is adjustable and folds up to go under the deck. I have used cushions, etc, etc. Best investment I have made.
As for spackle buckets go, I use pool chemical buckets. They have screw on tops and come in different sizes and are heavy duty. Hard to rid the chemical smell. I used them to dye buck tails and great to store with a few moth balls.
Steve, I notice your posts, are you a late sleeper or early riser? I notice the 2am posts. I'm there sometimes also, late.
 
Steve over the last 50 years I have tried everything from a nice flat rock to the taller pails that Cabela's had. So far the best combo has been the tall pail with the snap on tractor seat. Storage in the pail (not waterproof) and seat let's you sit for hours. I am all legs so I really need the taller pail a 5 gallon pail does not work
 
If your gonna go low, laying down with an adjustable back rest is best, You can raise the back all the way up to a sitting position if you'd like, a beach lounge chair will work too, a little taller, but will keep you drier, and is more comfortable

Sitting on a bucket, milk crate etc is very uncomfortable to me, I need a backrest, any lawn chair or any seat with a back will do.

At my hunting camp, I used scrounged resin outside chairs at all my ground blind locations, they're free, light, and I leave them year round, I used to do a lot of sitting on the ground, but getting up is too hard now. With a regular height chair you just stand up.
 
Yup Steve. That is waaaaaaay shorter than what we are used to in FL. Here's a shot of a typical FL brackish marsh

i-RjXG9VS-XL.jpg


In the salt marshes, the tall salt grass would be about the same height as the cattails in that shot.

Here is a shot of the shorter grasses in the salt marsh, though I can't recall ever hunting the short grass for anything other than rails on the flood tides. As you can see it is pretty sparse.

i-9LXcGqk-L.jpg


And then what the islands around here along the coast look like. Plenty of room to back up to the tall stuff and sit on a bucket with a few palmetto fronds stuck in the ground in front of you.

i-bwDCrmw-XL.jpg


I would definitely not wanna use a bucket to sit on regularly in your neck of the woods. I might use it to lean up against though...still keeps my stuff dry and laid down they have been pretty comfy to lay back against in the past for me.

Dani
 
I like your box Steve i would build it from 1/2 inch ply and make the top like a hatch lid to keep the internals dry. I might even stop by my brother to borrow his dove tail jig to build it.
 

It's not about how low can ya go? (Da Limbo)

It's HOW OLD YA ARE.

How many injuries, aliments you have survived, and your range of movement & flexibility.


You name it, or show a photo of it, and I've used it as seat while waterfowling. My collection gathers dust, has been tossed, or given away.


The most productive out of a duckboat. Laying on my back, as close to the floor as possible.

The most productive on land. Laying on my back, as close to the ground as possible, not using a manufactured ground blind.

Neither are as easy, nor a frequent as they used to be.

The ground position still works (not as quickly), allows me to roll, and kneel to shoot if need be.


The least productive IMO. The higher the hunter, and blind profile (as already stated).


That said. I no longer have blood in my eye every time I go waterfowling as I once did.

It is much more meaningful for me to watch birds work my decoys, and have a partner shoot.

Meaning most "older guys" wanna sit upright. So I may take a small shooting stool.


When I want a bird or two. I go alone.

Wood Ducks and Teal make me very happy, and nature usually provides a good seat for my bony posterior.

Now more than ever, good waders are paramount. [smile]


When young we don't much care about comfort. We wanna hunt.

Years at it, then the coin flips and we adapt.

Da Limbo No more.



my 2 cents
VP
 
I had one of those tri-leg folders for years before the salt ate it up. Loved it
 
Best thing about those tri folders is when compacted they stash easily out of the way. Pretty comfortable seat when a cushion is used on top and as mentioned before design makes it easy to stand and get proper foot placement when shooting in tight confines of a duck boat. Been hoping someone would incorporate a swivel mechanism into that tri leg design (at a reasonable price) but haven't seen that yet.
 
Vince~


I'm thinking your list of sage observations should begin with...."We hold these truths to be self-evident"....


I could relate to each of them - but have enjoyed the opportunity to roll over and come up firing - as I did just a year or two back whilst laying corpse-like midst scores of Canada decoys on a sod farm...in January.....


All the best,


SJS

 

Steve,

It is a wonderful thing to lay "corpse-like", unencumbered, roll and come up firing. Especially at our age, and in January.

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures..."

I tip my hat to you.


Best regards
Vince
 
Guess hunting the the great white north is quite a bit different. The stuff we hunt in or snuggled up to is equal to the top of my head when standing up. Or push up against an island or land and the height you need to see over is the same

Laying down I fall asleep so that is out.

Milk bucket- sat on too many ice fishing. Get cramped up sitting in one now.

For me, a nice big cushy swivel chair sitting on top of a bench seat in the Lund. What is important is the back rest and Insulation the foam provides. Low to the water around here means cold read end and other parts.

Mark
 
I use a momarsh invisilounge on top of a cut down milk crate. In my boat 7" seems to do the trick in the stern and 4.5" seems to work best in the bow. For my height it keeps my flapper boards at eye level.

vWejnBE.jpg


rSiDCkZ.jpg


O4fO2H0.jpg

 
Steve

Well my friend I have a outlaw 18 pro with five seat in it. I've had the boat for 20 years. The boat seats ride on platform with a little wheel so you can move up and back with them. There about 28-30 inches off the floor of the boat. So I know that for most boats they are way to high. Having a bad back and hips and knees and being heavy and 6'3. They worked great for me over the years. But the past two years I changed my hunting. I get deeper in the bays I us square cooler seats, and they work great. Gets me lower in the boat plus I can seat without hurting. The seats I use are like one of your last pictures but with out any back. I have three in my boat . I put food in one shell and hunting gear in the other and emergency stuff in the other. Do to medical reason I can't lift nothing over 25-30 lbs so I leave everything in my boat. Except my gun!!!!!!!!!!!!. Shells stay dry food stays fresh and its a great seat to sit on. Being tall my knees don't hurt as much. And I'm sitting lower then I was for many years. As we get older seating on the floor doesn't cut it any more. I have used just about every seat know to man. If you kill ducks with them their the best seat money can buy.
 
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