17 TDB classic opinions

Jay H

Active member
Have a chance to trade my skiff to a friend for his 17 tdb classic. Ive had a 14 classic and a 14 seaclass and regrettably sold them both when i was younger and dumber. My 10 yr old son just finished his first season as a licensed hunter. He hated hunted outta the pond boxes and layout blinds. So im just wondering if anyone can tell me their opinions on the 17 classic as far as draft, seaworthiness etc. im a puddle duck hunter and usually try to get myself away from the bayfront and into the back areas here on barnegat and great bays
 
Unlike the positive rocker hull design of your old 14' TDB classic, the 17'TDB is pretty flat bottomed, except forward of the planing pad section. Fully loaded, it will draw around 9" of water to float well enough to be moved by one person towing it along via the bow line. I'm a little over 6'-3". I found shooting from a sitting position difficult in my 14' classic, but it is very doable from the 17' TDB. If you want to sit a little higher use a throwable seat cushion as a spacer on the seat of your folding chair. The other advantage of this approach is that this enables you to get your feet well under your body while sitting which enables you to rise quickly to a stable shooting position if you opt to stand and shoot. I redesigned the rain roof on mine by installing two-way heavy Delrin zippers which enable me to button-up the entire blind opening or unzip sections fore and aft to provide openings for two shooters. I sewed velcro tabs on the blind underside at locations that enable tabbing the hanging sections up, out of the way to provide air circulation within the enclosed section of the blind cavity, so I am not running the risk of cooking or asphyxiating my dog while running a heater. An old Coleman propane fueled catalytic heater works well and can do double duty to warm-up soups, stew, or beverages while waiting for birds to work.

Like the smaller TDB hulls you are familiar with, you can "stuff the bow" in a wave, so be mindful of this short-coming. The ride is a little wetter and rougher in a mixed chop than that afforded by my partner's Bankes 19" Crusader, but the TDB is easier to hide and maneuvers better at slow speeds, particularly in a stiff cross-wind. Bankes should add some keelsons to their hulls to enable them to bight the water better at sub-planing speeds.

The switching panel is not waterproof, but is well protected from the elements. I added a debris dam in the opening to the stern bilge section with a brass drain sleeve about 3/8" above the work deck surface to enable water to drain aft, but block sand and mud, as well as vegetation fragments from potentially damaging the impeller on the 1,000 gph bilge pump I wired in and seated in the sump near the stern drain opening. I rigged it to discharge into the splash well and add another brass sleeved transom drain in the port corner to match the existing drain. I would also encourage you to add some 6" LED banks in red or blue to enable you to illuminate the work deck. Red enables you to see without losing your night vision capabilities to a marked degree-nice when rooting around in the dark while setting decoys.

I used Tuff-Coat to seal the work deck and provide better traction, rolling two coats on including the decoy storage tray sections. I used close to a gallon to cover the work deck, battery and fuel can sump and the curtain partitioned decoy storage areas. Pick-up some hard rubber retention clips to mount the blind panel uprights to the underside of the foam filled cockpit railings. This gets rid of the noise from them rattling around and also makes them easier to locate when erecting the blind.

I should have typed this first: make sure the hull is sound, with no water intrusion issues. Look for cracks in the gel coat around the base of the rear flotation chambers where standing water left inside the boat may have frozen, expanding and cracking the deck which would enable water to penetrate and rot the stringers.

Somewhere on this site I posted a thread outlining all the modifications I made to my boat, along with pictures.

Found it: http://www.duckboats.net/...%20refurbish#p278573
 
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Jay,
Many moons ago I took a trip to the old Duck Boat factory in Maine. It really wasn't much more then a old chicken coop. My Friend was picking up a New TDB 14 foot. At this time they just finished their first 17 footer. We took it out in the bay and the water was a little rough. It handled with know problem. I later hunted out of one that same year and had a blast. I'm 6'3 300lb plus and hunted with three people and gear and a dog . It was plenty of space after we put the gear out. It is safe and it will get you where your going without any problems. Your kid will love it and you will also.
 
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