Alumacraft Ducker

G

Greg Vowell

New member
Hello Everyone,

I don't get on here much and I hope I'm not breaking any rules below.

I have a marketing question about the old Alumacraft Ducker. I was cleaning out the warehouse the other day and showed to another Duck Hunting buddy my Alumacraft Ducker. He got all excited about it and talked about the sneak boat websites he was constantly on.

The question is : Is there interest in manufacturing a plastic Ducker? I think the price would be approximately $750 retail. I would manufacture it out of a chemistry called Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD). DCPD is very impact resistant (Maintains superior impact resistance down to -40 deg F) and is used on heavy equipment bumpers, fenders and facia. (Think Freightliner hoods bumpers etc.) The weight would be approximately 50 to 60 lbs. based off my calculations.

The two guys I shared this idea thought they would sell well and that there would be a huge market for them.

I would love to hear peoples thoughts.
 
My thoughts--I suspect there is a market for a 1-2 man plastic boat that can be car topped or hauled in the back of truck and weighs under 70 pounds. While I love the tradition of the Alumacraft Ducker, I'm not sure different design would not sell better. I hunted out of a one once, and let's just say it was no MMB sculler or sneakbox. Highly functional for certain uses, but where a ducker would hunt best, like remote carry-in pocket water ponds or swamps, I'd really want it to be lighter and more portable. Get down to 40 pounds, and I've got a spot for one. I'm not hauling a 60 pound boat in there.
 
I agree with Jeff. The weight is a big factor. Lugging my 70lb kayak around is not fun. Recently found a Radisson canoe whos weight is much more to my liking. Having said that. The old Ducker is a classic and would be a hoot to hunt from.

Best of luck on your endeavor.

Zane
 
There are a good number of fiberglass/plastic/kevlar small duck boats out there. And a lot of companies have come & gone over the years.
I'd do a good bit of research before making an investment on molds, materials, etc..
But like others noted, if you can make a ducker-like boat at 50 pounds or under, I bet there will be interest.
 
It might be worth checking with the Traditional Small Craft Association for additional interested parties. The Delaware Duckers are popular boats with that group.

Rick
 
I,m familiar with the duckers hull shape but unsure of width & lenght. What would be the lenght & width of the ducker your contemplating producing ? 50 lbs. might not be bad at all if boat size was on the larger side.
 
Thanks for the comments, I appreciate everyone's input and look forward towards more responses.

This is an idea I've been kicking around for some time. I relayed it to one of my raw material suppliers yesterday and they got really excited about it. Not because of the volume but it was so much cooler than tractor fender flares. lol

50 lbs. would be the target weight. Dimensions would be 48" wide X 12 1/2' length X 12" Depth . I thought about making it a little wider but then the weight goes up. I've always appreciated the stability of the ducker. Intentions are to center the cockpit like the Mud Duck, but maybe offset the oarlocks to one end. My model is a '69 and does not have the holes for the poles so I wasn't really considering them in this design, however I've read where they really make the boat even more stable. As I'm writing this my thinking is I might be able to provide an exterior pole lock on the edge. Maybe a bolt on option???

Yes you are correct that tooling is expensive. Yes there are a lot of boat companies gone by the wayside. We are custom molders for the OEM's. We've had some limited success manufacturing our own products for items related to hobbies of mine. By no means are we getting rich off these side hustles, as the OEM's still pay for the doors to be open, but it's interesting. This is one of the reasons I'm looking for feedback. I'm wondering if a guy could sell 1,000 a year???? I live in my own little world and have a hard time realizing what is out there in the big world.

I thought about having an option/accessory for mobilization to the waters edge. I apologize for my jerry rigging but the finish product would be much more professional. This works pretty good. I throw the decoys and the gun on the short side of the wheels and it's not that bad of a pull. You pull two pins and the axle pops off.

Let me know your thoughts.



View attachment Wheel.jpg
 
I like the dolly/wheels option. Especially for us older guys!
And also like the stabilization pole options.
How hard is it to add/make a trolling motor mount?

I think selling a 1,000/year would be a stretch, the market is limited & there are many other options out there.
 
I always liked that boats shape and style, only one I ever saw in person though was at a cider mill upstate NY, in the mountains...of all places

That size and weight is about right and I'd take one in a second...put me on the list....[;)]
 
Amazing. Thats a lot of boat and carrying capacity at 50 lbs. Sounds like it would work perfect for hunters with a dog in the marsh .Should make a great layout marsh boat and love that 48" width. Should make it easy to stand and pole when needed. Assuming it won,t be a speed demon when paddling or rowing but the places it should be used speed shouldn,t be a problem. Wondering what do you think would be the weight it would handle as a load? The only drawback I can see is no option to attach a mini mud motor which the younger generation seems to love.
 
Well I may have lied on the weight. I originally calculated it at the thinnest thickness that I can mold it at.

We made a model today and will run an analysis on the loading capabilities at various thickness. A lot of discussion today was for a thicker bottom and sides for abrasion. It may end up being closer to 90 lbs. However, with the wheel carrier I don't know if that is too heavy. At 90 lb. a guy can still load it into his truck by himself. My original goal was to get it under or at the same weight of the Ducker, but then I remembered I built the wheeled dolly for the ducker because I got tired of carrying/dragging it.

As far as load capacity, 600 to 700 lb.??? I'm thinking two 250 lb. guys, 100 lb. dog, and 100 lb. in decoys and gear???? Let me know your thoughts on this. (I'm a fat boy so I think everyone weighs 250lb.)

At a 700 lb. load capacity it would sit down 3.2 inches in the water, at 500 lb. 2.3 inches, and at 350 lb. 1.6 inches. (It's been awhile since I've done Archimedes calcs)
 
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I think what Jeff said is spot on. I owned a Ducker that I refurbished. Was really excited to hunt out of it but in the end I sold it. It didn?t paddle all that well, it was heavy to cartop, and it was noisy and cold up here in MN. Didn?t handle a motor well either.

One guys opinion
 
What did the aluminum ones weigh?

Somewhere in the archives here is an old post of mine at a remote brook trout pond that's at the end of a 2.5 mile trail. Someone dragged a ducker in there and left it in there, chained to a tree. I've been fishing that pond a decade or more and don't think the boat has ever moved, so it's owner may have passed on.

These boats do have a loyal and dedicated following. When I posted that picture, I joked that I had a line on a lightly used Ducker and anyone who wanted information on where to find it should contact me. There was a surprising amount of interest from folks here to my less than obvious joke.
 
I really don?t see it selling at 90 pounds. I?d have to see one to decide if I was interested at 40-60 pounds.

Are we talking about the quality of a pelican brand two part plastic kayak or more like an old town otter/loon keyak? Just the word plastic makes me cringe. Sorry.

If you want to do something great for Waterfowlers I would like to see sleeper heads molded for older G&H mag and supermag shell decoys as well as other common brands
 
Jeff Reardon said:
What did the aluminum ones weigh?

Somewhere in the archives here is an old post of mine at a remote brook trout pond that's at the end of a 2.5 mile trail. Someone dragged a ducker in there and left it in there, chained to a tree. I've been fishing that pond a decade or more and don't think the boat has ever moved, so it's owner may have passed on.

These boats do have a loyal and dedicated following. When I posted that picture, I joked that I had a line on a lightly used Ducker and anyone who wanted information on where to find it should contact me. There was a surprising amount of interest from folks here to my less than obvious joke.
Click to expand...

A ducker weighed in at 60lbs. While heavy to put drag around and put o. A car, this wasn?t the issue. The design of the ducker made it very difficult to lift by oneself. It is t like a canoe where you. An grab the gunnels and the.

And there is no way (IMO) a person is going to spend money on a 90 lb plastic ducker. Go look at the sale. numbers of the Otter Stealth. It is pretty much what you dec I e and weighs about the same. There?s your market. A friend has one of these and does t like it. WY too heavy and it doesn?t paddle well. It is very stable though.
 
I also think at 90 pounds its too heavy to break into an already crowded market.
There are other existing lighter options.

Creek Boats has a 9'8" model that weighs 44#.
Their 11' boat is 77# and that's with a live well/storage box.
 
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I appreciate the input and opinions.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I had never heard of Creek Boats. Spent some time this morning looking at their boats. [/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I did check out the Otter and it's 44 inches wide and weighs 115 lb., very stable boat from the videos and chat rooms. Thinking the catamaran style adds to the stability. The Beavertail Stealth 2000 weighs 130 lb.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]There was an internal discussion to go less wide than 48" to lighten the weight, but I really like the stability of my ducker and don't think the weight savings is worth giving up the stability.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]In the past, I've used a kayak paddle with the ducker as well as oars. Heck before I really knew what I had I mounted a 1.2 hp outboard on it (Had to drill some holes). While it wasn't as sleek or fast as a canoe, IMO I always thought it went through the water pretty good as far as oaring.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I thought I read somewhere on here the ducker weighed in at 67 lbs.??? [/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Well from the first analysis/modeling we know we are going to need structure support. The shell of the model weighs 65 lbs. Knowing that we will have to add structural support which would bring it closer to 82 lbs. The structural support could also function as gun rack and oar storage.[/font]
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[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]We will see if it's doable or not but please keep the input coming in.[/font]
 
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I like the idea of gun rack & storage integral to the structural supports.
A shelf to keep spotlight, shells, snacks & phone high & dry is nice too.
 
Well that 60 lbs. you estimated earlier really sounded good for width x length. Shame its not possable but even at 80 lbs. its still a lot of boat with that 48" beam. Can,t wait to see your prototype .
 
I thought I would give you an update.

Roy, I think I shot my mouth off too soon. I got a little too excited with my preliminary calcs.


Well, so far with the structure needed for 500lb., loading the analysis looks like it is going to weigh in the neighborhood of 95lbs. We had to put ribs in the bottom, I wanted structure on each end of the cockpit on the long axis because everyone is going to sit on the edge of the cockpit towards the front or rear of the boat (I am guilty of this and have bent my aluminum support on my ducker), and internal cross structure for a lot more stability. Pretty cool looking though. Too soon to release any design pictures.

I was at a DU Crawfish Broil last night and shared with half a dozen people or so, I was showing them pictures of my Ducker and explained that we wanted to make it in plastic. Everybody was pretty interested in it. Several of the local DU committee chairmen said they would like to have one to auction off at their banquet if we go ahead and do this. Most described it as a layout boat but kind of a cross with a sneak boat because it appeared that it could go through the water better. I described as a marsh shallow water boat. The regional DU director made a comment that kind of threw me. He said that this will only go over in certain DU Chapter Banquets. When I asked why, he stated that he has several chapters/banquets, where there really aren't any duck hunters that attend them.

Still in the early stages and it may not be feasible in DCPD, we'll see.
 
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