Hoefgen Duck Boat question

Dani

Dani

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Okie dokie....we saw one of these old duckboats this weekend down here in FL and got to wondering who was currently making them, if anyone was. So, did some other manufacturer buy the mold and keep building them? They're a really neat boat. Be great for lots of places down here I think. Anywho, any info would be appreciated

thanks a bunch in advance
Dani
 
Dani,

I drove by their place a while back. Didn't see much activity but the sign was still out front. I think Ed is correct, limited production. Best to call and find out I guess.
 
Okie dokie....we saw one of these old duckboats this weekend down here in FL and got to wondering who was currently making them, if anyone was. So, did some other manufacturer buy the mold and keep building them? They're a really neat boat. Be great for lots of places down here I think. Anywho, any info would be appreciated

thanks a bunch in advance
Dani
Click to expand...


"Old" you aren't implying I'm old I hope......

Hoefgen is still in buiness last time I checked which was a year ago or so. Pete may have driven by since then so he may be more up to date. Could always call their number and find out.

They did stop production of the duck boat some time back. They would still make a few throughout the year for folks that knew they would do so. I had heard it took sometime for them to make a duck boat. They did ship, it just cost an arm and a leg. I picked mine up as they met me in Green Bay and I had a business trip there visiting varoius large yacht makers in that general are. Was kind of funny toting that boat around on top of the company van pulling into secured yacht facilities where they build boats costing several million bucks.

It is a good baot, it is a great boat as a matter of fact. There are threee thing Iwould do differently. Make it shorter - 15' while nice to paddle does not fit in a pick up bad well and getting that thing on top of a vehilce with the weight distribution is prblematic. Third thing is the bottom keel is a little light. I would have made it tougher as I can forsee holes getting worn through after much dragging over stuff.

My boat came in under 60 lbs and for a 15' fiberglass boat, that is a pretty good accomplishment. Let me knwo if you have any quesitons Dani. Happy to help.

Mark W
 
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One of my duck hunting partners has a pair one straight figerglass and the other a kevlar build. Steve rigged a Y-yolk with the bridle under the bow foredeck area to tow his at plaining speeds. Hoefgen's production of these has always been limited to about a dozen of these a year. They sold many more canoes than marsh skiffs. Once upon a time you could scoop one up for a couple hundred dollars up here. I just passed on one two years ago...
 
Yes, Rick is right about my having 2. I loved my first one so much I employed my "great product rule"....buy a second before they're no longer made. I have hunted my old fiberglass one a lot. I tow it to the shallow marsh area I want to hunt, load up my decoys and go into the shallow waters and low vegetation. I sometimes will lay in it, some times jump shoot from it. The keel has taken some abuse. (cracked/chipped it on a submerged log while towing at high speed, and had to lay some new glass over the damage)
Great, low center of gravity. This year I had a rack built on my 14 ft boat trailer so I could haul them both and avoid the truck/roof rack loading which was getting hard for a guy after 2 back surgeries.
I hope to hand them down to my daughter, so she can continue the great duck hunting tradition we started 20+ years ago. Getting gear ready for the Michigan U.P. opener this weekend.
 
I called the number listed on the website and the number was disconnected, which is why I asked about the boat.

It's a really neat looking boat and I think it'd be a great little boat for down here in a bunch of the back water ponds and creeks and it'd be way more stable for me and the dog. I've got a trailer for it to tote it around. And I actually found a fiberglass one for sale in Ohio that was posted on a waterfowling site two days ago for $800. How often do y'all see them for sale?
 
I drive past their place every other week, no sign of any work being done there. Last time I saw a Duckboat on one of the racks was 2 years ago.
 
Dani,

If you don't run into one, the Carsten's Pintail is a decent alternative. Not as light but seeing you have a trailer, it is a good option. I acquired one after floundering accross a windy open water bay in a ducker while watching my hunting party slip accross with minimal effort in their Pintails. I love my Duckers but long distance rowing is not their best attribute.

-Ron
 
Hi Dani,
I came across this website some time ago. They have boats that are very similar Hoefgen .
http://www.windwardboatworks.com/duckboats.html
 
Yup Derek does make a nice 12' boat and Steve has one that he's letting me use when he isn't. I am dreaming of something a little bigger though. Like I said, I really liked the looks of the one we saw the other day while out wood duck hunting. The Hoefgen is roomier than Derek's boat (but then it is 3' longer than Derek's boat), looked quite stable and sturdy and I really liked the higher combing that it offers....I think it's a really neat looking boat and between what has been said here and what the guy said while we were talking to him, it's a very stable, easy to maneuver and lake worthy low profile boat

I'll take a look at the Carsten Pintail....maybe i'll find someone who has one that i could test drive....
 
Dani,
I own one of those boats and love it. I was lucky and had a friend call me to let me know there was one for sale locally. I paid 400.00 for it and the owner had never sat in it just used it a couple times to float gear into the marsh. It really was like new. I am still in the process of customizing it to my liking but its a favorite of mine. I have shot para shooting mallard out of it grassed up and bluebills over the lines in open water. I will be glad to keep an eye out for you not sure how you would get it to Florida though.
I suspect for your marsh hunting with a dog it would be a perfect fit for you.
 
Zane, somehow I missed the link you posted....came back and looked again....that is a neat looking boat. Do you know anyone who has one? Know how it paddles?
 
Hoefgen Duck Boat......


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To me...in this World...there are a few "perfectly formed" things.....Sophia Lorene.....Feather Edged Cedar Barnegats.....square muzzled Black Labs..and Hoefgen Duck Boats....


Never paddled one...heck never even sat in one....and honestly have only seen a few of them....but I'll own one some day just because no marsh boat has those same perfect "sweet lines", (to borrow from Steve Sanford who clearly knows that those words mean)...


Some of the other boats listed are nice boats indeed...but none of them come close to evoking that..."now THAT's a Duck Boat"...thought when I see them.....the Duck Stalker is a nice looking boat but it lacks the tall rolled over combing that for some reason really "makes" the Hoefgen for me.....


Steve
 
The roll over combing has kept me dry through many river floating adventures that is for sure. Because of the roll over combing, the deck is built in two pieces and fiberglassed together. Doesn't make it as strong compared to one piece decks but the features outweigh this shortcoming.

The boat does,paddle like a dream, is quiet and in the colder months it is not as cold as sitting on aluminum. The deck is strong enough to support me sitting on it while paddling which is also nice. I don't have to paddle on my knees.

Nice boat to own Dani. I'll keep my eyes open for you.

Mark W
 
Well put Mr. Sutton.

I felt the same way when I saw the MLB Chuck Huff, and when I saw the Miles box that Thomas Wilkens had and sold and then it was up for sale again... when it was all just ceder before it was painted, that boat was magnetic. Let me know when you want to drop off your Miles boat in the St.Croix River Valley for storage..If you still have it??? .of course you can come up and use it on either The St. Croix or Lake Pepin on the Mississippi.
 
Somewhere I have pics of my brother and I floating and testing the duck stalker....hoefgen...and a ducker....we sold the stalker and kept the other 2......stalker is a nice boat.....actually had rocker and floated a bit higher than hoefgen....straight line paddling... hoefegen was best next stalker then ducker....intial stability ...ducker hands down then hoefgen and last was stalker....the stalker mold has bounced around to a few companies......the boat we had actually had Kevlar bottom which made it nice and light.....
 
There was a Hoefgen Duck boat for sale on the UP Craigslist last week but someone must have bought it because it gone now.

Was able to purchase a used one about 4 years ago for $400. The Hoefgen duck boat has great stability and it can handle ruff water. I use mine as a layout boat and stayed dry in 2 foot plus waves. Works nice because my dog can sit behind me when layout hunting. It probably looks funny with my head and the dogs head 6 inches behind me looking over the gunnel watching the divers coming into the decoys.
 
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