I am planning on selling my 21' Seaswirl Striper and buying a duck boat in the near future. I will be hunting barnegat bay or back marshes farther south. This would be my first duck boat. I have a 14' fiberglass tri hull that flattens out pretty quick. Drafts about 4". I just got a 9.9 for it, but I want something more set up for ducks. I see there are many different types, what are the best for what I will be using them for? Are sneak boxes able to break ice? Are they same to be out in when the bay ices up? There are many that have a lot of experience on here, hopefully they would be nice enough to share some knowledge. Thank you in advance for any help.
Looking for opinions on sneak box/ duck boats
allmann1
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I am planning on selling my 21' Seaswirl Striper and buying a duck boat in the near future. I will be hunting barnegat bay or back marshes farther south. This would be my first duck boat. I have a 14' fiberglass tri hull that flattens out pretty quick. Drafts about 4". I just got a 9.9 for it, but I want something more set up for ducks. I see there are many different types, what are the best for what I will be using them for? Are sneak boxes able to break ice? Are they same to be out in when the bay ices up? There are many that have a lot of experience on here, hopefully they would be nice enough to share some knowledge. Thank you in advance for any help.
Be prepared to buy and flip a few until you figure out how you really hunt or have a boat for each scenario. I bought a 14' Jon boat end of last season in hope of making it a duck rig. After fishing on it a few times in 2' seas I realized it would not be a safe boat in the middle of winter when the wind is howling. It was a very wet and rough ride. I took a lot and rode in a few TDBs,felt real safe in rough conditions and would have no problem being out in the deep water in thin sea class version. I almost bought a duck boss 15 but being that I mainly hunt solo right now it was bigger than but a great rig. A Donny federanko 14' was the boat of choice I wanted and still hopeful of getting one when Donny gets his molds fixed. These are a little higher than a Roy schellinger low boat and slightly lower then a Roy high boat. I ended up with a duck boss 13 and am very happy with it as an all around rig. I hunted very shallow marsh this weekend with it and it drafted maybe 5" of water. I wish it was slightly larger ( 14') and slightly lower like a federanko for hunting in the marsh. For open water I feel the sides are perfect height. Never had the chance to hunt out of a true sneak box but some love them and if you find a newer fiberglass hull built from the well know builders you'll end up great. I woke stay away from the home built ones in my opinion
I usually hunt alone but have buddies with sneak boxes too. Though next year my nephew will be turning 10 so I will need something big enough for 2. I am open to all suggestions. I have been mainly a shore hunter, besides the few times I have gone out with Ol Barney and one other buddy. I know there is no ALL around boat, but is there something that covers a few scenarios? 9.9 is a short shaft. After I sell the boat I will prob take up to 5gs if need be, but I would like to keep it around 2gs if I can.
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There's an infinite number of one man options out there. As far as two man boats at your price point there are less. I own a DB13 as well and it's a great versatile rig. I have hunted it pretty hard the first half of this season and I would recommend it to anyone. Would be great for you to hunt 1 adult and 1 kid out of. Might need to upgrade the 9.9 to a 15-25hp though.
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Great advise above but since you mentioned a kid I would seriously look at a TDB. Very safe and easy for them to get out of the bad weather. A little bulky but you can still manage them by yourself. Also good to have if a buddy joins you since there is plenty of room in it. Most likely you'll end up with a couple boats..
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Allmann1, you'd better do more research, there's dozens of options etc. several on here are Waterfowlers.. A BBSB Barnegat Bay Sneak Box was designed for shallow back bays(waters) join Refuge Forums NJWA: New Jersey Waterfowlers Association there are many others also... use ur tri-hull, and 9.9hp, it will work just fine until you decide to Spend Thousands.... hahaha and You WILL Trust me.
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Also take a day and visit Tuckerton Sea Port Museum, go into the duck boat building where they build sneakboxes.. Above all, ASK QUESTIONS, it will save you $$$$$$
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I'll answer this one for you Kevin. He's gonna need a 4 person. 2 adults 2 kids and 1 dog
Also George Rawson is the one who helped me out getting mine.
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So a Bankes Crusader then? Will that be cash or charge?
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Banks Boats just posted on Facebook that they delivered a 14' Dominator the other day in NJ. Maybe you can sweet talk the owner in letting you take it for a test drive.
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