Gonna buy/build a duck boat for the upcoming season.

Wanted some advice from the guys who have boats built for duck hunting

This is gonna be used mainly for duck hunting. May be used at some times for fishing but it's main purpose is a duck boat for hunting areas like the coast as well as bigger water such as amistad and some major rivers in Texas. I'm torn as to what type of boat will be best for my needs.

Cost is a factor but not the end all be all.

My questions are these:

First off,should I buy new or used? I buy used trucks but don't want to inherit someone else's problem. I understand that buying used would normally yield a better deal

Secondly, I'm stumped as to what kind of boat. I really want a center console vs a tiller steer but the CC's typically come only in bigger models. For hunting bigger water, I need a bigger boat but I still want to be able to take it in the rivers. What size would be appropriate ? 16"? 17"?

Lastly, I've been looking at some different boat brands. Lowe makes a CC that looks ok called the roughneck that looks ok. Some more specialty boats like duck water http://www.duckwaterboats.com/Boats/Apache/apache.html

Intrigue me and I wonder for coast hunting if this would be the best option but draft is a concern due to the shallowness of bays and rivers

Need some help here guys. I appreciate any input

Take a look at Excel duck boats.

You are going all in and quick!

This one strikes me as a good rig

http://www.loweboats.com/2015/hunting-boats/Roughneck-1860CC/

Hull is pretty thin.

What thickness would you look for?

Thicker is better than thinner when it comes to hulls I agree

Buy used.
Be patient and you can find a good deal.

Most like .125 or thicker. Mine is .190.

Just depends on what you want to do with it.

What kind of boat are you running?

Gator Trax with a GTR

Seasonal stuff is better bought used in the off season. Be patient and get exactly what you are looking for or better first buy. Don't cut corners looking to trade up later, if you're in this for the long haul. Bigger is better to me in boats, I like stability in choppy cold water.

Those boats are nice!

First question where will you be running it 99% of the time

If you're just going to hunt the coast you cant beat a majek RFL. Mud motor is a bad thought process with CCA getting all Seagrass protected passed.

If you slow down in a 21ft and let tunnel fill up, you can run in 2" for a very long ways

It will depend on where the ducks are. One day I might be cruising across the bay the next going down a river. Then running on a lake the day after that. The bay and the river is where I expect to encounter the shallowest waters

Nice looking rig, but I don't think the perfect boat exists. Get one to big and you can't get into small places, get one to small and forget about open water, get one with a mud-motor, and you wish you had an air boat, get an air boat, and the places you want to go don't allow mud-motors or air boats. Or the body of water limits the engine size to nothing bigger than 25 Hp.

I'd say go look at all you can and then decide which one fits you the best. Your best bet is to see if there is a boat show that has more fishing and hunting style boat.

The boat show in New Orleans was great. Its a mix of all boats with the majority being geared for fishing and hunting, where as Austin is geared more for pleasure cruising.

http://www.boatshowneworleans.com/

Also, the outdoor show in Louisiana is another good place to check out the type of boats you're looking into.

http://www.louisianasportsmanshow.com/

Call Gator Trax - they will help you design it. This is a 1754 with a Yamaha 70. We fish out of it all the time.

A man can never own too many boats.

That is exactly the boat I was looking at

Wanna sell me that one?

lol

Everything is for sale

Darn right.

I had a client tell me "everything I own is for sale except my kids and my wife, and the wife is for rent"

Not for sale at this time...with the lake levels so low I use this boat all of the time. I have only had the bass boat in the water 3 times in the past two years..

Did you order it from gator?

With the 70 hp what did it run $ wise?

Correction from above...the boat is a 1854...I ordered direct from Gator trax...Kent Saxon helped me with the design. I went with the 70 Yamaha because it was lighter than the Merc. It has 3 batteries and a 2 bank charger. I also ordered with Hydraulic steering,hydraulic jack plate, 80lb trolling motor, hydro turf and a removable back deck...I think I paid 21-23k for it...They were great to work with...They also delivered to my driveway at Fork. If you are thinking about getting one let me know...I will tell you a few things I might have changed if I had to do it all over again. take Care, Rodney

Can't go wrong with a GatorTrax.