# Anyone using a Carsten Mallard?



## 480/277 (Jun 5, 2014)

Expanding my duck boat search....
right now I'm looking at
12' Aquapod 
Momarsh Fatboy DP
Carsten Mallard


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## road kill (Feb 15, 2009)

480/277 said:


> Expanding my duck boat search....
> right now I'm looking at
> 12' Aquapod
> Momarsh Fatboy DP
> Carsten Mallard


The Momarsh Fat boy DP is awesome, you can camo up, disappear and with the layout seat you can take 1 Helluva nap!
It can fit in the back of a P/U and you can get a motor mount for it.
Stable as can be, lots of room.


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## J_Brown (Jan 4, 2013)

I would say a Momarsh Fatboy DP or a Carsten Pintail would be my next boat.


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## DeWayne S. (Oct 4, 2014)

I have had a Carsten Canvasback with mud motor for 10yrs. Wouldn't have anything else. Great for dog and lots of gear in a small boat..


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## DarrinGreene (Feb 8, 2007)

They are all good. I've gunned out of all. I like the aquapod best personally but don't have one. I traded my Carsten Pintail and a Puddler (smaller). Works great for me and isn't quite so heavy. Lasts forever even sitting outside all year.


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## Tim Culligan (Nov 21, 2007)

I sold my mallard and bought the pintail! The mallard was better for two guys, but plowed through the water. I love the pintail for me, dog and gear. My next one will be the Fat Boy DP!


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## John Gassner (Sep 11, 2003)

I have a Four Rivers and love it. Very stable and very well built.


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## Terry Britton (Jul 3, 2003)

I am looking at a Stealth 2000 for next year for myself, son (10yr), dog, and decoys. Any thoughts compared to the others? I want something that I can put in the back of the truck and go, and store in the garage without taking up too much room.


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## swliszka (Apr 17, 2011)

Carsten produces excellent products. I have been to their factory several times in the past. We all have different needs and even hunt differently. My choice was to get an Alum Grumman Sport Boat (15' 3")
oarlocks, paddle and square stern (under 5 HP motor)110 #. Pricey but low maintenance , various sound deadeners or go to a Rhino truck bed applier. $2500 new (Marathon , NY) but check out E-Bay or your local Craigslist., They hold their value. Works well w/another hunter and a dog. Good shopping.


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## DSemple (Feb 16, 2008)

John Gassner said:


> I have a Four Rivers and love it. Very stable and very well built.


Which model John?


Don


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## NateB (Sep 25, 2003)

My problem with a lot of these boats is the weight if you need to to drag it somewhere to get to the water. I have gone thru a few boats, and for my needs, i.e. transport to the hunt area but not hunt out of, I went with a 13 ft flat stern Sportspal by Meyer http://www.castlecraft.com/sportspal_square-stern.htm
Only weighs 57# and I can attach a 3 hp outboard or an elec for areas that do not allow gas motors. Can carry me, dog, lots of decoys and the other "stuff" easily. Plenty of capacity, much more than the others mentioned. They do not come up for sale very often so watch Craigs list. I bought mine new direct from the factory since I live pretty close. Has the foam sponsons and a foam covered floor.

I was about to get a FatBoyDP until I sat in one. Would be ok for a layout boat but not a lot of room to carry stuff and very heavy for the room and capacity. at least for my needs.


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## Keith Stroyan (Sep 22, 2005)

I had a Stealth 1200 and have had a Carsten's Pintail for 20 years. 

I wish I kept the Stealth for around the pond, but it paddles VERY hard when loaded for hunting. That's why I sold it. It is very stable. You can actually stand on the side wall like one of the ads. (I tried it in the summer!) It has a nice handle. It seems VERY tough and I didn't keep it long enough to see if it sun-rots.

The Pintail is stable and paddles much easier than the Stealth and goes along almost like a canoe. (Some of the flat bottom ones turn opposite each stroke.) I use a kayak paddle. I cracked it once and repaired it with an automotive fibergalss kit. Easy. The stake holes in the Pintail are very handy.

But Nate is right, it's heavy - about 100 lbs. (I weigh 140.) I carry it on top of my Sequoia and don't drag it far to the water. (We used to paddle them in about a mile in NoDak, but my friend in Fargo build a beautiful blind boat with a mud motor. So now when I visit I usually don't even take my Pintail.) When I take it to my pond in Spring and bring it back in Fall, I drag it with my monster lawn mower.

Neither of these has much room. One man, one dog, decoys, gun, etc. is it. 

Neither can take much rough water. I was a half mile across open water once in December when the wind came up. Luckily my route was straight into the waves, but it was more fun than I wanted.

The up-shot is I'm keeping my Pintail, but I don't hunt out of it much any more.

==

57 lbs sounds good, but a dog in a canoe doesn't, though I used to hunt with a guy who took 2 in his. They weren't especially well trained EXCEPT for behaving in the canoe.


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## Terry Britton (Jul 3, 2003)

Stability and a little extra room plus the #550 carry capacity (I am #250 now) is why I am looking at the Stealth 2000. I definitely won't get into any open water unless I know it is wading depth and calm.


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## DoubleHaul (Jul 22, 2008)

swliszka said:


> Carsten produces excellent products. I have been to their factory several times in the past. We all have different needs and even hunt differently. My choice was to get an Alum Grumman Sport Boat (15' 3")
> oarlocks, paddle and square stern (under 5 HP motor)110 #. Pricey but low maintenance , various sound deadeners or go to a Rhino truck bed applier. $2500 new (Marathon , NY) but check out E-Bay or your local Craigslist., They hold their value. Works well w/another hunter and a dog. Good shopping.


I hope it is a vintage outboard


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## Rusty Champion (Feb 13, 2012)

I have a four rivers teal chaser. It is super stable. I'm 195lbs and could easily do jumping jacks in it. I have paddled myself and a 330lb gentleman to the blind, so i'm confident the actual carrying capacity is roughly 550lbs. It was not stable with that load though. It's a perfect layout/sneak boat, but it definitely doesn't paddle like a kayak. It tracks nicely, but it's not designed for extended paddling. Not to the degree that I would consider it a bathtub, but it certainly will give you a workout past a few hundred yards (and I'm a young man and would consider myself in fairly decent shape). 
Im considering making a mod on the back deck(dog platform) to mount a small (6-7hp) long tail because that platform does not accommodate a dog very well. 

It is listed at roughly 80lbs but its still heavy. I have to really grunt to get it loaded on top of my truck (MTCK slide-in that's cab height)

Build, design, fit & finish are all incredible on my teal chaser. It's just built for a specific application. I would highly recommend it if it fits your application, but if you need something to paddle half a mile or spend more time moving (loading in, loading out, dragging to water, etc..) it's not necessarily the best.


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## Steve Thornton (Oct 11, 2012)

For stability and ability to carry a load I highly recommend a Gheenoe. Paddles like a canoe, stable like a jon boat. 120 lbs. square stern rated for I think a 10 hp. Only negative is they are fiberglass and will ding.


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## sick lids (Sep 25, 2012)

Momarsh- 2- 200 lb men 2 kayak paddles and two dogs, shot guns and gear, decoys in sled pulled behind as all the room was taken up, no worries on small rivers or marshes. If alone having a totally concealed blind in 6 inches of grass nowhere near the cattails where every one else is hiding can be golden.


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