Basswood Decoys

**fatsalesguy** · 03-10-2010, 05:03 PM

Over the last year I carved a few black ducks and a couple of Pintails. It has been a chore but am happy with the end results. Thought I would share. Haven't hunted over them yet but hope to next year. Man, they ride low in the water...

**sprigdog** · 03-10-2010, 05:07 PM

very nice, thanks for sharing.

**fatsalesguy** · 03-10-2010, 05:18 PM

**BOGSTER** · 03-10-2010, 05:19 PM

Those look very nice.

How heavy are they?
How low do they ride?

**fatsalesguy** · 03-10-2010, 05:24 PM

Not overly practical. They are hollow. I plan on using them very occasionally (out of a boat). I have a decent bag that distributes the weight but still not a everyday/ hunt deal.

They ride low... and I augered all the way to an inch or so to bottom. On the first pic you can see the seem. That is about how much they draw. Any experienced carvers tell me if you have any hints... I guess its not going to be a problem but am use to plastics riding much higher.

**ESSO82** · 03-10-2010, 06:02 PM

I have carved a few myself. I am not good at the painting though. Did you carve the heads?
If you are going to hunt them you might want to attach a keel which will help the weight distribution.

**marshman** · 03-10-2010, 06:10 PM

I think they look great.I wish I had the time to do some of that.

**coot nasty** · 03-10-2010, 06:16 PM

Man they look great!!

**fatsalesguy** · 03-10-2010, 06:53 PM

They do ride low and no keel bc don't want to add any more weight. It certainly takes a boat load of time...

**Turd Ferguson** · 03-10-2010, 06:59 PM

fatsalesguy- try putting a piece of 1/2 inch or so styrofoam (double sided tape, just long enough to test) across the entire bottom and see how much this picks them up our the water

**beanhunter** · 03-10-2010, 07:00 PM

they do look good -may want to consider one bill the green shade?

**muddman** · 03-10-2010, 08:02 PM

Looks good man!

**bigmoneygrip** · 03-11-2010, 12:13 AM

Those are awesome nice job brother!!!!!

**Gunning Bird** · 03-11-2010, 07:34 AM

FSG -

First off, those are some nice gunning decoys. I see a lot of things you did very well, especially with the paint.

Even though basswood is approximately 25% heavier than northern white cedar, it still is an excellent choice for hollow wood decoys. If made properly, your decoy should float just fine. Specifically, your waterline should be anywhere from 1" to 1.25" from the bottom of the decoy.

A couple of things that can affect how your decoy floats - overall body shape (wider is better for gunners), chine (roundness of the sides of the bird) and of course, how well/where you hollow out the bird.

Looking at your decoys, the sides (sidepockets) appear to be flat, almost vertical. I can guarantee you this is working against you when it comes to floatation. The sides of your decoys should be shaped like a "C" when viewed from the front or rear. With your chines vertical instead of rounded, your decoy sinks straight down into the water as you don't have near as much surface area available for the water to push back on. Also, it's hard to see exactly how wide your birds are but they might could use a little widening (increases surface area for floatation and looks good too).

If I had to guess, I would say that the vertical sides (vertical chines), a narrow body profile and your hollowing technique are combining to hurt the decoy's floatation properties. Hope this helps.

Here is a hollowed basswood decoy. Even with a weighted keel (bout 6-8 oz. of lead for self-righting purposes), the waterline is about 1.25" from the bottom of the decoy.

**fatsalesguy** · 03-11-2010, 08:26 AM

I would have never considered the shape in relation to weight. You are correct. They are a little too square especially up and down. I tried to correct the "roundness" front and back over the course of a couple but really never tackeled up and down on the sides (which is what I think you point out) as well as I should have. If mine are 7-8" tall I am guessing I am drawing close to 3". Glad to know how to address. Thanks.

Appreciate the advice and comments from all.

**fatsalesguy** · 03-11-2010, 08:30 AM

...that mallard is bad*ss

**Turd Ferguson** · 03-11-2010, 08:42 AM

it would take some time but you could sand down the sides and add (glue) some wood to the sides to flare the sides which would create the OVAL shape to keep more of the decoy our of the water

l__l = (__) also the keel would add some buoyant properties and actually raise the decoy out of the water

**Gunning Bird** · 03-11-2010, 08:48 AM

And Turd nails it with the keyboard visual.

Here's what you want the profile to look like: (___)

Although I'm somewhat more fond of this one: (.) (.)

**Slaya** · 03-11-2010, 09:17 AM

Nicely done first few decoys. You've done a good job with the paint. Make more, and the rest will come. After a couple dozen, I'm finally getting my mind around some of the shapes. Now, if I could paint...