The Wigeon: A Waterfowler’s Legacy

On a still morning decades ago, mist drifted over Lake Miccosukee, near Tallahassee, Florida, as a pair of ring-necked ducks cut through the air, their wings whistling in the quiet. Two hunters moved silently across the lake in a small boat, its black-and-brown camo blending seamlessly into the swampy stillness. A retriever sat alert in the bow, nose twitching with anticipation. The scene was timeless, but the vessel beneath them was not. It was something new, something born from the mind of a waterfowler determined to build the perfect duck boat. That man was Roger Crawford.

Like many hunters, Roger’s greatest ideas come from hard-earned experience. After a few too many close calls in unstable, narrow-beamed boats, and after more than one hunt ended with a capsized hull and a lost shotgun, he decided there had to be a better way. “I wanted something that wouldn’t roll every time my dog moved,” he recalls. “A boat you could actually hunt out of, not just ride in.”

In the early 1980s, Roger set out to design a duck boat that matched his exacting vision. He teamed up with close friend Dean Minardi, a sailboat manufacturer based in Tallahassee, and Ashley Ahl, a talented set designer for opera and theater at Florida State University. Combining their unique talents and experiences, the trio brought Roger’s concept to life. Their mission was clear: to build the most functional, stable, and hunter-friendly waterfowl craft on the water. From sculpting a clay model to crafting custom molds and refining the final product, they meticulously perfected every detail.

The result was the Wigeon Duck Boat, a low-profile, 14-foot masterpiece of purpose-driven design. Built for hunters, by a hunter, it features a narrow yet stable hull that handles calm lakes and choppy shallows with ease. Every inch of the boat has a purpose: built-in gun racks, an easy-to-assemble blind, adjustable seats, compartments for decoys and shells, and storage for poles and paddles.

Two hunters and a dog can sit comfortably in the boat, with room to move, shoot, and stay organized. It can be powered by a small outboard, paddled quietly through flooded timber, and poled across shallow marsh flats. It is lightweight enough for two people to load by hand—perfect for remote launches and do-it-yourself hunts. “Everything had its place,” Roger says. “You can tell it was designed by someone who’d spent a lot of time trying to find a shell box at the bottom of a wet boat in the dark.”

Word spread quickly. Roger began building Wigeons to order, each one handcrafted with care. About 100 boats were sold to passionate hunters across the Southeast. But as costs rose, Roger eventually sold the design rights, ensuring the Wigeon’s legacy would continue.

For Roger and his wife, Patty, their personal Wigeon remained a constant companion through decades of hunts and memories. From foggy mornings on Lake Miccosukee or Lake Seminole to coastal flats, the boat carried them through it all. “It wasn’t just a tool,” Roger reflects. “It was part of the experience.”

For decades, the boat has been meticulously maintained in the Crawfords’ care, its paint worn soft from use, its frame holding stories of ducks retrieved, friendships forged, and dogs remembered. One afternoon, Roger’s friend Jay Walton said, “You don’t understand what’s going on here, do you? This boat has been an important part of all our lives. It needs to be on display.” When Roger and Patty decided it was time to share the Wigeon’s story beyond their own, they knew exactly where it belonged.

The Crawfords donated their Wigeon to Ducks Unlimited national headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. They didn’t want it tucked away; they wanted it seen, appreciated, and remembered. “DU’s mission is about conserving what we love—wetlands, wildlife, and the heritage of waterfowling,” Roger says. “This boat was a big part of my story, and now it can be part of that bigger story too. I’m not an inventor. I just borrowed the best ideas from all the boats I’d seen and brought them together. And I was lucky enough to have friends with the talent to make it real.”

Transported from Tallahassee to Memphis, the Wigeon arrived at DU as a symbol of ingenuity, determination, and the enduring connection between hunters and conservation. It reflects the spirit that fuels so many of DU’s members and volunteers and shows what’s possible when passion meets purpose.

Roger’s Wigeon reminds us that innovation and stewardship often begin the same way—with a simple question: How can we make things better? At DU’s headquarters, surrounded by decades of conservation history, the Wigeon inspires and invites us to keep building, dreaming, and protecting the places that make waterfowling possible.