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Owner's Notes

From time to time Duroboat owners send us their stories, ideas, suggestions, tips etc that may be entertaining or useful to other Duroboat owners and to those who might consider owning a Duroboat.    Sometimes owners tell us of unique ways they use their Duroboats.

 

In this part of the Duroboat Experience we will share that information with you.

What is your Duroboat Story?

My   First Duroboat Story

As promised several months ago, here is my little story.  Again thank you for sending me that new windshield. The old blue windshield was OK, but the gray looks awesome on my boat.

It was almost another good day of fishing in Mobile Bay. The sky was blue, the water was flat and the fish were biting. Everything was going well until my old 16 foot fiberglass boat decided to croak when I returned to the ramp. I decided it was time for a change. I wanted a new boat. My search began. I was looking for something that would not beat me to death in a light chop, but something tough enough to handle riding white caps. The water in Mobile Bay can go from calm to white caps in a matter of a couple of hours. I did not want anything larger than 16". Over the last 25 years of fishing bays I have learned any boat over 16" does nothing but scare fish away in water less that 6" deep.

 
One day I received a call from a fellow that sold new boats. This guy knew me and what I was looking for. He invited me to meet him at a launch at Dog River to go for a ride in a new boat he had added to his line. His hidden reason for taking the boat out was to retrieve a banner that had been lost from a plane in Mobile Bay. I figured something was up with the invite.
 
 I arrived at the launch to find David with a new 15" Duroboat with a 30hp Suzuki outboard. Before arriving at the launch, I crossed the Dog River bridge and noticed Mobile Bay was at a medium chop with a slight "white cap". Looking at the Bay conditions and looking at this Duroboat, I told David "ride out into the bay???? Notta with me in that boat". I was in no mood to get soaking wet test driving a boat in those conditions. David tossed me a life jacket and told me to get in. Against my first instinct, I got in. David was an experienced boater and I trusted his judgement. I sat next to David on the rear bench and off we went. As we exited the wake zone, we ended up entering the bay in a medium chop. He then throttled up, and in a few seconds we were on a plain skipping over white caps. In those conditions a heavy fiberglass boat would have beat you to death, not to mention the splash of the water. This Duroboat was handling with a light bounce you must experience to believe.  And speed? This boat was scooting along the top of these white caps with a 30 horsepower motor like nothing I had ever experienced. I can promise you, this is one solid riding aluminum boat.
 
  We never found the banner, but David sold a boat that afternoon. Sixteen years later, I still hear the same comments from folks, "that sure is a fine boat", "where did you get that boat?" and most of all, "do you want to sell that boat?".  The only thing that I have worn out on this boat are the fish. My Duroboat boat looks and performs as well now, as it did the first day I put it in the water. 
 
Happy Safe Boating...  
 
Glenn G.
Mobile, Alabama

Exploring BC's remote Estero Basin in a 14 ft Duroboat

Dave Helland is a long time Duroboat owner and friend of the company.  He has participated in several Duroboat events and assisted us with engineering projects.

Dave is currently outfitting a new 16 ft Duroboat designed for economical exploration at relatively high speed. Details of that effort will soon appear somewhere on this web site. 

Dave recently had an article he wrote published by the Waggoner Cruising Guide. 

 

The article recounts the special nature of exploring the, not quite landlocked, Estero Basin in a Duroboat.

 

 

 

Follow this link for the full story and more photos. http://www.waggonerguide.com/estero.html

 

Exploring the Connecticut River   From Bill B.

Hello folks,

I recently completed a trip down the length of the Connecticut River, New England's longest, at 400 miles.  Northern stretches, as well as some southern stretches below dams require a canoe, but most of the River I completed in a 16' Duroboat with a 30 HP 4-stroke.  I cannot say enough about the boat's performance in both shallow water (as little as 2 feet!) and deep water, the planing action is excellent.  I think I could be the first to complete the River in a Duroboat.  I have enclosed two photos of my boat taken in Connecticut, near the end of the trip. 

 I should add that the 'trip' did take 6 years total (in major sections, about 70 miles per year). That involved tailoring my Duroboat to the River on summer weekends. Each trip usually involved 20, up to 30 miles of river at a time. In any event, what a feeling to finish, thanks to Duroboat!   

 

A few excerpts from e mails.

Walt from back east said

Well, the time is right with gas at 3.50 here.  I consistently run a 40 hp 4 stroke 24 miles @ 3500 rpm plus another 26 miles trolling - usually a total of 7 hours plus per day and can' t use 5 gallons. .........As a comparison, my buddy has a 172 (brand X)  with a 115   2 stroke Yamaha and uses 12 to 17 gal doing the same thing.

 

Dylan said.

I don’t know if you remember me or not,  ( We Do)  I’m the fishing writer whom you talked to about a pro-deal last fall, and I ended up buying a closeout 16W .  We also had a long and very helpful (to me) conversation about trim and top speed with the Honda 30. Your suggestions worked incredibly well, so thanks for that.     I also want to say, this 16W is a flat-out great boat. Love it. I’ve been fishing it for winter black mouth on the Sound, and I don’t think there’s a better, more comfortable, more efficient boat of this size anywhere.

North Idaho Refurb on 16 footer

Steve Crowley and his family recently sent in a CD with lots of pictures and video from explorations in Northern Idaho on Priest Lake, Lake  Couer d' Alene and Lake Pond Orielle.    The Crowleys took it upon themselves to restore a  neglected 14 year old 16 ft Duroboat.   Their letter is quite long  3 pages single spaced so it is expeditious to say they did a lot of work removing the evidence of several years of neglect in a salt water environment.  They found the hull to be sound and with some tips and products from Duncan Marine in Post Falls they brought the 16 back from the edge.  When the work was done they returned to Duncan Marine and purchased a brand new 40 HP ETEC.  They report the restoration cost approximately $500 in material and supplies and then the new motor.   The boat has been named   Bein'  Knotty    which appears on the boat's pennant.

 

Economy in a small boat.          

Steve,  who operates this custom Duroboat 10D reported that he achieved 15 to 18 mph in the 10D powered by a 4 stroke Suzuki 6 HP motor.  He used 36 oz. of fuel in 30 minutes running at that speed.

 

Duroboat Drain Plug Not Low Enough.

We hate to admit that the Duroboat is not absolutely perfect but we do have a teeny tiny shortcoming.  That is our drain plug.  The Durojoint seam at the base of the transom causes our drain plug to be about a half inch higher than we would like it.  That means is is sometimes hard to drain the last bit of water without a little extra work.              Click here for a solution recommended by Don Millus.

 

Economy and Ecology

The eco- friendly rig below proves it does not take a big SUV or macho HP boat to see some of the world's prettiest scenery.   Mark sent this photo of his car and boat with Maine's Rangeley Lake in the background.  In addition to Rangeley, Mark reports he also cruised nearby Azicohos Lakes and Richardsen lake.

He estimates 60 Miles on the water spread over 3 relaxing days   Neither the boat or the car was very tough on fuel.  Since Mark is both adventurous and analytical we asked him to recap what he spent on fuel for his Subaru Outback and his Honda 20 and Duroboat on one of his recent explorations.  Click here for Mark’s Story, which answered the question and then some.

Duroboat delivers construction supplies to Island getaways.

Many Duroboat owners use their boats to get people and supplies to an from their island homes.     Here Clint is using his boat to deliver supplies for a project at his Shaw Island getaway in Washington's  San juan islands.

 

 

Hurricane Ivan Story  

Several years ago Ken Matthews sent us a picture of his Duroboat hanging on davits along the Alabama coast.  

That was before Hurricane Ivan.    In a recent communication  we asked Ken how the Duroboat survived.

Click here for Ken's Story.

 

Need to move a  Moose down river?  Duroboat ‘em.

              

Our friend Donna in the Yukon sent this picture to Duroboat after an exchange of e-mails.  She and her hunting partner needed advice on the best trailer for carrying a moose laden Duroboat.  Apparently once the Duroboat hauled the moose from the back country, boat and moose were towed home.  After the 5th moose the trailer was getting tired.  The Duroboat and Donna were still ready to hunt.  

Editor’s note: Please respect boat capacity limits when hauling moose or other valuables.