Custom and Special

CUSTOM and SPECIAL Duroboats

Duroboat owners can be quite creative and often use their boats as pallets for self expression. We encourage all Duroboat owners who are thinking of modifying their boats to be mindful of safety. Please don't change the structure in a way that reduces the strength of the boat and especially be mindful of the weight of equipment you add. It may be necessary to reduce the cargo you carry or supplement the flotation in your boat to stay compliant with Coast Guard capacity limits. Given those limitations lets see what you can do. Enjoy scrolling through the Ideas follow:

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Jon sent us these pictures, above and below, of an early Duroboat that has been painted jet black. Custom windscreen and console, detailed upholstery, black downrigger mounts are clean and crisp additions that make this boat a head turner. Note the short forward bowrail. Not a Duroboat standard.

Note the diamond plate and the rear seat. Very nice.

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Just in in July of 2010. Mik from the Nethlands who has previous pics of his 12D and some of his fish posted elswhere on this site has now sent in this custom outfitting of a 14W . It sports a fancy new silver Duroboat decal.

Mik says "I just finished building my DURO into a great fishing boat with super equipment, Eagle, Minnkota, Scotty, Honda, Garlick chairs etc. This 15 HP boat speeds up to 19 Ml/h with full equipment and 2 adults, great!! I'm getting a lot of questions and positive reactions about the boat. "

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Cap Sante Marine In Anacortes Washington in August of 07 commissioned this custom Duroboat.It features forward mounted Twin Consoles, deluxe seats, split rails. The repositioning required some revised structural work to accommodate the changes.

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From New Hampshire. Doctor Randy's new 10T. Customized to go after the big bass of Grafton Pond. Randy's changes , two seats, 54lb thrust trolling motor, carpeting, two batteries, Eagle 480 fish finder, oars, decals, etc. Randy report this boat has been a real head turner at the local launch ramp.

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Ray from Up on Vancouver Island sent us this picture of his new !6W with twin consoles and twin pedestal seats and deluxe driver seat. Ray and Sherwood Marine of Saanichton BC really tricked this one out.

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Turbo is a 10D that was modified by our friend Steve.

He drove all the way from Texas to LA, (California not Louisiana) to get his Duroboat. When he got home he went to work rigging it with joy sticks for steering and speed - shift controls. Steve's performance comments are included in the owners notes section of the Duroboat Experience.

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Just an interesting top on this boat from idaho

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Steve's 14 at rest on Casco Bay in Maine.

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For several years now we have been corresponding with Gary of Green River Wyoming. Gary is a soon to be famous country singer, fisherman and boat customizer. ( His CD is in our collection).

When we first heard from Gary he already had a yellow 12 ft Duroboat. Gary had modified a Cargo trailer to carry the boat and be his camper. His 12S above was already rigged as a fish killing machine that prowled the Flaming Gorge reservoir.

In 2001 Gary sent a letter to us that said he was thinking of moving up to a 15W. He did just that and started over. Some of you may have seen Gary's 15 in past Duroboat brochures and on our web site. Gary has added a full suite of electronics, a live well, seats and other goodies.

Here is Fishneedle II. Gary gives the fish no chance.

Not too long ago the unthinkable happened, A big storm hit the Reservoir and while Gary was trying to load the boat on the trailer a couple of big rollers slammed it against the dock.

For Gary a scratched up boat became the excuse for new paint. Here is Fishneedle II as it looks today.

Maybe tequila sunrise should be the next Duroboat color. Hot Hot Hot !

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Hard to believe but the Bass Boat below is a Duroboat.

Morey sent us this picture of a very professional looking conversion. If your Bass fising does not require a 200 HP screaming ego machine but instead can be accomplished with a cerebral ego machine that is easy on the budget, easy on fuel and gets home well in rough water maybe you should start with a DUROBOAT.

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Another DuroBass boat.

This one was done by RAM our dealer in Japan for the Japanese bass fishing market.

We read somewhere that bass fishing is both popular and controversial in Japan.

The article said Bass were introduced after a gift of bass to Japan by Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley. The dad not the current Mayor. Now, however, since bass feed aggressively on young native fish there are people who are critical of bass fishing.

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Another bass boat conversion. This one is from Spain and appeared in a classified ad. The narrative said this was used on a reservoir. The water sure looks pretty. At one time there was a Duroboat Bass fishing club in spain. We have lost contact with those fella's if you are a member and are reading this give us a shout sometime.

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Above and below . A 16 ft Custom Duroboat especially made for Fly Fish TV Magazine.

John Clark and our other good friends at Broadcast Copyrights Inc.(BCI) needed a boat to tote a couple of big fellows and lots of gear up shallow rivers so they could film wading fly fishermen for their TV series. The boat featured, dual consoles lots of pole holders, fish on seats with deluxe cushions, but most uniquely large fore and aft decks for placing cameras. watch for Fly Fish TV Magazines programs and other special video productions by BCI on the OLN and other networks.

This 16 with only a 30HP 2 stroke gets rave reviews from the boys at BCI

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Lloyd from up north in Canada built a custom cover and extended tiller.

Not sure what to make of this. Note the tall seat that let's Lloyd peek over the top of the cover while running. Lloyd may get the most unusual Duroboat award. We are told his dog understands.

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Jeane sent us this picture from Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Some neat little custom graphics were added to the side. Jeane aren't you cold?

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The Helberg Fishing machine runs on the Columbia and its tributaries. .

Lots of goodies on this boat. Mrs Helberg made a full set of canvas to enclose the sides.

The oversize decal is usually reserved for our demo boats but some customers request it just to strut their stuff.

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Jim P has been with Duroboat off and on for over 20 years.

This is just one of the custom Duroboats Jim has built. When Jim builds a boat everything changes. He cuts new bottom and side profiles to create a new boat from scratch. Using the Durojoint technology Jim built this dual console river jet for his Dad. It runs with a 60 HP Yamaha pump.

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If you are ever near American Lake near Tacoma WA. keep an eye out for this beauty. John N stopped by at a boat show with some pictures and asked if we wanted to see what he had created.

It was his first major project in retirement. John built teak consoles and windscreens which he moved forward up against the front seat. He added seats to the walk thru boxes and replaced the standard floors with teak. The craftsmanship was outstanding.

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Candy stopped by the factory with this boat that also features twin consoles moved forward and a modest little custom cover.

What we liked best about Candy's boat is of course the name.

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Picture aboive is a nice very clean 15W set up out together by AJ Marine in Yakima WA. They have installed 2 Fish On seats with delux covers. Note there are 3 alternate seat positions the pedastal mount rear and two bases mounted in the walk thru boxes. Rod holders, rod racks and a set of floor mounted straps to hold a forward fuel tank. A good example of what a dealer can do you you or what you might try yourself.

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Through boat shows, phone calls, letters and e-mails we meet lots of Ladies who are really in to their Duroboats. This one, named "Mellow Yellow" was built for Laurie in Santa Barbara.

Like guys, women love the durability, practicality and technology of the Duroboat but they are really passionate about the small touches. In the early days of Duroboat all of the boats were yellow and they all had small covers at the bow. Laurie said she had to have yellow. No Problem. Then she said I have to have a Bonnet on the bow like the old pictures we said " Duro don't do dat no mo " Laurie persisted and eventually this bright yellow retro Duroboat was built. We thought Laurie's friend was named Buster, but now knows he prefers Petey. He still looks like a Buster to us.

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Walter called one day and said he got a deal on an older Duroboat hull that needed, parts, paint and a whole lot a love.

Excluding the decals this is not custom as much as it is a complete restoration faithful to the original. Walter said normally he restores older military vehicles but that since he found this Duroboat and it had the quality of a military vehicle it was worth fixing up. Here is the made fresh Grandma Duck.

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Speaking of Ducks .... Daffy, Donald you best keep your eyes peeled these guys are serious. Duroboat sometimes sells boats with a flat brown or olive paint to provide a base for duck boat camo. We don't know if these boats were from our base or if the artists did the camo from scratch but these are a couple of nice camo jobs. We think these are New England boats but our records are sketchy.

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Crimson is the color for "In The Red". We spotted this boat for sale on Craig's List. The ad add said they needed to sell the boat since a new baby was coming. We called to congratulate the owner and tease a little about selling such a great custom when it would make a priceless heirloom for the little one. He said not to worry he had two other Duroboats he was going to keep. His wife said at least one had to go. Whoever got "In The Red" got a great boat from a real Duroboat family.

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This 15W sports the Lake Sammamish Yacht Club burgee mounted to the rail. That's Duroboat's Business Manager Katie at the controls and her buddy Lisa . They are off to distribute popcicles at the LSYC 06 4th of July Party. Lisa was in charge of scaring children on the shore with her overhand delivery of 85 mph fast cicles. A few years after this photo Katie and her sister Elizabeth piloted a 16 ft Duroboat 6000 miles on the Great Loop. More on that elsewhere on this web site.

This Duroboat with smooth running 30HP Tohatsu 4 stroke, bimini top split side rails and custom graphics featuring pink script Duroboat, and palm trees was built especially for the Seattle Women's Show. Out of town folks note: It is the 4th of July and everyone in Seattle is wearing heavy coats.