87 duroboat new project! finally got a keeper

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dkonrai

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 7, 2012
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Location
walnut creek, california
just picked up this duroboat and trailer. i have been waiting a long time for a nice 14 footer that wasnt trashed or unaffordable. well as luck would have it i got a deal on this 14 duroboat. all it really needs is a bath and some pressure washing. need to change the transom but looks like about it. trailer could use a paint job too.
they were asking 8, got it for 6 :)
now all i gotta do is clean it and get it on the water!
dino

duro_small_3.jpg


duro_samll2.jpg


duro_small_1.jpg


towed home 30 miles fine. hubs were warm, not hot just a little warm.
 
Nice find. This will be interesting to follow as there aren't too many Duros on the site. Please keep us posted on your progress.
 
i really like the design of that boat! looks like it would be very capable in bays, etc. good luck with it, keep us posted!
 
nice thing is this is the first boat i have bought that doesnt need much work. the transom needs new wood, and a good cleaning. why someone would rattle can paint the back of the boat a ugly green is beyond me. the hull needs to be scotch pad cleaned. really want to take it out to see if it leaks. as it is raining out here, and the boat so far doesnt show signs of leaking.
very interesting design. i will post some picts later showing the inside of the boat.
dino
 
This is the Duroboat Factory.

You do have what looks like a solid boat there. It is probably nudging in to collector category. Not a big money thing but desirable as many older aluminum boats of all brands are now becoming part of boating lore. Your boat will function better than most with big water capability not typically found in light aluminum boats of that era. The no rivet no weld design gives you obvious structural advantages but there are many subtle derivative advantages in your boat that will show up in performance but also make it an easy and worthwhile restoration.

I have gone through your pictures.
Are you sure you have an 87? You have a boat that I would guess has a 1983 or 1984 serial number. last two digits of your HIN will tell you the year.
83 was Duroboats first year in Seattle. Your boat is I think exactly the design that came form Australia in 83.

You have the least sophisticated of transom supports that have evolved over the years. I thought your transom supports had been replaced by a heavy casting before 87. If I wanted to bullet proof your boat I would change it. If I wanted to preserve originality i would keep it but understand its pros and cons. My recomendation keep it unless they are damaged and i will tell you how to care for it so it is never an issue. It looks like this boat was used hard and has managed so far so you should be fine.

Your boat was built before the proliferation of 4 strokes so if you want to go with a heavy motor you will need to pay attention to a few things.

If you want to call the factory to discuss your restoration please do. We love to see the boats live on. Duroboats have not changed much over the years but there are some specific improvements that have been made that are not in your boat. Small improvements over time were all to mitigate different forms of abuse or respond to market issues. Your boat was darn close to perfect when built. if I tell you what you need to know to restore and then operate the boat properly your boat will perform every bit as well as a current boat. I will be able to walk you through every element of your boat so you can identify things to look for, potentially fix and then monitor over its life.

Your boat does not have floors. I don't know if it had them originally I might consider adding them. If you want to stay totally original don't put floors in but they do make life better so if you want function over purity floors are nice.

Once you have a plan for your boat you need to think trailers. You have the old knife blade style keel. It needs to be off that keel roller. Your trailer as it is will not be suitable for a restored boat particulary if you are going to use a 4 stroke or do serious trailering. You can maybe salvage it but a nice galavanized trailer, with bigger wheels, modern hubs and LED lights would be more worthy of your boat. The bad things that happen to aluminum boats often can be traced back to bad trailers or poor trailering practices.

ONE BIG CAUTION Your seats are installed with blind no access frasteners. If you decide to remove them for any reason be very careful. Use pentrating oil to loosen them. If you meet resistence from frozen nuts on the inside they could break and you will spin the screws and have a difficult situation. We now make those fasteners expoed to make Duroboats easier to work on.
There are over 400 pictures of Duroboats at our website. The FAQs may help you. You will see boats just like yours all over the world.

sorry this got so long but I am excited to see the boat get continued life and we want to help where we can.

Have fun. call if you want the advice. When you are done we can get you published on the Duroboat website and facebook pages.
 
WOW thank you so much DUROBOAT =D> . i am impressed that as a company you stand behind your product after so many years. i am so glad i waited a year to pick up a duroboat. i have owned many other brands, and really wanted a 14 foot duroboat. even contemplated about driving up to seattle to get one (tennesee is a little far). boat is built a little different, but had all the features i was looking for.
the serial number is duw14 620 0985.
yes it is a little used... but i think it was mostly docked. no real signs of dents or damage that i can see. i have yet to fill the boat and check for leaks above the chines.
dino
PS love my new old boat =P~
 
You are welcome. you definitely have an 85 model year boat not an 87. I think it is likely it was built in 84 as an 85 model year but the HIN format is a bit different than now so I cannot tell you the exact motnh of manufacture. the DUW in the number signifies duroboat Manufacturing company. Since the creation of DuroMarine Inc HIN numbers start DMI.

You can write directly to me with questions using duroboat at duroboat dot com when you start working on the boat i can elaborate on some of what I have already mentioned. If you are up to do the work you can definitely create a good as new collector item from the hull you have.

There are a few restoration videos posted by others at You tube. I can also send you some links to other on line video.
 
i am all ears! any advice will be gladly taken.
from looking at the website, it would be nice to see how a perfect trailer fit for my new tinny!
any advise regarding the transom/support brackets? i cant seen any visible damage, but am always happy for suggestions.
can i purchase paint by the quart?
omg i have so many questions.
dino
 
duroboat said:
This is the Duroboat Factory.

You do have what looks like a solid boat there. It is probably nudging in to collector category. Not a big money thing but desirable as many older aluminum boats of all brands are now becoming part of boating lore. Your boat will function better than most with big water capability not typically found in light aluminum boats of that era. The no rivet no weld design gives you obvious structural advantages but there are many subtle derivative advantages in your boat that will show up in performance but also make it an easy and worthwhile restoration.

I have gone through your pictures.
Are you sure you have an 87? You have a boat that I would guess has a 1983 or 1984 serial number. last two digits of your HIN will tell you the year.
83 was Duroboats first year in Seattle. Your boat is I think exactly the design that came form Australia in 83.

You have the least sophisticated of transom supports that have evolved over the years. I thought your transom supports had been replaced by a heavy casting before 87. If I wanted to bullet proof your boat I would change it. If I wanted to preserve originality i would keep it but understand its pros and cons. My recomendation keep it unless they are damaged and i will tell you how to care for it so it is never an issue. It looks like this boat was used hard and has managed so far so you should be fine.

Your boat was built before the proliferation of 4 strokes so if you want to go with a heavy motor you will need to pay attention to a few things.

If you want to call the factory to discuss your restoration please do. We love to see the boats live on. Duroboats have not changed much over the years but there are some specific improvements that have been made that are not in your boat. Small improvements over time were all to mitigate different forms of abuse or respond to market issues. Your boat was darn close to perfect when built. if I tell you what you need to know to restore and then operate the boat properly your boat will perform every bit as well as a current boat. I will be able to walk you through every element of your boat so you can identify things to look for, potentially fix and then monitor over its life.

Your boat does not have floors. I don't know if it had them originally I might consider adding them. If you want to stay totally original don't put floors in but they do make life better so if you want function over purity floors are nice.

Once you have a plan for your boat you need to think trailers. You have the old knife blade style keel. It needs to be off that keel roller. Your trailer as it is will not be suitable for a restored boat particulary if you are going to use a 4 stroke or do serious trailering. You can maybe salvage it but a nice galavanized trailer, with bigger wheels, modern hubs and LED lights would be more worthy of your boat. The bad things that happen to aluminum boats often can be traced back to bad trailers or poor trailering practices.

ONE BIG CAUTION Your seats are installed with blind no access frasteners. If you decide to remove them for any reason be very careful. Use pentrating oil to loosen them. If you meet resistence from frozen nuts on the inside they could break and you will spin the screws and have a difficult situation. We now make those fasteners expoed to make Duroboats easier to work on.
There are over 400 pictures of Duroboats at our website. The FAQs may help you. You will see boats just like yours all over the world.

sorry this got so long but I am excited to see the boat get continued life and we want to help where we can.

Have fun. call if you want the advice. When you are done we can get you published on the Duroboat website and facebook pages.


=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

Very cool. I wish Lund would at least write me back about getting replacement Vinyl decals for my boat.
 
Dino,

Probaly best to just send all questions direct to duroboat at durobot com or you can call during central time Bus hours.

I don't want to wear out my welcome in a chat room they need to stay somewhat free of crass commercialism, so I will drop out of this particular string

If you are going to bring back the yellow I would just buy brand: Pettit Product: Easy Poxy Color: Sunflower Yellow. West marine and Port Supply and others have it.

If you want professional level paint write direct and I can get you color references but I think unless you have a pro set up and want to get into two part paint you will be fine with Pettit.


T Man I went through my decals but couldn't find any with the L word on them sorry.
 
T Man said:
duroboat said:
This is the Duroboat Factory.

You do have what looks like a solid boat there. It is probably nudging in to collector category. Not a big money thing but desirable as many older aluminum boats of all brands are now becoming part of boating lore. Your boat will function better than most with big water capability not typically found in light aluminum boats of that era. The no rivet no weld design gives you obvious structural advantages but there are many subtle derivative advantages in your boat that will show up in performance but also make it an easy and worthwhile restoration.

I have gone through your pictures.
Are you sure you have an 87? You have a boat that I would guess has a 1983 or 1984 serial number. last two digits of your HIN will tell you the year.
83 was Duroboats first year in Seattle. Your boat is I think exactly the design that came form Australia in 83.

You have the least sophisticated of transom supports that have evolved over the years. I thought your transom supports had been replaced by a heavy casting before 87. If I wanted to bullet proof your boat I would change it. If I wanted to preserve originality i would keep it but understand its pros and cons. My recomendation keep it unless they are damaged and i will tell you how to care for it so it is never an issue. It looks like this boat was used hard and has managed so far so you should be fine.

Your boat was built before the proliferation of 4 strokes so if you want to go with a heavy motor you will need to pay attention to a few things.

If you want to call the factory to discuss your restoration please do. We love to see the boats live on. Duroboats have not changed much over the years but there are some specific improvements that have been made that are not in your boat. Small improvements over time were all to mitigate different forms of abuse or respond to market issues. Your boat was darn close to perfect when built. if I tell you what you need to know to restore and then operate the boat properly your boat will perform every bit as well as a current boat. I will be able to walk you through every element of your boat so you can identify things to look for, potentially fix and then monitor over its life.

Your boat does not have floors. I don't know if it had them originally I might consider adding them. If you want to stay totally original don't put floors in but they do make life better so if you want function over purity floors are nice.

Once you have a plan for your boat you need to think trailers. You have the old knife blade style keel. It needs to be off that keel roller. Your trailer as it is will not be suitable for a restored boat particulary if you are going to use a 4 stroke or do serious trailering. You can maybe salvage it but a nice galavanized trailer, with bigger wheels, modern hubs and LED lights would be more worthy of your boat. The bad things that happen to aluminum boats often can be traced back to bad trailers or poor trailering practices.

ONE BIG CAUTION Your seats are installed with blind no access frasteners. If you decide to remove them for any reason be very careful. Use pentrating oil to loosen them. If you meet resistence from frozen nuts on the inside they could break and you will spin the screws and have a difficult situation. We now make those fasteners expoed to make Duroboats easier to work on.
There are over 400 pictures of Duroboats at our website. The FAQs may help you. You will see boats just like yours all over the world.

sorry this got so long but I am excited to see the boat get continued life and we want to help where we can.

Have fun. call if you want the advice. When you are done we can get you published on the Duroboat website and facebook pages.


=D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

Very cool. I wish Lund would at least write me back about getting replacement Vinyl decals for my boat.

tman,
i dont think i have ever had such service. buddies own so many different brands, from Boulton, North River, right down to the klamaths, valco, western, gregor, etc and it seems to me that the duroboat company is absolutely amazing!

do now i gotta get one of the motors in the garage running so i can test out the newly aquired tinny! woo hoo. after i take off the bow brace :)
dino
 
been a while since i worked on the boat. i gave her a bath and adjusted the trailer. took off the bow roller and raised the bow roller. i bought a 72 johnson 20 hp the hang off the back and put a 25 hp carb on the 20, so i really have a 25 now :) the nice thing is the 72 series weighs pretty close to the 9.9/15 series but more torque.
heres a vid
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5_RQaHvx4Q[/youtube]
dont know if the embed worked. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5_RQaHvx4Q
dino
 
I see this is a very old thread but its right in line with my project. I have a 2010 12' Duroboat that's been on our San Juan Islands beach for 15 years I guess. Its heavy and few would haul it up and down the beach, so I brought it home and going to do a restoration.. The owner of Duroboats answered one of my questions last week and Im saving some questions so as not to bother him to much..... yet.
I have given the outside bottom an acid wash and its in great shape, now I want to do the same inside. I cant figure out how to remove the seats, did this project get completed and did dkonrai ever load more pictures? I will start uploading mine if this is the correct location to do so or maybe I start a new thread?
Thanks in advance
 

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