has any out there in internet land ever fished out of one preferbly around 16 ft. are they pretty sea worthy to an exstent. pretty good priced also. just wondering been looking at them. pretty nice boats for my kind of fishing. just wodering if theres any down sides to them. tight lines Ben

I owned a 15' Duroboat with a walk through for a couple of years. They are a wet ride and you have to dress properly if you venture into rough water......having said that, those babies are really tough. I finally got rid of it because I had the habit of getting into really rough water and I needed a bigger boat to keep from getting killed. Nevertheless, it was me and my fishing partner that couldn't take the rough water.....not the Duroboat, it was verrry seaworthy. The guys that had to ride in the front seat would complain a lot about the hard ride. Overall a good boat for the price.

my uncle has a 14 footer, wich he bought a year or two after they started making them (not sure how old it is) ... he's been very happy with it. i've fished out of it many times. It has been an excellent boat, very tough and very seaworthy (for a 14 footer). in my humble opinion they are a great boat for the money.

A good friend of mine bought one last year, 15 ft with a 15 hp. He fishes Southworth, Pt. Defiance, Hood Canal, Columbia river, Wind river with no problems. Takes pretty good water. The only complaint he has had, was when he put his downriggers on a gunnel mount, the side of the boat really flexed under the weight of the ball. He wound up making a mount that bolts to the floor and goes up to the gunnel that provides a platform for the downrigger that takes some of the weight of the side of the boat.

When I sold my 14' Lund, I looked at Duroboats and bigger Lunds. I went with a Smokercraft Alaskan. The lunds were not as wide or deep as the SC and after a weekend trip with my buddies Duroboat I made up my mind on the SC. The Duroboat does give a wetter ride overall. My SC is plenty tough, 5yrs of hard fishing in all sorts of waters,it has proven to be very seaworthy and stable. Another buddie has a SC and it is starting to leak a little at some of the rivets at the bottom. His is a 1985 and has never seen fresh water,all he fishes is the sound. Thats pretty good service for a non-welded alum. boat that sees alot of pretty choppy water.

Never been in a Duroboat but I have to weigh in with the Smokercraft - I have a 15 Alaskan and am real happy with it - rides good, light to haul, gets up on the step quick and goes fast, and doesn't seem to take on much water over the bow if you use your head in rough chop. I mounted my downrigers on the brace that connects the side of the boat with the seats at a 45 degree angle - did this so that I wouldn't have to lean over the side to retrieve the booger ball - and with a stainless steel backing plate this setup is rigid and works great. Also SC has a LIFETIME WARRANTY against leakage - if you don't hit something that causes a leak they will repair or replace your boat at your option. And they really do this - I had a 12 foot Alaskan Lite at one time that developed leaks - I took it down to the factory in Stayton and traded it for a 15 and they gave me full MSR value for it - which was more than I paid for it! Impressed the hell out of me. Finally, compared to welded boats these things are cheap. SC all the way is my $0.02

Spawnout,
Glad to hear your input about the lifetime wartranty on the seams. I just bought a 15' Smokercraft Tracer with a 25 4 stroke Yami back in March. One of the big selling points was the lifetime warranty against leakage on the seams. So it gives me peace of mind about their warranty hearing that you had no problems with that warranty. I love the boat! The tracer is built on the Lodge Hull with an open floor plan and a walk through windshield. It's a nice deep, wide stable boat, lots of room, had the dealer put on downrigger platforms andwired for running lights. I'd say for your money you'd be hard pressed to get a better boat value than a Smokercraft.

I know where you can get a nice used Duro boat and motor for a reasonable price. Let me know if you are intersted I believe it is 14 feet.

Ben,

Saw an ad today in the Daily Olympian: '89 14' Dura Boad; EZ Load galvanized trailer; 15HP Merc; 25 lb thrust elec. motor; full canvas; fish finder; cover: $2500.
Number is 491-5566

Don't know if this is a good deal or not, but I thought I'd throw it out for you.

Tight lines,

Drew

ROCKFISH-I have a 16' Duro with a 40HP Yamaha and it is great boat. I looked at every aluminum boat made for over a year and bought this one used. It is sturdy-fishes 3 people easily- and easy to haul and handle by myself. I have not found it to give a wet ride. This is my first post-I feel strong enough about the boat to take time and effort to register. Hope this is useful.

hey all thanks for the replies, was very busy so I couldn't reply sooner. been working side jobs so I can have a phat down payment on a 16 ft.

never have a retard help you tear off a roof. thay have a tendencie to fall thru to the living room. got to go patch a cieling and aplogize about my retarded friend for falling thru the roof on there leather recliner. tight lines Ben