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View Full Version : 16' Durocraft Aluminum


arkansasbasser
11-21-2008, 09:59 PM
I ran across this boat today for sale in a guys yard. The boat is in good condition except for one little thing. A buddy of his had hung this boat up from the rafters in his garage, for some unknown reason, and the the boat developed a split seam down the very center of the boat bottom from hanging unsupported by it's edges. This is the only seam on the boat except for the transom join. It looks to me like all it would take is a good acid cleaning of the seam and welding. This would require the seats and internal tube braces be removed first. They are all mounted with stainless hardware. No rivets on the hull anywhere.

The boat comes with a galvanized trailor that needs new tires and wheels, a winch and roller at the winch to park the boat nose against. It has 4 sets of rollers that the boat rests on. The axle and springs are rusted badly from being at the coast but he claims the boat has never been in saltwater. He stated that this is not the trailer that came with the boat. It has bearing buddies.

Other than that, the boat has no dents or other problems that I could see and looks good. It is rated for 50hp, has a live well in the middle bench seat and 2 very strong transom braces. Also has has brackets for boat seats. It's very deep and wide. It has a coating on the interior that looks like spackled drywall. Looks good.

He states that he paid $3700.00 for it 12 years ago. I went to Duroboat's website and one like it is over $4000.00, no trailor. The price is $500.00 for boat and trailor. I need opinions on what I might run into getting it right. It doesn't seem that I could hardly go wrong. I have a friend that said he would do the weld for me. I think I could get more than that for aluminum scrap. Thoughts???

jaxflyfish
11-22-2008, 01:44 AM
do it...years ago i bought an aluminum drift boat for 400, it had a seam that was leaking pretty badly. I had it welded for about 80 bucks and it never had a problem again.

I don't see how you could go wrong

tomictime
11-22-2008, 06:09 PM
call duroboat and ask them
i had a 15' duro, they were great to work with.
you may have trouble w welding that thin of stock w some work hardening having taken place. my $.02

Tinman
11-22-2008, 07:52 PM
As I understand it, Duroboats do not have welded seams. You might want to find out what kind of joint it is before you take it on. $500 sounds like a pretty good deal though. My neighbor has the same boat, and it works fine with a 25 hp 2 stroke.

arkansasbasser
11-23-2008, 06:24 AM
As I understand it, Duroboats do not have welded seams. You might want to find out what kind of joint it is before you take it on. $500 sounds like a pretty good deal though. My neighbor has the same boat, and it works fine with a 25 hp 2 stroke.The seam did not look welded to me. I don't know how it was joined though, because it was definately a seam down the middle of some sort. Thanks, I will call them. Bill

tomictime
11-23-2008, 10:24 AM
the keel has no seam, brake formed, one pc bottom on a Duro. the sides are joined w proprietary bonding and extrusion, bonding = adhesive.

The seam did not look welded to me. I don't know how it was joined though, because it was definately a seam down the middle of some sort. Thanks, I will call them. Bill

Trick
11-23-2008, 12:20 PM
I've had a 14' Duroboat for years and I've beaten the tar out of it. Not a single dribble out of it.

There are no welds or rivets. I don't know how you would fix a split seam because of the design other then welding. Seems like a weld repair might be a major weak link in the future?

$500 bucks might be worth the gamble.

Excellent boats from my experience and from other reviews.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.