Dura Craft

[moevus]

This Dura Craft is I think 16' the owner can't tell me much they are old and just don't know, owner says early 70's with 80's 50hpm Johnson.
Only 2 pictures given and hour away....wish people knew what they have when selling. Anyway only asking $1500.
All I can find is on iboats that Dura Craft made a Stick steer starting in 1979. I've seen lots of Trackers and newer Dura craft with flat bottom or Mod V, but none with a V hull like this. Thoughts?

 

[Boosh]

Know nothing about the brand, but that hull looks clean

 

[mbullen]

This Dura Craft is I think 16' the owner can't tell me much they are old and just don't know, owner says early 70's with 80's 50hpm Johnson.
Only 2 pictures given and hour away....wish people knew what they have when selling. Anyway only asking $1500.
All I can find is on iboats that Dura Craft made a Stick steer starting in 1979. I've seen lots of Trackers and newer Dura craft with flat bottom or Mod V, but none with a V hull like this. Thoughts?

Duracraft is one of the grandfather aluminum boat companies beginning business immediately after WW2.
It is still a family run business now known as War Eagle.

Vintage Duracraft, however, is famously hard to date, though. They used a serial system that numbered boats sequentially off the line. Every model and every year just carried on the sequential numbers. No hidden codes to uncover and no records to reference. One basically has to treasure hunt old brochures for features and just guess or compare your serial to someone else's known boat with good paperwork.

That only applies up to 1972, though. After which, the federal HIN system was in play and info can be gleaned off of the mandatory HIN plate found on the outside starboard transom.

http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/index.php?title=Duracraft

 

[moevus]

Thank you, should the title show the year?

 

[mbullen]

Thank you, should the title show the year?

Typically, yes.
...also typically, vintage paperwork is rarely correct. lol
Doesn't really matter as long as you get it registered, though.

 

[airshot]

If the motor runs well, it would be a bargain in my area !

 

[oilsmoke]

That's the first one of those I've seen since my neighbor had one about 20 years ago.
My neighbor bought it as an abandoned boat that had sat at a marina long after they closed up in the 80's. It had sat for over 20 years when he got it.
It was complete with a 1972 Johnson 40hp on it with stick steer via a cable and pulley system. The floors were simulated wood planking, sort of like linoleum, over plywood with polystyrene pellets for flotation. It had two pedestal seats, both were older Pomanette arm chairs on aluminum pedestals.
I'm pretty sure the tag said it was built in South Carolina.
I got the impression that the Dura Craft boats like this were a different company from what we see now. The title he had called it a 1971 15ft Dura Craft, it was a bit narrower than most modern boats that size, but it was fast and stable due to the semi-trihull shape. I'm pretty sure it had a 25hp max rating on the plate but it came with a 40hp and he had me get the old 40 going and he ran that for years.
He sold the boat after about 10 years or so but kept the motor, it took five years to sell after he had bought a newer, larger boat. I ended up with the 40hp and still have it down in my basement. It was a good runner so I kept it.
It took him forever to sell, he had it listed for $750 but got no takers, he finally sold the trailer separate, then the newer seats, then finally someone bought the boat. I believe the buyer came from Indiana and took it home in the back of a pickup truck with most of the boat hanging of the back of the tailgate. The motor never sold, he had $400 on it with a tank but had no takers so when he moved he gave it to me, along with the original seats and pedestals. I think the seats are still here too.

I had fished with him in that boat quite a bit, and in hindsight I should have just bought it myself and kept it. It was fast, stable and perfect for river and back bay fishing. It handled like it was on rails because the shape of the trihull continued to the stern as well.

Here's the only pic I have of it, this was the day he dragged first brought it home.
(The carpet padding was what substituted for the missing trailer bunks for the ride home).