I had a 17ft DUO tunnel hull

[Banana Boat]

Hey Carter.im glad you posted this message.i always wanted to know more about these boats. When i was 16..about 12 yrs ago i think...i bought a 1971 DUO Mystry (they didnt spell it mystery) 17 ft tunnel hull from a recently divorced wife..i bought it for 1000.00 .poor ex husband.lol.it had a 1981 140 hp merc and a recent transom (it was rated for 160 or 165) it was yellow with
black vinyl on the bow
...it had a 21" aluminum prop.no nose cone..it went about 50-60..no measuring devises back then.lol..what a boat for a 16 yr old kid..i had it on the ocean.VERY DANGEROUS..the bow would occasionally go under water in a following sea....one time i was out on a busy Boston harbor saturday..a 40 something foot sportfishing boat went by and against my better judgement i tried to jump the wake..well the whole boat went under water instead of jumping the wave...the bow opened up like a mouth..the hull and deck had seperated at the rubrail...the water force coming through the "mouth" blew the guages out of the dash(they werent connected to anything)..one ended up in the motorwell...the boat was swamped but we got it home..and i fixed it.the best a 16yr old kid could do....anyway..it was missing some rubrail parts..i later found an orange Starcraft tunnel in a boat yard..kinda abandoned no motor.and took some rubrail stuff of of it...i have seen 2 other Duos in our local"want ad" throught the years..one was around when i had mine.and one i see in there once every coupleof years..it may be mine the guy said he was going to restore it and put a v-6 on it ..so thats 3 that i know about ...did your floor flex over waves?.or was mine rotted? and more info on yours?.what have you had for power on it throught the years?.any old picures?.thanks..

[Banana Boat]

oops hit the wrong key.meant to post a responce to carters thread on starcraft/duo tunnels

[Carter Powell]

Yes the Duo and the Starcraft came from the same molds. If your floor was flexing it was probably rotted. The original floor was made from 3/8" plywood laid over one inch stringers. I haven't had this boat in the water since 1980 so it will be a whole new experience once again. This restoration that has taken me 2.5 years was way overdone but I think that when the pictures are finally posted (about two more months) it will show to the extent it has reached. The deck was removed and the hull totally striped to bare glass. New floor stringers were laid into the bottom the full length of the hull. The transom was totally replaced and then the hull was then glassed back together with epoxy and glass. The engine is a 2.4 Merc bridgeport. Most people will say this hull is grossly overpowered but a lot of that depends on who is operating the vessell. I will try and answer any questions about your old Duo that I can for you. I have probably forgotten more about this hull than most people.

Best wishes, Carter Powell

[STVRacing]

hey banana,
my da has one painted chakita Yellow with a slighty modified 2.4 Merc it has sailed well over a 100 many times in the past 14 years that he has owned it its a great boat but it can get hairy real quick

[STVRacing]

call my dad after 8 pm and he will tell you some real crazy stories 718-982-5081 his name is Steve we go up to Maine quite ofter maybe we can get together some time Steve Jr.