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Is this a Dragonfly 15' Airboat?

M

Mid-Atlantic Marine

Member
IMG_5043a.JPGI am a marine surveyor trying to identify this airboat. The HIN number indicates the hull was manufactured by a company called Pemberton, but the owner tells me it was made by a company called Dragonfly. I've done a little research, but a fellow marine surveyor down in Stuart Florida referred me to this sight.... said you boys would 'know it all', could maybe save me some time and could school me a bit. I would sure appreciate it! I'm a old salty fishermen from the coast and I dont know much about these airboats. They sure are cool tho! Anyways...help me learn a few things if ya got a moment! What can ya tell me about this boat?
The only identifying marks on the engine are ECOTECH VVT.....4 cylinder. I guess it puts out about 200 HP from what I gather online. No identifying marks on the gears / drive.....(is that what you call it on an airboat)? The case of the gears is all aluminum, looks expensive like its off an airplane or somethin'... Props are three blade made by a company called Senenich.

I am gona continue researching here on this sight but if you could help me along the way with any info on it, the builder, engine gears etc, well, I'd be happy to buy ya a beer someday!

Thanks!
 
I believe Pemberton and Dragonfly used to be the same, the hull certainly looks like a Dragonfly. Confirm there is NO Turbo on the engine. Upload some pics of the gear box and look for a gear ratio, probably 2.37.
 
Thanks appreciate the reply! Learned quite a bit about these boats on this sight! Couldnt find any markings that I could see on the gear box, but I got a could good pics of it and have attached it... No turbo.....seems maybe a bit under-powered compared to other 15 footers I've seen on this site, and the owners captain told me the boat had a hard time getting outa its own wayIMG_4962.JPG
 
So Pemberton used to be off US41 in Floral City, Florida. They are no longer in business having sold out to a fellow named Wayne back a few years ago. Since then I think they are closed up. They didn’t make hulls but would assemble boats form components much like Airboat Pros did.
They were known sell some DragonFly boats.

I had seen a larger DragonFly posted for sale. This one was a little larger than the others and went to a government entity as a mosquito or some type of county owned service boat. They didn’t keep it long and sold it at auction after putting only a few hours on it. I heard from someone who ran it that it was a pig and way underpowered. This may be the one you’re dealing with. If they would have gone the turbo route with added boost and some high tech tricks it would have been a cool ride.

The FireFlys that ran good and were popular had either a Suburu or Suzuki engine and were like 10ft. Sort of like a larger version of a mini.

Look on YouTube the Pemberton's had a video of one running posted on there.

If your MIC Code is PEM it is not a Florida boat it was an outfit out of Utah that was building the Dragon Fly. They were the actual builders of the hulls and most boats titled are their builds if recall correctly.

If the MIC code is TAZ it’s a Floral City, Florida build.
 
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SWAMPHUNTER45 said:
So Pemberton used to be off US41 in Floral City, Florida. They are no longer in business having sold out to a fellow named Wayne back a few years ago. Since then I think they are closed up. They didn’t make hulls but would assemble boats form components much like Airboat Pros did.
They were known sell some DragonFly boats.

I had seen a larger DragonFly posted for sale. This one was a little larger than the others and went to a government entity as a mosquito or some type of county owned service boat. They didn’t keep it long and sold it at auction after putting only a few hours on it. I heard from someone who ran it that it was a pig and way underpowered. This may be the one you’re dealing with. If they would have gone the turbo route with added boost and some high tech tricks it would have been a cool ride.

The FireFlys that ran good and were popular had either a Suburu or Suzuki engine and were like 10ft. Sort of like a larger version of a mini.

Look on YouTube the Pemberton's had a video of one running posted on there.

If your MIC Code is PEM it is not a Florida boat it was an outfit out of Utah that was building the Dragon Fly. They were the actual builders of the hulls and most boats titled are their builds if recall correctly.

If the MIC code is TAZ it’s a Floral City, Florida build.
Click to expand...
Yup its got a Pemberton HIN number. That info. was really helpful so thank you! Im gona do a quick search on a previous address for the Utah outfit to include in the report. If you have that handy it would be helpful.

Thanks again this has been a fun research project for sure! Learned alot here, and I appreciate your knowledge!
 
I did some more local asking around and have gotten mixed info on if the Florida boys ever actually produced hulls. They wanted to but I personally never saw them with a mold. I know they had hulls for sale but who dad the laying up can’t say for sure. Late in the game they were displaying “Salty Cracker” hulls. They are a sort of Laser hull type hull. Regardless your MIC is Utah and that group is still in business.

In my opinion they were are are the parent of FireFly. They are in West Jordan from what I read.

7956 S. 1530 West, Jordan, UT 84088

Glad to help
 
Sad WhiteBear and Chuck are both gone !

Don’t think they ever got going with it down here SG. Chuck at AirBoat-Pro was the mini king. He had Marty Bray build trick little RiverMaster hulls for him. There is one out there with a Harley Davidson engine. It shows up for sale once in a while online.

The DragonFly boats I saw in Floral City showed up around 2015 and were not lawn mower rigs or EcoT they had a Suzuki or Suburu late model EFI engine with a gear box. Those were cool little rigs. There were 2-3 built and set out for sale never saw another one after that and I was past the shop every day.
 
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