When you see a lifeguard boat on the beaches this summer, you’ll know to respect them. They may be saving someone’s life.
John and Sam VanDuyne, born and raised in Ventnor NJ were the original boat builders, a business that came in a roundabout way. In the 1950’s, they spent much of their time as duck hunters. They used to go out on the back bays to hunt for ducks on boats made out of cedarwood. It wasn’t long before the idea of coming home with wet bottoms from the leaky cedarwood became a problem that they’d soon find a solution for. John and Sam set out to make a new boat that would keep their bottoms dry while they enjoyed the sport of duck hunting. Fiberglass was a new material on the market at that time and seemed like the perfect material to keep them dry. They coated their first duck hunting boat in fiberglass and were amazed at the results. One boat led to another and soon they were making boats out of fiberglass entirely.
After seeing the benefits of fiberglass boats for hunting, John and Sam thought that the fiberglass material would prove applicable to lifeguard boats. At that time, wooden boats were being made in Atlantic CIty for the lifeguards, but the Van Duyne team knew that it could be improved. They had a mold made of the Seabright Skiff, the wooden lifeguard boat, and they instead cast it in fiberglass. The boats looked wooden but the functionality was so much better than wood.
John and Sam Van Duyne tried and failed for some time to get their new and improved design in the hands of local beach patrol. Lifeguards were superstitious and traditional so getting them to try something new, like a brand new boat, proved to be a challenge. For John and Sam though, this was a challenge that they were determined to overcome, as they knew that their design would greatly improve the quality of local beach patrol.
It took years before a beach patrol was willing to try the Van Duyne design but after legendary lifeguard, Bill Howarth Sr. gave it a thumbs up, the Seaside Heights Beach Patrol gave the boats a fair shot.
Since then, Van Duyne boats have become a standard for local beach patrol. The Van Duyne family is still the only family in South Jersey that makes the boats suitable for local lifeguards. There have been several new companies that have tried to compete but the strict standards and specifications set by the coast guard make it hard to compete with the legacy that the Van Duyne family has built. They pride themselves on the fact that their boats are created for rescue.
In 1997, John passed away and Sam had retired and moved to the South. John’s son, Tom Van Duyne took over the family business and continues to operate with the same family principles and quality standards that his dad and uncle started with. A dozen or so boats are made every year by the Van Duyne family and these boats are the number one name for South Jersey Beach patrol.
The next time you see a lifeguard boat on the beach, thank the Van Duyne family for providing quality safety for over 60 years.
