So, I got this itch a while back, thinking about those old World War 2 duck boats. You know, the DUKW things? Saw one in a documentary, maybe, or read something, and just got curious. Could a regular guy even find one of these for sale these days? Figured I’d poke around online and see what popped up. Just a little side project, you know, see where it led.
First off, I just typed the obvious into the search bar: world war 2 duck boats for sale. Right away, tons of pictures and links came up, but hold on… most of ’em were for the tourist rides. Brightly colored things, taking folks around cities and splashing into the water. Okay, cool, but not the gritty, historical machines I was picturing. It felt like looking for a specific old hammer and finding a bunch of toy tool kits.
Realized pretty quick I needed to be more specific. Started using terms like DUKW for sale, military amphibious vehicle, that sort of thing. That narrowed it down a bit. Started seeing results pointing towards military surplus sites, some auction listings, and even forum discussions where folks talked about restoring them. It wasn’t exactly like finding a used car, that’s for sure. These things are niche.
Digging Deeper
Okay, so now I was getting somewhere, kinda. Found a few websites dedicated to military vehicles, like actual marketplaces or collector sites. This is where things got interesting, and honestly, a bit intimidating.
- Some listings were super old, probably long gone.
- Others were just pictures with maybe a vague “contact for price”.
- A few looked like total rust buckets, projects that would take years and a boatload of cash.
- Then you’d see a fully restored one, looking amazing, but you just knew the price would be astronomical.
Tried joining a forum or two where military vehicle collectors hang out. Put out some feelers, asked if anyone knew of DUKWs changing hands. Got some friendly replies, mostly folks sharing stories about how tough they are to maintain, find parts for, and how much work goes into keeping one running. Didn’t get any solid leads on one actively for sale right then, but learned a lot. Seems like these things trade hands more through word-of-mouth in those circles than public listings.
The sheer scale of these machines also hit me. Looking at photos and specs, thinking about where you’d even put one, let alone work on it. It’s not like parking an old Jeep in your garage. This is a whole different level.
The Reality Check
After a few weeks of off-and-on searching, checking listings, and reading forum posts, the reality kinda set in. Finding an actual, operational (or even restorable) WW2 DUKW isn’t a casual weekend search. It takes serious dedication, connections in that specific community, and most likely, a very healthy bank account. The ones that pop up publicly seem to be either major restoration projects or museum-quality pieces with prices to match.
So, did I find my WW2 duck boat? Nope. Not even close to actually buying one. But the whole process was fascinating. Went from simple curiosity to understanding just how rare and complex owning a piece of history like that really is. It was a fun rabbit hole to go down, even if I came up empty-handed on the actual boat. Maybe I’ll stick to looking for old Jeeps instead!
