Our Dargel Heritage

It was 1933 when Mr. Russell Dargel, Sr. built his first wooden boat that he used personally to fish the Lower Laguna Madre, when his neighbor purchased it he built another and as the trend continued he soon realized that there was enough demand for quality built fishing boats that he and his father phased out of farming. In 1937 started Russell Dargel, Sr. started Dargel Boats on the very land his family had farmed for years in Donna, Texas.  In the late 1970’s Russell's son, Rusty joined the business and worked a dealer network up the Texas Coast. 

In December of 2006 Rusty retired and Cleve and Miriam (Russell’s great-niece) took over the helm. 

Cleve and Miriam Ford are raising their family to embrace the sport of fishing and under their vision, Dargel has not only improved the fit and finish of the existing Skout and Skooter lines, but also expanded the model line to include the revolutionary Kat and Kuda hull designs.  Our boats have evolved through research and development to have, what we feel, is the most fuel efficient, smooth and stable ride available in a shallow water boat. The wide beam and Hydrolift tunnel design of our Skout and Skooter Series offers access to fishing spots our competition can only dream of. The Dargel Kat has been called one of the most innovative boat designs this century, one of the smoothest, driest, and shallowest riding catamarans on the market make it one of the most versatile boat on the water with the ability to fish the shallowest flats, cross the roughest bays, and head offshore all from the same boat. The all new Dargel Kuda*, offers a fast, dry and smooth ride through rougher bays through out the Gulf Coast.  

At Dargel Boats, their new era of boats are packaged with more standard features than other boat manufacturers to insure that their customers, get the most bang for their hard earned buck.  And beyond these standard packages, Dargel Boats offers a wide variety of options, colors and upgrades to create their customers' dream boat.  

"We're fishermen so we know what an angler needs to maximize time fishing and minimize hassle, so that's how we sell our boats." - Cleve Ford

Dargel boats are serious fishing machines for serious anglers that want to easily get in and out of extremely shallow water without damaging important sea grasses or vital habit.