Quality boats for recreation or hardcore fishing, Apex Marine has
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE By Qwest Pontoons
Mark Dupuie probably never thought that playing softball in a local tavern league could lead to owning three brands of boats right here in Michigan. Apex Marine proudly offers Qwest, Angler Qwest, and Polar Kraft brands being built in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that now covers 120,000 square feet. 58 | walstrom.com
Softball player Mark Dupuie really ended up swinging for the fence. “I had been working at Playbuoy Pontoons (currently known as Avalon/Tahoe brands) since 1984,” Dupuie said. “I come from an accounting background and worked in several capacities but ended up as the director of sales. I played softball with a guy, and he asked me to come take a look at a new concept he had in pontoon boats.” Dupuie arrived at the barn of Doug Mellinger, a man known locally as one of the best welders in the area. “These were small, six- and sevenfoot-wide pontoon boats that Doug called the Gillgetter series,” he said. “As a favor, I brought dealers I knew to Doug’s facility, and nearly every one of them ordered Gillgetters.” Dupuie ended up buying the small brand in 2003 with yearly sales of the pontoons at about 230 units. Today, they move around 3,500, but the success of the
Gillgetter was just scratching the surface of the growing company. Even though the Gillgetter was small, he loved how stable they were, and how much room that had to offer compared to deep V’s and flat bottoms of the same length. He knew that the market for a “mini” pontoon was finite. So, after a lot of R&D, late nights and endless pots of coffee, Dupuie brought Qwest Pontoon Boats to life in 2005. He wanted something that wasn’t already on the market. “I wanted stability and the tritoons proved awesome for that in rough water,” he said. “But I wanted something that an entire family could enjoy, even with a couple friends, and if they wanted to fish or simply cruise they all could be happy.” Mission accomplished, and with class to boot. The Qwest line was not developed to be entry level. It might even be considered a rig that someone “moves up” to after
