As President, head boat designer, and head salesman of Demaree Inflatable Boats, Dave draws on a reservoir of experience and skills that he has accumulated from his diverse background. His experience with canoeing dates back to 1956, where he first learned the joys of paddling an open canoe at a Boy Scout camp in Indiana. Later, as a teenager growing up in Maryland, Dave transitioned from lakes to paddling some of the toughest whitewater streams in the eastern United States. In 1970, he took the first of what was to become many trips down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

For six years, Dave worked as an engineering technician at Aberdeen Proving Ground, a federal testing ground for military vehicles and weapons. He learned a great deal about testing procedures and quality control while evaluating the battle-worthiness of tanks and artillery under the guidance of a senior engineer.

In 1973, Dave began a three-year stint as manager of Wilderness Voyageurs Outfitters in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania. As manager, Dave got his “feet wet” in the outdoor recreational industry by selling canoes, kayaks, camping equipment, and related gear to outdoor enthusiasts. When needed, he also worked both as a whitewater raft guide and a canoe instructor on the Youghiogheny River.

For many years, Dave competed in both whitewater slalom and downriver canoe racing. In 1978, Dave teamed up with Payson Kennedy, founder of the Nantahala Outdoor Center, to win the National Two-man Open Canoe Slalom Championships.

Since Wilderness Voyageurs was a distributor for Rubber Fabricators, a manufacturer of inflatable military and whitewater boats, Dave began selling boats to commercial whitewater outfitters. During that time, Dave became convinced of the superior durability of vulcanized neoprene boats over the “cold lay-up” models produced by most other manufacturers.

In 1976, one year after B.F. Goodrich bought out Rubber Fabricators, Dave accepted the position as national sales representative for Rubber Crafters, Inc., (RCI) a Grantsville, W.V, based manufacturer of inflatable boats. Rubber Crafters was established by former executives from Rubber Fabricators. Dave took this opportunity to learn all that he could about the design and production of commercial grade inflatable boats, waterproof bags, and other items. During this time, Dave traveled the country and established relationships with many of the top commercial whitewater outfitters.

After a few years, Dave was selling boats faster than RCI could produce them. The company was making a major expansion into the military boat market and therefore could not keep up with Dave’s growing sales in the commercial whitewater area.

In 1982, Dave took a huge step by teaming with his older brother Chuck to establish Demaree Inflatable Boats (dib) in Friendsville, Maryland. In 1983, their younger brother Dan Demaree joined dib as the first quality control manager. For a few years, the Demaree brothers had the rare opportunity to build the company together, but eventually, Chuck and Dan each left to pursue other interests.

From that point on, Dave and Mimi Demaree have spearheaded the growth of Demaree Inflatable Boats together, and have expanded the company’s presence into the commercial workboat and military boat markets, while maintaining a strong presence in the commercial rafting industry.

Dave is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on the history and manufacturing processes of inflatable boats. He has designed and built boats and accessories that are in use by companies all over the world. To illustrate his history in the industry, Dave has attended every national show of America Outdoors since it formed in 1990. He has also attended every national show of the two organizations that combined to form America Outdoors, namely: Eastern Professional River Outfitters Association (EPRO), and the Western River Guides Association (WRGA), since October 1976.

Although he isn’t coaxed to the podium very often, Dave is an entertaining speaker who can talk with authority on topics such as:

• The History of Commercial River Running in the Eastern United States
• Five Key Elements of Custom Boat Design
• Matching Tubes to Frames: Effective Design of Naval Warfare RHIBS
• CSM, Neoprene, Urethane, or PVC: Picking the Right Material for Your Industrial or Military Application

So what does Dave do in his free time? You guessed it. Each summer, Dave guides a raft for one of several commercial outfitters down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Hey. What were you expecting… ice hockey?