From military roots, how duck boats grew into parade fixture

Since then, the amphibious vehicles — also known for ferrying visitors on popular sightseeing tours — have become synonymous with championships during Boston’s enviable string of sports successes this century: 13 so far.

“This is a uniquely Boston thing,” said Richard Johnson, curator of the Sports Museum at TD Garden, which celebrates the history and character of Boston sports. “The fans have always voiced vocal and public support. … This is just the most recent manifestation of that. It’s a nice thing. You know, it’s a real community thing.”

Johnson cited some moments that he said cemented the boats’ iconic status in Boston sports: Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy buying the duck boat he rode on during the team’s 2013 victory parade for $75,000; Celtics coach Doc Rivers taking the 2007-08 team on a duck tour months before they would bring home the team’s 17th championship.

Meandering past Boston Common and through the Back Bay is a far cry from the boats’ original purpose: carrying soldiers over land and water during World War II, most notably onto the beaches of Normandy during D-Day, according to Original Wisconsin Ducks, which started offering the nation’s first duck tours in 1946.

Even their name is a bit of a misnomer, or at least a colloquialism. “DUKW” was the manufacturer’s code for the model, according to the National Transportation Safety Board: D represented model year 1942, U the utility body shape, K stood for all-wheel drive, and W meant dual rear axles.

“The uniqueness of the vehicle, and the history of our ties to World War II, and how they were used in the fight for freedom, it all just tells a beautiful story,” said Cindy Brown, chief executive of Boston Duck Tours.

Boston Duck Tours began in October 1994 with 15 employees and a fleet of four vehicles. Today, the company boasts 28 of the amphibious vehicles, sporting Boston-centric names “Commonwealth Curley,” “Longfellow Bridget,” and “Symphony Hal.”

Brown said the company initially used original World War II boats, but the fleet was replaced with “replica DUKW” boats specially designed for sightseeing about 15 years ago, as the aging vessels became harder to maintain.

The boats, 28 in total, are kept in a Dorchester garage, where a crew of 25 mechanics, detailers, and managers oversee daily maintenance and annual overhauls, Brown said. She said she hopes to keep the current fleet alive for several decades, but the company is also looking into electric-powered replacements for when the time comes.

On Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the victory parade, a red duck boat named “Beantown Betty” brought tourists around Back Bay and other parts of the city. After starting at the Prudential Center, it chugged over the Harvard Bridge, through Cambridge, and past the Museum of Science before dipping into the Charles, where young passengers were shuffled to the front to take turns driving the boat.

Matt Breen, who shifts into his character “Max Marshall Arch” during the four to six duck tours he narrates each day, bantered with riders throughout the 80-minute tour. Along the way, he pointed out landmarks from Fenway’s Citgo sign to the Zakim Bridge, as well as other, less touristy spots, such as the Suffolk County Jail and New York Pizza on Tremont Street — interspersed with jokes and fun facts.

“We try to keep it to about 75 percent history, 25 percent comedy,” said Breen, who dabbled in stand-up comedy before starting with Boston Duck Tours in 2016.

While they hold a special place in Boston’s landscape, duck boat tours can be found in a handful of other places, including the Wisconsin Dells, Chattanooga, Tenn., and San Diego.

There have been fatal accidents involving the vessels.

In 2016, a duck boat swerved into oncoming traffic on a Seattle bridge after a mechanical failure allegedly stemming from poor maintenance. The tour company, Ride the Ducks Seattle, filed for bankruptcy in 2020, The Seattle Times reported.

About two years later, a duck boat sank in Branson, Mo., drowning 17 people. The company there later closed.

In Boston in 2016, a Boston Duck Tours boat named “Penelope Pru” struck and killed a woman on a motor scooter. Later that year, the Legislature passed rules to increase safety of amphibious tour vehicles, requiring duck boats and similar vehicles to have safety equipment including blind spot cameras and proximity sensors.

Brown said safety is the company’s top priority and part of the reason it swapped to a newer fleet with more readily accessible replacement parts. She added that the company faces more oversight than strictly land- or water-based operations.

“We’re double-regulated. It’s a truck on land and a boat on water,” Brown said. “We have two sets of eyes looking at both areas of the vehicles.”

Each tourist boat is crewed by a driver and a tour guide, Brown said, at least one of whom has a captain’s license. An adult ticket costs $52.99.

The boats will stay dry Friday, but they’ve splashed through the Charles for previous parades.

When it comes to staffing the parade, Brown said, the company considers drivers’ “seniority, full-time and year-round [status], and how many parades they’ve done.

The parade Friday will see a convoy of at least two dozen duck boats, which means staffing around 50 people — about a quarter of the company’s entire staff.

She said some drivers who worked previous parades gave up their spots this year to offer newcomers a chance at the glory.

“You really have to earn it. No first year employees get to do it,” Brown said. “It’s an honor and a privilege, so we take that seriously.”

Breen, 43, is one of the lucky staffers who earned a parade spot this year. He’s already set his alarm for 4:15 Friday morning, which gives him an hour to make his way to the Dorchester garage, where he’ll help prep the ducks for the parade before they’re escorted by police to the Garden. It’ll be his second time working a championship parade, his first being in 2018 when the Red Sox won the World Series.

For Breen, the chance to help make the parade happen is “surreal and humbling.”

“It makes me proud,” he said. “I talk about the parades on the tour, I talked about them before I ever did one ... It’s a crazy, exhilarating moment, and it’s cool to be a part of.”

Daniel Kool can be reached at daniel.kool@globe.com. Follow him @dekool01. Madeline Khaw can be reached at maddie.khaw@globe.com. Follow her @maddiekhaw.