Sudbury's boating legends: Legend Boats growing, but remains a family business.

• Author: Myers, Ella
• Position: Sudbury

The Duhamels and Dewars, the founding families behind Sudbury's Legend Boats, have been working together for nearly 50 years, and they show no sign of slowing down.

Over the past few months, the local boat manufacturer and retailer has been working on a major expansion at their Whitefish hub, anticipated to finish this fall, revealed a new logo, and developed a range of new products for the 2016 season.

On top of a rebranding and local office expansion in Sudbury, Legend Boats just opened a new retail outlet space near Montreal in an old marine dealership. This marks their third retail outlet, on top of their main outlet in Sudbury, and one opened 15 years ago in Innisfil.

"The last couple years have been crazy, with Montreal, the new headquarters and new software for better infrastructure," said Jamie Dewar, who is co-CEO of the company with Mark Duhamel.

Jamie and Mark are the sons of the founders, Carl Dewar and Vic Duhamel, and the second generation businessmen are leading the recent changes.

However, the business has been continuously changing and , adapting over the years, driven, they say, by curiosity and an entrepreneurial spirit.

"How they got into the business, is through things they were interested in," said Jamie.

When Vic and Carl opened their first business in 1968, known then as Duhamel and Dewar, they were selling tires. What started off as a personal interest in RVs for camping soon led to research into starting a dealership in the North.

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Jamie Dewar remembers that when Vic Duhamel went to the U.S. to visit the factory and learn more, he wound up selling the RV he picked up on the way home, launching their stint in RVs.

The two also enjoyed fishing, and in the 1980s came to the realization that many of the boats on the market weren't equipped for the Northern seasons.

"We found they always missed the mark a bit for Canadians, they didn't understand our climate, rugged terrain, rugged climate, and that we fish a little bit different," said Jamie. "We saw there was an opportunity to build boats more designed for Canadian fisherman."

They pair rebranded as Legend Boats in 1986 as a solution, and since 2000, has...