Up for sale is a GI Joe Custom Vietnam PBR River Patrol "Pibber" Boat made by James DeSimone that was sold at GI Joe Conventions It comes with a rotating rear .50cal mounted gun and a rotating front turret .50 cal twin machine gun. Also included is a cloth for the canopy covering, radar bell, antenna mast, and 6 wooden dowels. It has a flat bottom and floats up to 10 lbs capacity. It was designed to mount a motor to be able to convert it into a remote control boat. It has light wear and will need cleaning. Comes as shown.


This was produced by GI JOE expert James Desimone in 1999.
Extremely rare GI Joe 1/6th scale (for 12in action figures) "Pibber" boat.
This was purchased at the NY GI JOE show on the Intrepid in 1999.
Boat is huge! it measures  approx: 44" Long X 20" Wide X 15" Tall
This boat was sold as a kit that requires assembly.
Has original instruction sheets, For the parts included please look at the pictures provided.



This is a G.I. Joe custom Vietnam PBR Patrol Boat River.  This is the only boat in the hobby for 12" action figures. It came with a rotating rear .50 cal mount/gun and rotating front turret with twin .50 cal machine guns, plastic canopy, cloth for canopy, radar bell, 1 brown plastic antenna mast, and the 8 wooden dowels. This is made of unbreakable plastic, has a flat bottom to be stable, floats with 25 lbs and can easily be made for r/c. Holds twenty 12" figures (equipment permitting)!

This boat is one of a very small number that was made by an individual James Desimone and either given away or sold at the G. I. Joe Show/Sale at the Gateway Centre in Saint Louis, MO. on July 25th, 1999. This is not a Hasbro Toy.

Measures: 40" Long X 17" Wide X 10" Tall


The boat is called PBR for Patrol Boat River or as the crew called them Proud, Brave, Reliable and or "PIBBERS".  As in war, an important mission was to stop the flow of enemy arms & supplies.  In Vietnam General Moreland initiated operation Market-time to prevent the flow from the sea, but the supplies kept coming by means of the Mekong River Delta.

Willis Slaine, a builder of personal watercraft went to the Navy meeting and told of a plan to build a 33' long by 10' wide, all fiberglass boat that extended only 9" below water, could travel 180 miles on one tank of gas, driven by twin jet propulsion engines that top speed of 333 knots, could stop on a dime withing 3 lengths of its hull, and again at top speed do a 180 degree turn within the length of its hull. When the Navy asked to see these plans, Willis replied, " why heck, I aint't  got no time to do paper work plans, I'll build the darn thing this wee and next week yo can ride on it"  The Navy bought it an in 1966 it was ready for combat.  The boats would have a 4 man crew.

Brown Water Navy Initially, the brown-water navy patrolled the inland waterways of the Mekong River, primarily with South Vietnamese river craft (RAG—River Assault Groups) boats, which were mostly inherited from the French Navy during the previous war and in turn, had been received from the U.S., as military aid, in the French fight ...