Heavier aluminum boats
 

Just kind of curious and looking for opinions on the heavier gauge aluminum boats. It seems everywhere a guy goes there is lots of the common brands of boats like lund, crestliner, alumacraft etc. which are relatively lighter gauge either welded or riveted. Looking at some of the pricing on stuff it seems almost a no brainer to shoot for something in the heavier gauge welded segment like kingfisher, hewescraft etc.

I guess I'm just wondering why I don't see more heavier aluminum boats out there. For what a guy can spend on let's say a new pro v, you can get a lot of boat from the heavy wall welded manufacturers.

Are there dealer in Edmonton that carry these boats ?

What is the hull thickness on a Kingfisher or Hewescraft?

When I think heavy-walled aluminum boats I think Daigle, Wolf, Silver Streak, etc...

I’ve had welded boats and I’ve had riveted boats - and I much prefer riveted.

Aluminum thickness isn’t the only criteria; welds can be brittle and crack, where rivets don’t change the composition of the metal at the seams and rarely crack. My last welded boat, built by a well known manufacturer, developed two pronounced cracked welds in the first 18 hours of use (whereupon I sold it).

Welded boats can be built by almost any shop with very minimal investment and modestly skilled labor. Riveted boats demand a high investment, highly skilled and expensive manufacturing process that few small manufacturers can afford.

There’s a reason aircraft floats are not welded, and that Lund’s stouter boats rarely leak after 40 years. Certainly there are some awful light ‘tinnies’ sold to very casual users, but it takes an awful lot of abuse to harm an Edo float on a Twin Otter, or a Lund Alaskan or Starcraft Islander on Great Slave Lake. Almost none are thicker than 0.10”, or in extreme cases .125 on the bottom.

I’m sure some welded boats are good, and if you need a big power, big weight, 100 mph inboard jet I don’t think you can get away from a welded boat. But if your needs are more modest, I seriously believe rivets are superior to welds.

Been in lots of leaky riveted boats and have yet to experience any leaky welded hulls. In all honesty you would be the first person I have met who would take riveted over welded

In all fairness brand quality could also be a factor. I will take my kingfisher over a Lund any day

Welded Boats vs Riveted
 

I own a Fish rite Power Drifter 16 c/w YAMAHA 40 Jet.
I have owned three other Riveted boats over the years.(+1 Clackacraft Drift Boat)
My Welded Boat hammers up the Bow as if it were carved from a single block of Aluminum. It bounces off rocks without a mark and is Bomb Proof.
All riveted boats are a compromise in my opinion.
Built to a price point and feel cheap in comparison to my Fish Rite.
Every riveted boat I have owned or others from talking to folks eventually leak..
That being said, if that is what you can afford or rationalize, Power On !

I find as long as you don't beat the crap out of an aluminum riveted in the waves by beating it in the waves all good. Have had conversations with welded owners and they love em. Maybe a matter of choice and price for sure. Have you ever walked through B&ss Semi Pro and leaned against or pushed on the side walls of their displayed for sale boats? You talk about soft side wall!!Brand name ??? Wow you talk about flimsy!!! Thickness and gauge makes a difference also.

Nothing against riveted aluminum boats , but from a sheet metal journeymans perspective a fully welded aluminum seam done by a skilled welder is hands down the better option , and the one I would prefer to be floating around in given the choice!

All depends what you’re plan is for use but check out North River boats they have a sharp entry for a welded aluminum boat also look at a North West Jet. Both are built on the west coast and quality built. My dad has a north west jet with a 225 out board nice boat tough nice looking welds and no leaks.

I think you had a bad experience with a welded hull so you think they are inferior to riveted ones. I hear your reasoning behind the use of rivets for something that also needs to be light and strong like a plane but a properly welded .250 thick hull is hands down stronger than any riveted boat made. I base my reasoning on over 40 years experience living and fishing on the West Coast and having seen 3 Lunds, including one 19’ Alaskan, that that were so badly cracked that the hulls were replaced under warranty. On top of that I’ve seen dozens of riveted boats that leaked so bad there was always water in the boat.

I’ve seen some welded boats that were of a poor design or welded by someone who would probably make a better carpenter but I’ve never seen one from a reputable builder that had an issue.

If I had a choice though between a riveted boat and a light weight welded like a Crestliner I’d choose the riveted one. It will leak given time but I’ve see too many Crestliners split the hull and start taking water to the point a bilge pump may not keep up.

i have a glass boat no leaks ever but do not run it up on shore,
I have what we call the leaky lund had it back a few times for warranty repairs
I have now purchased a crestliner a few years ago so far so good

Welded boats are far stronger then rivet boat. All river boats that I seen are welded but you pay for it.

What a load of malarkey.

There is a reason most welded hulls offer "Leak-proof for life" warranties on the entire hull, where riveted boats are almost all "leak-proof for life on the hull, 10 years on the rivets."
Nuff said.

Crestliner is a very reputable builder, so your contradiction leaves me a bit baffled. I have never, ever heard of a crestliner splitting the hull. And I know tons of crestliner owners as well as the owners of 2 boat repair shops. They've never seen it either.
I'll agree that they're not the thickest hulls on the market, but they're not designed to be jet boats either.

The 21 and 23 foot cuddy models from the 90’s were well known for cracking the hull. And while I never worked for a repair shop or had one myself, I do have one buddy who fought with Crestliner to get warranty on the hull after his split in the keel area. A good friend also worked for over 20 years at a marine shop on the Island and he’d tell you never to buy one of that vintage for the same reason.

I’ve never heard an issue with the smaller runabouts but in a large, ocean going boat they weren’t great.

I guess we’re lucky they make both kinds, so we can all get what we prefer. I can only speak from personal experience; I’ve had three Starcraft (16’, 22’, 25’) and none ever leaked a drop - the first two were ‘70s vintage, and who knows how many hours were on them. Neither did my one Lund ever leak - but I have a neighbour right now who’s stuck with a very low hour welded Legend with a 10” crack and (according to him) no warranty.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll start welding airplanes together next!

They rivet planes together because it's much cheaper than welding, not because it's better.
I hear people say all the time that "they rivet things so they can flex and move". I've got news for them; if a rivet is allowing movement it is failing. Simple as that.

If you wish you can PM me your neighbors info along with the boat info and I'll make some phone calls. I've gotten to know a couple of the Legend reps from out east that would be all over that.

In all fairness, I'm a huge aluminum fan for fishing, but for a designated ocean fishing boat I would be looking at a glass model.
So I can see where they're coming from.

Like Oldan Grumpi say’s they make all types so everyone gets what they prefer.

If I had the space, and money, I’d have a half dozen boats ranging from a 10’ Spratley flyfisher up to a Beneteau Swift 30 Trawler. I’d go larger but then I’d have all kinds of friends wanting to come along. :)

I’ve spent a lot of time over the years thinking about the best boat, since no matter what I had there was always something else that I was wanting. When I fished the West Coast close to 100 days a year I couldn’t afford what I really wanted so had to compromise between what I could afford and what worked. Now that I can afford pretty much whatever boat within reason I want, I live 1800 kilometres from the Chuck with no plan on moving back out West.

About all I’ve come to realize is that there is no one boat that fits all kinds of situations.

Actually it's because aluminum welds do not develop the full strength of the parent material. High strength aluminum is also tricky to weld properly. Rivets are also a lot easier to deal with when doing repairs on an aircraft. Aluminum welds do gain strength as they age (or are heat treated) but still not parent material strength.

Todays robotic welded boats are far superior to welded boats just a couple decades ago. I have bought three since 2005, the first being a Triton Mod V duck special that took an absolute pounding for over a decade before moving up in size. It never developed any cracks, leaks etc. My others I bought new in 2017 and so far I could not be any happier. I can't say that about the 2 brand new riveted tinners I had. One needed every rivet redone after 1 season of duck hunting plus a bow eye that pulled out, a casting deck support bracket that cracked and a casting deck that broke free of the bracket and a gravity fed livewell that broke free of the floor(that was a weld though) and a pin hole that developed on a seam welded closed. I won't say I'd never own riveted again but given my experiences with the 3 riveted and 3 welded I have owned the all welded gets my nod of approval first.

Boat hulls are not made of T6, they're made out of 5052 and welded with 5356. So yes, the weld is tougher and stronger than parent metal, just not as ductile, so over countless cycles can develop cracking in the HAZ.
And work hardening is not as much of an issue on the weld as it is the sheet, which takes up most of the movement in boats and planes.
Any day of the week a robot, or guy with a tig torch or a spool gun is going to cost you more than a guy with an air rivet gun. Hence the tendency for a riveted boat to cost less than a welded one. Unless you're talking Lund, then there's the over-inflated cost of a name thrown in there.:)

And within 5052 boat builders use H32 (cheapest and softest. Used by the cheapest boat brands), H34 (more expensive and stiffer. Used by Lund, Crestliner, etc) and H36 (stiffest of the three. Princecraft is the only manufacturer I know that uses it).

All very true. I think only Lowe and Tracker are the only ones still using H32.

The difference between the H34 and H36 is negligible. At that stage in the game hull design, hull reinforcements, and method of assembly would play a greater role in strength of the boat.

I have owned 2 lunds which were both brand new purchases. The 12 ft I had for 4 years. I had the corner pot welded piece in the back of the boat crack. Also the boat developed a leak before I sold it. The 14 foot lund rebel with carpeted floor etc, I owned for 3 years and it developed a leak the second season. Both boats were babied and I have not owned a lund since. I have however owned 2 used Princecrafts and both were fantastic boats, the 12 footer was deep, wide, stable and didn't leak. The 14ft fisherman I bought used and was about 20 yrs old when I bought it. I loved that boat and used it for about 6 yrs until a move and life event made me sell. That was 13 yrs ago and I regret to this day selling that boat. I have not been fortunate enough to have owned a welded boat as of yet but have always wanted one.

My boat is a heavy gauge aluminum boat. It’s built in Red Deer, AB

It’s an Eagle Performance Boat Kokanee XL19

My second year in this boat and I’ve been on some rough water and it’s held up great. It’s an all weld and no rivets in the hull. I’d post a picture but don’t know how to anymore.

We powered it with a 250 HO Evinrude and I can get just under 59mph with 210L of fuel and full load of gear in the boat.

Pm me an email or cell and I can text you some pics of what a heavy gauge boat can be.