Heavier aluminum boats

[OL_JR]

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.

[-JR-]

Are there dealer in Edmonton that carry these boats ?

[Positrac]

What is the hull thickness on a Kingfisher or Hewescraft?

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

[Oldan Grumpi]

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.

[Smoky buck]

Originally Posted by Oldan Grumpi

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

[Jfs]

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 !

[Positrac]

Originally Posted by Oldan Grumpi

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.

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.

[fish99]

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

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by Positrac

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.

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.

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by Oldan Grumpi

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.

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.