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Posts: 27
| Looking for a boat. Every salesman tells me their boat is the best 
So what would be better in aluminums ? Riveted or Welded hulls ?
Cordially,
MK
Edited by Musky Killer 5/25/2003 5:49 PM
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Posts: 135
| Well, you will hear both sides, but I would go for rivited , based on past performance. I have always had rivited boats, last two were LUNDS, and from now on they will all be LUNDS. On another site, there are numerous posts from FISHER owners, about split welds. I am not bashing welded hulls, but it seems that many are having a problem. Crestliners seem to have high quality control, friends of mine have them, they are happy. All I know is, when aluminum boats are compared, they are compared to LUNDS, not any of the other brands, and they have rivits. I hope this does not turn into a bashing war, I just gave my opinion based upon 40 years of aluminum boat useage. |
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Posts: 4266
| I had a Lund for years. Inevitably rivots will leak.
Now I have a ranger Cherokee, which is an all welded Crestliner hull. You couldn't give me a Lund for my boat. It's solid as a rock and dry as a bone. I love it.
Beav |
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Posts: 22
| I have a 2001 Fisher. No weld problems yet, but I'd probably go with a Lund if I had to do it again. The worry is just too great. If a rivit leaks, replace it but if one of my welds breaks I'm afraid I'll be in real trouble. I didn't do enough research ahead of time.
If you do buy a welded boat, I'd get a Crestliner. Haven't heard of any problems.
Edited by jawbone 5/25/2003 5:56 PM
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Posts: 941
Location: Freedom, WI | Love my Crestliner smooth dry and the if the hull cracks for 20 years they will fix. Heard they had problems 15 to 20 years ago but they must have got that fixed. |
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Posts: 240
| This is the best way I have heard it explained. If welding was so good, why would you not be seeing all the aircraft manufactures using it instead of rivets? The reason is simple. Rivets hold better than welds. Boats take alot of pounding out there in rough water as do planes in the sky. I will always feel a little safer on a rivited boat then a welded one.
Yes rivets do tend to leak over time.....15 or more years. They are very easy to fix and never such a problem where it would ruin a fishing trip because the leaks are so slow.
Just my two cents.
Cory |
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Posts: 27
| Hello fellows,
Thanks for the input, keep it coming
I have spoken to a number of salesmen and read the brochures. In regard to riveted boats, the consensus is they will eventually leak. Crestliner and Legend-GenX welded boats have lifetime warranties about a leakproof hull to the original owner. The riveted boats companies do not offer that.
The poster that used the airplane analogy is comparing apples with oranges IMHO, airplanes have to many pieces to be welded and they have to replace pieces of them over time, they couldn't do that if they were welded
I honestly do not know which is best, however; I am leaning toward the lifetime leakproof welded hulls, you cannot beat that guarantee
Tough decision though, so many boats companies, prices and styles to choose from !
Cordially,
MK |
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Posts: 135
| I donot put much faith in guarantees, companies go under, if you keep up with the stock market, you know that. 20 year or lifetime quarantees mean nothing , if the company goes under. I am more concerned with past history, rivited hulls from makers such as Lund, have a great track record.
I will go with reputation and quality, and pay the extra few bucks. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Cory, what do you use to seal up old, leaky rivets? On my way home from the lake I looked under my trailer and found some leaking water OUT, so that's why my bilge is filling up so quick! Any suggestions will be welcome. m |
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Posts: 32934
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I work in the industry, and can tell you that 'lifetime' warranties are basically a gamble on the boat builder's part. We know that the average fisherman keeps his boat about 3 to 5 years, and trades or sells to upgrade. Usually, the 'lifetime' warranty is not transferrable, and is a buy-down over the years, or covers ONLY the hull integrity at the weld, rivet, structural member, or whatever. If the warranty is 5 years hull and deck, and is 100% transferrable to as many owners as there might be, I read that as confidence from the builder. If the warranty is 100%, and is totally transferrable to as many owners as there might be, I would buy that boat. |
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Posts: 578
Location: Sheboygan Falls, WI | I had a Crestliner welded hull. Notice the word "had". I personally would not go with a welded hull no matter who the manufacturer is. As long as I have an aluminum boat, I will stay with the riveted hull. I have been in a Lund, owned a Crestliner and now have a Smoker Craft 161 Pro Mag. As far as aluminum goes, I would not go with anything but the Smoker Craft. Dry ride, takes rough water better than any other aluminum boats I have been in, no rivet problems in 5+ years of HARD running on BIG bodies of water and has features that I want with this size of boat.
Just my opinion,
Chuck
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Posts: 240
| To fix leaky rivits you can go one of two ways.
The first is to make the area Accessible to a boat repair place in which they will use a hammer gun to hammer the rivet. They might also drill out the old rivet and replace it with an oversize rivet.
The second idea is to do it yourself. A air hammer cost about 60 bucks and the riveting tool to use with it is about $15.00. This can be had at most Industrial Fastener shops along with the sold alum rivets. They will explain how to hammer a solid rivet.
I did some custom work on my boat and did not find it hard to do in putting new ones in and fixing old ones.
Cory
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Posts: 199
Location: Anchorage | Either way, find yourself a good boat and you should have no problems. Many companies have made great boats both ways. I have a welded Alumacraft and wouldn't go back to rivets simply because a well made welded hull is essentially maintainance free. Haven't had one complaint in 6 years of hard use.
Rivets are used on aircraft, not because they are any stronger than welds, but because they are easier, cheaper, and faster to repair than welds. That's all. Welding the literally paper-thin skins on many aircraft would be no easy feat, either.
Elwood |
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Posts: 44
| Boat warranties are only as good as long as the company is in business. If you don't beleive it, ask the owners of Stratos, Javelin or any of the other boat companies that Genmar got from OMC. They honored the warranties of the current model year only. |
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