Welded hull or Reevits

What are the pros to having a welded hull, except for possible leaks from loose rivets? Are they stronger? Have not bought an Islander yet and was wondering about Crestliner. Is the ride the same? Is Crestliner a better boat?

Re: Welded hull or Reevits

I prefer rivets since repairs can be done in your yard......... I have heard of welds cracking.

Brunswick owns Crestliner and they do not manufacture an equal to an Islander and Starcraft does not make that model anymore either.

You will be at the mercy of buying used and how it was cared for and it's present shape are the most important.

Re: Welded hull or Reevits

Generally speaking there's not much difference in the class of boat your talking about. As for maintenance in your backyard, either one is about the same. Either two guy's bucking reevits or one guy with a Mig Welder and a spool gun. Both are pretty easy and both can be done in your backyard.

When you change things up and get into the heavy aluminum boat class, JetCraft, North River, Duckworth, etc., they are all welded.

Do welds crack? Bad welds do but not good welds. If you take a hit on a weld or on a riveted joint your going to have to deal with it either way. My JetCraft comes with a lifetime hull warranty so you can take that for what it's worth. Duckworth, North River, Harber Craft (also makes JetCraft), all offer similar warranties.

If you're buying used you might be able to get more comfortable if you can find out what kind of warranty the boat had originally. It would give you a feeling for how the manufacturer felt about the boat they built.

Re: Welded hull or Reevits

I bought a 2011 Islander last fall. I like Crestliners but they don't make the model I need. But I also like the look of a riveted hull.
Takes me way back to when I was a kid hanging out on the dock looking at all those old fishing boats with bare aluminum skin and millions of rivets.

Re: Welded hull or Reevits

Crestliners and thier welded hulls attract some very hardcore fans. The attraction seems to be that there is seldom a slow leak with a welded hull. If you hit something hard enough to break a weld, you KNOW you have an issue and generally there's no problem seeing where that issue is.

I sold my Crestliner Sportfish SST 2 years ago and the phone was on fire from about 2 minutes after I listed it. A lot of guys who leave their rig in a slip seem to trust welds more than rivets when it comes to staying leak free.

Grouse

Re: Welded hull or Reevits

For the gauge aluminum boats your looking at I'd lean towards rivets. I feel much more comfortable replacing rivets than I would welding .100 aluminum. Now If you were on the west coast the manufactures sschefer posted make some great welded aluminum plate boats. If I could find a harbercraft or north river here in the south i wouldn't own a starcraft. For the sheet aluminum boats you have to choose from I'd go riveted. As far as ride goes check out one of the walleye forums, no shortage of opinions there. Generally speaking the boat with more deadrise and weight will ride smoother but take more gas/hp to run. My 19ft starcraft was capable with 90hp but i like 150hp better. It's light so it requires less hp but anything more than a ripple I have to slow way down or it pounds the hell out of you. I don't boat the great lakes but go to the gulf bays often and if your considering a boat for the great lakes I suggest you demo the one you want in less than ideal conditions or you may regret the purchase everytime you get caught out in a swell and that tin boat beats you to death on the ride back to dock.

Re: Welded hull or Reevits

As has been more than adequately explained both construction methods have their pros and cons. Unless you plan on jumping logs, stumps and beaver dams or spending most of your time in shallow rocky water my suggestion would be to pick the boat you like best and not get hung up on the welded vs riveted debate.