Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

[North Beach]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

Those are made in Colville Wa just a short jump from the Border. Good photo of the mentioned marina. They have the same boat on display at Whole Sports in Burlington Its a Canadian owned store.

Ha, that's funny! I stay the night in Colville going and coming every spring on my annual trip to BC. I thought all they did there way wood product/logging.

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

Yah, you'd probably get 1,000 to 1 on that. Of course, for every 1 welded boat you probably have 1,000 riveted ones so that data set really wouldn't be able to paint the true picture.

My thoughts exactly I've read pages of horror stories from folks who had welds fail on their boats and it made me like my thousand rivets more and more

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

As for boat hulls I believe the boat builders stop using rivets on commercial and Navy boats oh say about 1912, or shortly after the sinking of the USS Titanic??

We lost a lot of Liberty ships in WWII. These were welded steel ships. We have since figured out the transition of metal when it's cold. I did Charpy impact testing in school to check for brittleness, this test was inspired by the Liberty ships. Impurities in the steel caused the failure, mainly Phosphorous and Sulfer.

I don't believe the Navy uses aluminum ships. Steel and Aluminum can't be compared. Two different to draw any comparisons. Look at the fatigue life of aluminum alloys versus steel. Aluminum doesn't fatigue well. Heat treated steel does, nascar crankshafts etc..

Rivets and a polymer sealer is very proven technology for an Aluminum boat. Welded aluminum scares me.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

I think the rivets are designed to allow movement. That's why we aren't supposed to glass our floors up and onto the sides. The aluminum needs to flex.

And that thing about the planes, it's thermal expansion and contraction. i read a report on the concord once and the folks stated that the plane grew by 13" while in subsonic flight due to the heat. Aluminum is real bad about E&C due to changes in temp.

 

[barato]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

i read a report on the concord once and the folks stated that the plane grew by 13" while in subsonic flight due to the heat. Aluminum is real bad about E&C due to changes in temp.

not just aluminum....this was a major issue with the SR71/YF12 "Blackbird", which was mostly made of unobtanium. the fuel tanks leaked while on the ground due to the expansion allowances! at Mach 3, apparently they expanded enough to seal....

i think Jas has it right....the common failure modes on riveted hulls are lots less likely to keep you from getting home. keep in mind that when we're talking about the life expectancy of a tin boat, it could be 50+ yrs

 

[sturdavj]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

Bawna Don,

I was not in the navy, so I can?t give you the type of ship. But there are Navy ships that have aluminum superstructures, everything above main deck. I worked in the early 80?s retrofitting a lot of the components for the USS Rogers while it was in the Swan Island (floating) dry docks ,Portland OR.

I was told this was done for speed, maneuverability, and possibly something to do with the radar silhouette (not sure about that one). I can tell you all the seams were welded..

 

[bananaboater]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

The plane I was just in went from 60 degrees to minus 60 at altitude and then to 80 degrees. It was riveted and likely glued in some places. Seemed to do OK!

 

[sturdavj]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

Is the internal structure of a Plane riveted or welded?, I never asked anyone who worked on one, I have seen the landing struts on the 777 and they are a one/single (BIG)piece of machined billet.

I understand the skin is riveted, but hey that used to be canvas at one time ?.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

I'd think that if they're maintaining constant temps inside the plane then what the structure is made of wouldn't matter. The point I was trying to make was that the aluminum, just like all other metals, expands and contracts due to variences in temp. Aluminum is just a little worse than some others.

We're trying to justify why our crap is way better than thier crap

 

[bananaboater]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

We're trying to justify why our crap is way better than their crap

But we are more right than them. Right?

 

[sturdavj]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

No question about it, aluminum helped us fight/ win War II.

It?s still great stuff

 

[barato]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

whatever the comparative merits of welded vs riveted NEW boats, rivets are a lot easier for most of us to fix when the boat gets old enough that we bottom feeders can afford it. an entry level Lincoln TIG unit is >$1500 and you can buy a lot of rivets and tool for that $.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

when the boat gets old enough that we bottom feeders can afford it

Amen to that bro! Bottom feeder to the end man!

 

[sturdavj]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

This brings us back to the main topic, better built boats are welded? less expensive boats are riveted.

There are still a lot of low priced welded boats available in my area, because the welded hulls last quite a bit longer.

These tend to be the boats the fellows on tight budgets seek out, because of low maintenance & up keep costs.

 

[Starman8]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

These welded boats are the new brand name for the Monark boats, the cheaper alternative for aluminum boat hulls. I talk with starcraft on ocassion as well as some dealers and tournament pro's. Riveted is best according to them.

The difference is simple. Joining 2 pieces of thickness with a weld that is thicker than both is easier to breach. When they are riveted, they will hold, may leak, but not break.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

This brings us back to the main topic, better built boats are welded? less expensive boats are riveted.

There are still a lot of low priced welded boats available in my area, because the welded hulls last quite a bit longer.

These tend to be the boats the fellows on tight budgets seek out, because of low maintenance & up keep costs.

Bud I hate to sound argumentative but again, welded doesn't automatically mean better.

 

[Deadwood]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

These welded boats are the new brand name for the Monark boats, the cheaper alternative for aluminum boat hulls. I talk with starcraft on ocassion as well as some dealers and tournament pro's. Riveted is best according to them.

The difference is simple. Joining 2 pieces of thickness with a weld that is thicker than both is easier to breach. When they are riveted, they will hold, may leak, but not break.

Amen brother....2010 minus 1966 equals 44. My girl is 44 and leakage is miniscule.

 

[North Beach]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

My thoughts exactly! My 66 doesn't leak a drop.

 

[Pugetsound]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

I have never drained a drop from my 22 Holiday in 3 years since I purchased it. its a 1975. With origional floor and no soft spots.

 

[Bwana Don]

Re: Starcraft aluminum boats with no rivets

There are a few guys on my fishing website that are fighting a welded boat. They keep taking it back for cracked welds, again and again. Now it's probably a lower quality boat but it's still welded.

Make mine a polymer sealed/glued riveted boat. Pound on those aluminum welds long enough and they'll eventually fail.

There are some manufactures that are using a ONE piece construction. The entire bottom half of the boat is one piece. This I like a lot.