I’m reasonably sure, having experience welding, that my 1983 Gregor is stick welded. Just by bead shape and puddle fill. Don’t know if that’s good or bad, the little bit of repair welding I did on it I TIG welded. But it’s a pretty solid little boat. Pretty sure everything now is probably TIG or more likely spool gunned.
I have a buddy who used to build aluminum semi trailers, they were all TIG so maybe boats are too. The one guy I am friends with who does a little boat building does it with aluminum MIG.
I have a lund alaskan that has rivets and it’s dry as a bone.
I think it has to do with how you treat / handle (don’t abuse it) the boat... mine is also only 4 years old..
I have a small Starcraft runabout that's riveted. I don't beat it up, and I don't think anyone else did either. 75hp Johnson, so it is fully powered...dry as a bone too. 59 years old. My son had a welded Tracker that kept cracking.
I had a little SeaKing 14 footer when we lived in AK that we trolled for trout a lot in. The buddy I traded out of it had bucked all the rivets and given the bottom a thick coat of Gluvit from WestMarine, it didn’t leak a drop. Another bud that used to go fish with us would take his Chrysler Little Fisherman riveted boat and he had better not leave the launch without a bailing can, that thing leaked around every seam and rivet in it.
I will say that while I prefer a welded boat, I’d rather have a riveted hull that leaks a little but has a good reliable motor than have the best welded rig going with some finicky POS motor that runs when it wants to. Especially if I was running rivers or any body of water where wind can be an issue.
Those.... those hulls are made in China...! Ask Craig Compost
Speaking of Craig..
I liked the earlier version of his video, "Come Hell or Low Water" they use to mail out on DVD. Still pretty good, I like how they topped this version off with the Caribou kill....
Pretty good videos, Craig was/is a good promoter... He sold Phantom sport Jons and things changed, story is the owner of Bucher glass was in china dealing with a fbricator for some extrusions and there were these boat hulls laying around.. Next thing ya know they are importing the hulls and SX is born... They are not my thing, although they offer a lot of performance in a light package... The motors typically have a short life and are ff noisy, I would have to wear muffs to go very far in one of them things... Put bottom line is no way ever would I buy a boat with a Chinese hull... done with them bastards, have been for some time... Its time to quarantine the aggressor and quit buying Chinese chit....
For those without thumbs, it's s Garden fookin Island, not Hawaii
Keep in-mind not all welded boats are created equal
The blanket statement welded better is not really true I can be, but not always
Hank
There's welding, and then there's welding.
More importantly, there's Aluminum, and then there's Aluminum.
Aluminum alloys come in various grades. Some hard, some soft, some brittle, some ductile.
Just as an example, the first boat I bought to take the G-kids fishing in was a little 14 foot Shasta with an 18 hp Merc. When I started drilling holes in the hull to mount rod holders and such, the Aluminum cut like butter. When we took the boat out on Brownlee Res and the wind came up in the morning at sunrise, the floor would visibly flex with impact of every wave. Within a half dozen outings, the floor had cracked at each flex point and water was coming in.
Brownlee is the first dam at the head of Hells Canyon. The lake averages maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile across. But it is about 40 miles long. Each morning at Sunrise the breeze kicks up and produces six to eight inch chop.
We fished from the Shasta for two years, and periodically hit the switch on the bilge pump to remove the water.
Then I bought a 16 foot Lund hull. I built a console into it and put my little Merc 18 on it. Drilling holes in the Lund was night and day difference from the Shasta. The wall thickness was very similar, but the Aluminum in the Lund was much harder.
In the same lake, under the same conditions, there was no flex in the Lund hull.
You will find the same to be true of welded boats. Some are constructed of superior, expensive Aluminum alloys. Some are made of less expensive alloys, and are more prone to stress cracks or heat damage along weld lines.
Most of the better built boats will tout their alloys in their advertising copy. It pays to become familiar with the alloys, or at least know how examples of the boat model has performed for others before investing a large sum of hard earned money.
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
The Midwest has LOTS of 17 to 22 ft Alums with high HP OBs and Kickers
This was mine previous
main motor was a 250 Verado (I have to say its is an awesome motor) These are all over the Midwest I will admit some of these guys running them we too hard here on the Saginaw Bay are taking the toll on ALL Alum boats Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron can be a real Beast to run on at times
The Midwest is not just frog ponds with Grandpas Johnrude
I just noticed Jaws on TV in the back ground kind of funny
Hank
Last edited by boatboy; 04/03/20.
Thank You Lord for another day,Help my Brother along the way
When you mature,you realize hospitals and schools are businesses,and the Beatles were geniuses
Live Like A Champion Today
NRA EndowmentLife Member,My Daughter is also a Life Member
Keep in-mind not all welded boats are created equal
The blanket statement welded better is not really true I can be, but not always
Hank
There's welding, and then there's welding.
More importantly, there's Aluminum, and then there's Aluminum.
Aluminum alloys come in various grades. Some hard, some soft, some brittle, some ductile.
Just as an example, the first boat I bought to take the G-kids fishing in was a little 14 foot Shasta with an 18 hp Merc. When I started drilling holes in the hull to mount rod holders and such, the Aluminum cut like butter. When we took the boat out on Brownlee Res and the wind came up in the morning at sunrise, the floor would visibly flex with impact of every wave. Within a half dozen outings, the floor had cracked at each flex point and water was coming in.
Brownlee is the first dam at the head of Hells Canyon. The lake averages maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile across. But it is about 40 miles long. Each morning at Sunrise the breeze kicks up and produces six to eight inch chop.
We fished from the Shasta for two years, and periodically hit the switch on the bilge pump to remove the water.
Then I bought a 16 foot Lund hull. I built a console into it and put my little Merc 18 on it. Drilling holes in the Lund was night and day difference from the Shasta. The wall thickness was very similar, but the Aluminum in the Lund was much harder.
In the same lake, under the same conditions, there was no flex in the Lund hull.
You will find the same to be true of welded boats. Some are constructed of superior, expensive Aluminum alloys. Some are made of less expensive alloys, and are more prone to stress cracks or heat damage along weld lines.
Most of the better built boats will tout their alloys in their advertising copy. It pays to become familiar with the alloys, or at least know how examples of the boat model has performed for others before investing a large sum of hard earned money.
The Midwest has LOTS of 17 to 22 ft Alums with high HP OBs and Kickers
This was mine previous
main motor was a 250 Verado (I have to say its is an awesome motor) These are all over the Midwest I will admit some of these guys running them we too hard here on the Saginaw Bay are taking the toll on ALL Alum boats Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron can be a real Beast to run on at times
The Midwest is not just frog ponds with Grandpas Johnrude
I just noticed Jaws on TV in the back ground kind of funny
Keep in-mind not all welded boats are created equal
The blanket statement welded better is not really true I can be, but not always
Hank
There's welding, and then there's welding.
More importantly, there's Aluminum, and then there's Aluminum.
Aluminum alloys come in various grades. Some hard, some soft, some brittle, some ductile.
Just as an example, the first boat I bought to take the G-kids fishing in was a little 14 foot Shasta with an 18 hp Merc. When I started drilling holes in the hull to mount rod holders and such, the Aluminum cut like butter. When we took the boat out on Brownlee Res and the wind came up in the morning at sunrise, the floor would visibly flex with impact of every wave. Within a half dozen outings, the floor had cracked at each flex point and water was coming in.
Brownlee is the first dam at the head of Hells Canyon. The lake averages maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile across. But it is about 40 miles long. Each morning at Sunrise the breeze kicks up and produces six to eight inch chop.
We fished from the Shasta for two years, and periodically hit the switch on the bilge pump to remove the water.
Then I bought a 16 foot Lund hull. I built a console into it and put my little Merc 18 on it. Drilling holes in the Lund was night and day difference from the Shasta. The wall thickness was very similar, but the Aluminum in the Lund was much harder.
In the same lake, under the same conditions, there was no flex in the Lund hull.
You will find the same to be true of welded boats. Some are constructed of superior, expensive Aluminum alloys. Some are made of less expensive alloys, and are more prone to stress cracks or heat damage along weld lines.
Most of the better built boats will tout their alloys in their advertising copy. It pays to become familiar with the alloys, or at least know how examples of the boat model has performed for others before investing a large sum of hard earned money.
Or to sum it up, welds can crack and leak too.
That was my point Hank
Thank You Lord for another day,Help my Brother along the way
When you mature,you realize hospitals and schools are businesses,and the Beatles were geniuses
Live Like A Champion Today
NRA EndowmentLife Member,My Daughter is also a Life Member
Plenty riveted boats being used on big water in these parts. I don't know anyone in these parts that thinks Crestliner is the equal of Lund or AlumaCraft. I haven't looked at a Crestliner in some time and probably won't, either, but when I last bought a boat, I couldn't get away fast enough.
Last edited by BKinSD; 04/03/20.
"Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin.'"
Well I just use my 3 riveted hull boats normally (lakes and non rapids rivers) 75 F-16 Yukon Alumacraft, 78 S-16 Lund, 17" Sylvan the y work just fine without being welded. MB
" Cheapest velocity in the world comes from a long barrel and I sure do like them. MB "
I had a lighweight riveted aluminum hull with a jet pump, I beat the hell out of it running the Yellowstone and it leaked like a sieve, and was pretty much used up in a few years.
Switched to heavy welded aluminum and they are tanks that will last longer than I will.
Originally Posted by Judman PS, if you think Trump is “good” you’re way stupider than I thought! Haha
Not even a question, welded only. Rivets get loose and leak. This is what I've done for 30 years, I know.
I'm driving a 1973 (since 1975) flat-bottom rivet boat, currently with 40hp Yamaha jet unit. Tell me about it. Nothing the cheap little bilge pump I installed in the stern doesn't fix, with a console toggle switch. Saves pulling the plug every so often. Worse, forgetting to re-install it when slowing down.....
Of course, if I ever needed a live-well, I'd not have to buy one.
Keep in-mind not all welded boats are created equal
The blanket statement welded better is not really true I can be, but not always
Hank
There's welding, and then there's welding.
More importantly, there's Aluminum, and then there's Aluminum.
Aluminum alloys come in various grades. Some hard, some soft, some brittle, some ductile.
.
You will find the same to be true of welded boats. Some are constructed of superior, expensive Aluminum alloys. Some are made of less expensive alloys, and are more prone to stress cracks or heat damage along weld lines.
Most of the better built boats will tout their alloys in their advertising copy. It pays to become familiar with the alloys, or at least know how examples of the boat model has performed for others before investing a large sum of hard earned money.
Could you please expand a little on what we should be looking for in terms of an alloy number or some other objective measure? I've seen metals categorized by number, before but not sure if I would recognize one being better than the other unless someone pointed it out. Thanks!
Carry what you’re willing to fight with - Mackay Sagebrush
Pretty good videos, Craig was/is a good promoter... He sold Phantom sport Jons and things changed, story is the owner of Bucher glass was in china dealing with a fbricator for some extrusions and there were these boat hulls laying around.. Next thing ya know they are importing the hulls and SX is born... They are not my thing, although they offer a lot of performance in a light package...
I liked the Sports Jon but just couldn't justify the money they wanted for my needs, not that they weren't worth the price.
I’m reasonably sure, having experience welding, that my 1983 Gregor is stick welded. Just by bead shape and puddle fill. Don’t know if that’s good or bad, the little bit of repair welding I did on it I TIG welded. But it’s a pretty solid little boat. Pretty sure everything now is probably TIG or more likely spool gunned.
I have a buddy who used to build aluminum semi trailers, they were all TIG so maybe boats are too. The one guy I am friends with who does a little boat building does it with aluminum MIG.
Your gregor boat was welded with there mig process. They preheat in front of the weld, and post heat behind the weld. Gregor is a good boat, they bring a premium price, for used boats. I have flipped 5 or 6 in the last ten years, and always made a good profit. The 15 ft Gregor with the 20" transom, are sought after by guys with cartop carriers, in the Northwest ! They make great bay crabbing boats, for weekend users, and fish the high lakes well!