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Riveted Vs. Welded Opinions needed for first boat

3K views 12 replies 13 participants last post by  rfideng 
#1 ·
I'm looking for my first boat. I have found what looks to be a good deal on a 17 foot riveted Deep V . I know that welded hulls are better, but they are also much more money. I can get this boat at less than half what a similar welded hull boat would cost.

It's a little older, but in good condition. Is this something I should be leary of? Or would this be a good boat to start with?

Thanks
 
#2 ·
corpeleven said:
I'm looking for my first boat. I have found what looks to be a good deal on a 17 foot riveted Deep V . I know that welded hulls are better, but they are also much more money. I can get this boat at less than half what a similar welded hull boat would cost.

It's a little older, but in good condition. Is this something I should be leary of? Or would this be a good boat to start with?

Thanks
I would not say welded is better, welding on Aluminium make the metal around the wled brittle and supject to cracking, thoose northwest jet boats use heavy gauge metal but some of the other welding boats are not real heavy guage. What brand of Boat you looking at? look at the rivets, if there are loose ones you can see it, allot of loose rivets indicates a rough life and leaking.....
 
#4 ·
bobco said:
corpeleven said:
I'm looking for my first boat. I have found what looks to be a good deal on a 17 foot riveted Deep V . I know that welded hulls are better, but they are also much more money. I can get this boat at less than half what a similar welded hull boat would cost.

It's a little older, but in good condition. Is this something I should be leary of? Or would this be a good boat to start with?

Thanks
I would not say welded is better, welding on Aluminium make the metal around the wled brittle and supject to cracking, thoose northwest jet boats use heavy gauge metal but some of the other welding boats are not real heavy guage. What brand of Boat you looking at? look at the rivets, if there are loose ones you can see it, allot of loose rivets indicates a rough life and leaking.....
Are these loose rivets repairable?
 
#7 ·
my boat is riveted, it is a 93 and has had a hard life, about 4to5 hundred miles per year on the water. it leaks water but not from rivets. it has 4 thru hull holes and several screw holes, some leak a little plus my livewells lap over the top in high speed operation. it takes about 4 days on the water to git enough to pump with the bildge pump. i dont like welded hulls because of the possable cracking of seams riveted is easy to repair if need be
 
#11 ·
I was told a good thick coat of paint on the exterior should seal up most if not all leaks that are caused by loose rivits :/ Havnt ever tried it.. but sounds like a good idea :/ Guess it depends on how leaky it is LOL
 
#12 ·
I've got a riveted aluminum boat and when I bought it the seller told me that any riveted boat will weep a little. He had painted the outside, and installed a small bilge pump and it works fine. Since I was expecting it, a little water is no big deal. I did use some epoxy on a couple of the rivets that looked a little loose and that did seem to help.

Recently got a great deal on a fiberglass boat from a buddy. He'd had it for years without leaks but it had started weeping so he wanted to get rid of it. I found some scratched areas and tiny holes that I patched; also installed a bilge pump and now I feel a whole lot safer! I did some research and it turns out that boats sink because they fill up with water (guess that's not too complicated a concept is it) ::) and that it is recommended that all boats have a bilge pump, even if they "don't leak."
 
#13 ·
Before I bought my boat in 2007 I did a bunch of research. Of course riveted Aluminum boats have been around a long time, and as the other guys say - if you get a leak they can be easily repaired.

Welded Aluminum boats can be equally reliable, but are tough/expensive to repair. If you happen to get a boat that was not properly welded at the factory, then you might be completely screwed (some of the manufacturers apparently do not stand behind their products). If you can manage to get the weld fixed, the repair might make a mess out of the hull. There are many horror stories on the web...

While the probability of getting a bad hull is small, I wasn't willing risk thousands of $$$ on a welded boat, so I bought a riveted one from a reputable company. I am very happy with my purchase - I've spent a couple thousand hours on the water in all kinds of conditions and it doesn't leak a drop.

That's my 2cents.

Crk
 
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