# Welded or rivits



## Crazyboat (Jul 7, 2018)

Growing up a had a tinner that had rivets, after a couple of years of very heavy pounding they began to pop, I swore I'd never get another tin with rivets, then I broke a weld and said, that's it, no more tin boats. I of course was a kid with a 15 strapped to a 12' tin rated at 7.5 HP.

Now older and wiser I have a tin in my sights and am pondering the age old question, to weld or to rivet? I can't help but notice that passenger jet planes all have rivets, are they missing something on welds, or do they utilize both?


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## CedarRiverScooter (Jul 7, 2018)

Mine riveted jon is holding up well, but I generally slow down for waves over 2 inch in height - no pounding! 

I think a bigger factor is the hull thickness, get the thickest you can afford.


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## WV1951 (Jul 7, 2018)

This has been discussed and debated thousands of time. Hundreds of times on here and the other thousands of time simply searching riveted vs. welded boat construction. The Lund boys will tell ya nothing but rivets. The Crestliner and Alumaweld folks will swear by all welded. I have a 30 year old riveted Mirrocraft that has no leaks.


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## ppine (Jul 8, 2018)

I like welded boats, especially for big water.
I would rather have an older used welded boat that a new riveted boat.


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## New River Rat (Jul 8, 2018)

Apples & oranges
Ford & Chevrolet
Ginger & Mary Ann

Good luck. Rivets _MAY _loosen, welds _MAY _break. No guarantee of one being superior over the other.


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## WV1951 (Jul 8, 2018)

^^^
What he said.


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## lckstckn2smknbrls (Jul 8, 2018)

My 1971 Wards Sea King riveted jon boat needed a crack in the seam where the bow meets the floor rewelded.
Betty or Wilma?
Lavern or Shirley?
Jennifer or Baily?


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## LDUBS (Jul 8, 2018)

Definitely Wilma.


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## Crazyboat (Jul 9, 2018)

Thanks all, what I thought I was going to get, it was worth the try.


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## handyandy (Jul 10, 2018)

I'm welded all the way have had two riveted boats, and never again. A good thick gauge welded boat will last a lifetime unless severely abused. By thick gauge I mean at least .125" thick most your big manufacturers do .080"-.100" thick.


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## bcbouy (Jul 10, 2018)

i've had both and both leaked.only because of the thousands of kilometers of forest service roads we traveled.paved roads to the local boat launch? apples to apples.now i couldn't care one way or the other.at least with rivets you can re buck them and move on.not so much with welded.my welded g3,warranty.my alumacraft,warranty.


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## handyandy (Jul 11, 2018)

bcbouy said:


> i've had both and both leaked.only because of the thousands of kilometers of forest service roads we traveled.paved roads to the local boat launch? apples to apples.now i couldn't care one way or the other.at least with rivets you can re buck them and move on.not so much with welded.my welded g3,warranty.my alumacraft,warranty.



Like I said the big box brands are all mass manufactured with thinner gauge aluminum and may break welds if abused, and in your case beat up going down a lot of rough roads. Trailering can be just as hard on boats as boating. Good trailer set up transom saver use during trailering is crucial for any boat. I have four bunks on my trailer now cause a lot of roads aren't so great. Your G3, tracker grizzly, lowe roughneck, alumacraft, smokercraft whoever most of those boats are welded from at best .100 aluminum usually some are even .090 or .080 personally now after having it I wouldn't go thinner than .125 that's what my boat is now ten times the boat any of my previous boats were. Only reason I have welded on it is to make modifications none have been for repairs. I've had riveted boats that stretched ever rivet on and broke welds on so unless I was getting it to just run a little trolling motor on or small outboard for putting around small lakes with hp or electric motor restrictions I wouldn't have another riveted boat. The few lakes I fish now and again that have hp or electric restrictions on I just kayak them. To each there own though.


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## bcbouy (Jul 11, 2018)

big box brand is every mass produced boat on the market then? not too many guys want to shell out for a custom boat in .125 hull/.100 side thick boats,i'm guessing.i'm also guessing hull/side thickness doesn't have all that much to do with rivets leaking and welds cracking as you seem to think.give me warrantied, established and proven big box boat all day,any day.compare the sized rivets and the spacing of my alumacraft to your superior thickness riveted boats and we can discuss.


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## WV1951 (Jul 11, 2018)

Uh, oh. What have we started. Depends on what you are going to do. I have been fishing out of a light weight, el cheapo Sears 12' jon for the past couple of months. Strictly small under 10hp water. Easy to load and unload by hand, no trailer to fool with, and it is perfect for my fishing buddy and me. It did have 4 or 5 small leaks around rivets. I bucked those, leaks are gone, and I actually have my 14' Mirro up for sale, because I find it a lot easier to take the little 12' jon.


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## Bateman (Jul 12, 2018)

I completely demolished the Rhino I've posted on here a few times. .125" thick everywhere and good welds. Aluminum will crack around a weld almost for sure. How long it takes, who knows. I didn't do anything crazy in mine but I wasn't paddling in a pond either. 

When people bash rivets though, I tell them next time they fly to remember that the 787-800 they're on is help together by roughly 600,000 rivets. Pressurized over and over and over without leaking.. In aviation we rarely weld aluminum. It will crack around the edge of the weld. Again, it might take 50 years or it might take 5 seconds and one wave. 

With all that being said, I prefer welded. I also have a friend with a riveted Lowe that most definitely outlasted my thick welded rig and will probably continue to last for years to come. 

Another thing to note, when a weld breaks do you own a welder and have the knowledge to fix it? When a rivet leaks it does not require much to buck it back down.


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## eshaw (Jul 12, 2018)

I've had both in john boats. I myself prefer welded mainly because I can do repairs by myself when required. Riveted boats have their place also but sometimes it takes more than one person to buck rivets. If I want something light weight and made of thinner material I go with rivets. I believe this is why planes are all riveted, to save weight using thinner materials and it also aids in panel replacement and removal when needed.


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## Bateman (Jul 12, 2018)

It is 100% for avoiding welding. Welding aluminum is tricky. As can be seen on some Weldbilts or my Rhino. Too much heat and fatigued around the perimeter of the weld bead that is several times stronger than the aluminum itself and there you will have a crack.

Anyways, it's a dead horse. Choose your budget and see what fits you under that price point. Either one will most likely serve you well.


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## handyandy (Jul 12, 2018)

bcbouy said:


> big box brand is every mass produced boat on the market then? not too many guys want to shell out for a custom boat in .125 hull/.100 side thick boats,i'm guessing.i'm also guessing hull/side thickness doesn't have all that much to do with rivets leaking and welds cracking as you seem to think.give me warrantied, established and proven big box boat all day,any day.compare the sized rivets and the spacing of my alumacraft to your superior thickness riveted boats and we can discuss.



Welded thick gauge hulls with longitudinal boxed stringers on my boat not one busted weld on it. It's an older excel hull and has seen a lot. It doesn't take a fortune to get a good custom heavy gauge flat bottom or semi v like so many have on here myself included. Have a friend that got a brand new 2060 flat open layout jon 3/16 bottom and sides for little over 5k. Granted that was no trailer, bare, unpainted, no wiring hull. We made the trailer, painted it, wired it, rigged it all up ourselves as many guys do on here with their boats. That boat has so far has seen some long trips on the trailer, and some big waves out in the gulf a few times now on louisiana trips we've made. Riveted boats have their place they're place I agree just not for me though. And I don't think any big name boat riveted or welded compares to a well fabricated thicker hull with longitudinal stringers. There is a reason all the big off shore aluminum boats and white water aluminum jet boats you see in the northwest are all welded heavy gauge lot of times 1/4" thick aluminum boats with beefy longitudinal stringers and even cross ribs too. It's because it's stronger thin riveted boats with just cross ribs or even thin welded boats with just cross ribs. The same applies to more normal flat/semi v jons in the 16-20ft range. Nothing wrong with thinner gauge welded boats or riveted boats if they suite the persons needs that's what they should go with.


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## ppine (Jul 17, 2018)

Modern welded boats are very strong and well put together. People that weld aluminum for a living are really good at it. Many boats look like jewelry. 
In order to break welds on a quality boat you have to run big rivers or travel in really big water during storm waves. Some people do not get the concept of throttling back and controlling the boat. My Uncle Alaska Bob ran his old mahogany power boat a 56 footer, from San Pedro, CA to Anacortes, WA out in the shipping lanes up the West Coast. Heading north is difficult. He said his most common speed was 6 knots.


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## vfourmax (Jul 20, 2018)

ppine said:


> Modern welded boats are very strong and well put together. People that weld aluminum for a living are really good at it. Many boats look like jewelry.



Most times it is not the quality or lack of quality in the weld that actually breaks but it is the aluminum adjacent to the weld that actually cracks. I am no welding expert but do know that the heating of the metal during the welding process can change the properties of the metal and make it more brittle and subject to cracking.

The thinner the metal no doubt will result in easier to break or crack no doubt.

I have owned multiples of both welded and riveted hulls and I have had both welded and rivited hulls which leaked and took on water, I have also had both types of hulls that have been dry as a bone after being on the water for multiple days during a vacation trip.

I have had welded hulls develop cracks and had cracks where the welded factory front decking was cracking loose from the hull. A few rivets fixed that problem much easier than to have that area rewelded.

Personally I do not want the added weight or expense of the custom thick hull and overall I have had just as good of service from riveted hulls as welded. I do think it is fair though to mention that I have never had a tin boat that had over 70 hp hanging off the rear which could affect the amount of stress a hull is subjected to.

I will say if I were going to be in the market for a 20' tin it would probably be a Sea Ark brand I would look for as they are know to be a tank and they are still a mass produced hull.


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## jethro (Jul 20, 2018)

I've had both and neither have leaked- yet!


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## ppine (Oct 15, 2018)

NO contest at all. Welded. 
Welding aluminum is a specialty. People that do it all the time in manufacturing boats are really good at it. 
Inspect all the welds on a new boat. They should look like jewelry./

Some people pound their boats. Don't do it. Then they last.


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