Halfthrive said:
I know I might be opening a can with this one but I need input from my peers. I want to buy a 19-20 foot aluminum boat in three to four months so I went looking online at aluminum boat manufacturers and they all say their the best or #1 or the leader in aluminum boats or whatever. I want to hear from the people that actually have and use one. I checked out Alumiweld, Hewes craft, Raider, Rouge, Duckworth, Thunderjet, etc.. Tell me what you got, how much you love it, and what you use it for. Pic's would be great. I just can't tell who's got the better boat.
ok.. to open the large can of worms.... lets break down the major players boats.... ive worked on most and own an Alumaweld, and worked on thunderjets and many others..
heresabreak down...heavy gauge aluminum are tanks but truthfully they ALL have weaker structural members then the thinner gauge more mass produced and more refined engineered hulls.. every one of them use skinned over C channel for transoms and bent sheet metal turned into box girters or main structures.. these designs allow for a bunch of flex in twisting and will eventually break and most do, at welds, especially the ones ground down for a nice finish. my alumaweld (a 1990 Formula Vee) has lead a fairly easy life, since its a propeller driven its never been in white water or shallows, its not abused even though for its power package it gets ran at its potential when the water allows it.
it has a 404 lb 150 merc V6 and a 8 hp yamaha kicker.. totalling 600 lbs on the transom. it broke every weld on the transom, tore every structure support for the splashwell and required a full derig, and about 4000.00 in repair to make it structurally sound. truthfully had it enough in damage to be a complete total had it been an insurance fix but the boat being my family is the original owner was still under warranty.. and we paid to add in support knees, added stringers, and new cross members to end the flex that caused the failures...
the transom needed new skins and we added a layer of .250 on the exterior, a 1.75" thick piece of composite inside the 2X4" C channel that made up the top of the transom where the engine bolted up, a 1/2" thick piece of plate on the front for the bolts on the main. the lower section was totally rebuilt and tied in with 1/2" all thread to the box girters that were reinforced with 7 new cross members to the hull.... this made the hull a lot MORE sturdy and after removing the 400 lbs of soaked floatation foam in the bottom of the hull is actually lighter and stronger than before.
but if you are looking for an aluminum boat... LOOK THEM OVER if they are older chances are they are broken somewhere... they just arent as strong as they look.. and as engines get heavier higher HP and more complex with technology the chances of breakage goes way up...
the best built aluminum boat ive seen is Outlaw/Eagle boats..
and i dont want to hear the heavy gauge defenders saying that this post is inaccurate as i have the before during and after pics to prove just how weak the support structure is in these hulls... the hull itself is actually stronger than the stringers and that isn't right.... your car or trucks sheet metal isn't stronger than your frame is is it????
