Small Aluminum Boats

[Gene&Mary]

Anybody have any thoughts on comparisons between aluminum boats in the 16'-18' range? In this area it seems the most available boats are Lund, Smokercraft and Crestliner.

Thanks

 

[rogerbum]

Anybody have any thoughts on comparisons between aluminum boats in the 16'-18' range? In this area it seems the most available boats are Lund, Smokercraft and Crestliner.

Thanks

What is your intended use? Salt/fresh? Dragging crab pots over the side? Trolling with down riggers? etc...

 

[Gene&Mary]

Salt water. Recreation and short trips mainly in Lopez Sound, crabbing, fishing in protected waters.....any longer trips around the San Juans would be in nice weather.

 

[SENSEI]

I have a 14 ft Lund with a 9.9 Suzuki that we use for crabbing , Had a older Hewscraft before the lund but it had to sharp of a edge on the guunel and was chaffing the rope when pulling the pots.
I really like the Lund boat, well made for a riveted boat.very stable.

 

[thataway]

To me the choice would be between riveted or welded boats (usually a heavier gauge of aluminum.) Tiller steered vs console steered, seats vs thwarts.

Duckworth, Alumaweld, Hewescraft, Klamath, Valco (closed down a few years ago, but I owned one) & Lowe are a few of others to throw into the mix.

I owned a couple Duroboats which were made in the PNW, but moved to Tennessee. A 16 did the Loop a few years ago. They are extrusion fitted--no welds, and no rivets in the hull--only for thwarts.

For durability hard to beat the welded heavier gauge metal boats. I have used aluminum skiffs as tenders for several of my larger boats and they can take a lot of abuse.

 

[Robert H. Wilkinson]

I would go with a welded hull and am a bit partial to Stanley Boats - built in Parry Sound Ontario. They custom build boats from around 12' to 50'. Popular in Ontario and shipped to many countries around the world.

 

[dave]

I ordered and bought a 16 Alumaweld Talon with a 60HP Yamaha motor. The closest dealer was in Michigan. I spent a lot of time researching boats, hull design, intended use, etc. I even went to the Seattle Boat Show, and I live in Florida. My boat is the old style welded boat with 1/4 inch plate. The boat is tough as nails. It was certainly more expensive than most boats. The fit and finish was better than I expected. I still have it. It does what I expect out of it. It isn't sleek or fancy. I pulled into a dock one time, and the guy said it looked like a military boat. I took that as a compliment, because it is absolutely functional.

 

[dave]

BTW my use is in salt water. I have unfortunately been in seas I couldn't see over the top. I have never been concerned for my safety in this boat because of any design or product defects.

A good source for information is at aluminumalloyboats.com
They have a list of most aluminum boat manufacturers and lots of other info.

 

[Gene&Mary]

Never heard of a thwart before Bob. Thanks for the lesson. I would have called it a bench seat.

 

[PaulNBriannaLynn]

Ive spent hundreds of hours in a fishing buddy's 16' smokercraft. Its riveted and pretty lightweight. The 50hp Honda will make it fly faster than I ever wanted to go, or feel safe. What's great about them is they are so light a single person can adjust their position on the trailer.

That being said, I would buy a welded aluminum boat as opposed to riveted. Also I would choose my boat by the gauge of the aluminum and less by the brand name. the heavier gauge the better. Aluminum is much harder to repair so durability is key. I've seen some really well built boats by builders I've never heard of before.

I have really admired the quality and workmanship of Wooldridge and Duckworth boats.

 

[Aurelia]

We owned a nice 17ft Lund and spent lots of time with a 18ft Tracker as well. In short, we have seen enough weld problems to trust rivets more for the lighter built brands. Also, painted hulls no matter the promises, don't last in the salt, so go with a bare finish or be ready to deal with peeling issues within two seasons.

When faced with buying a small utility boat recently, we went with a fiberglass cat and are very happy with it.

Greg

 

[bobjarrard]

Take a look at their web site. Really nice designs. I want a 26' bow door landing craft model with two side doors, stern door to twin engines on a bracket with dive ladder (and a kicker in the middle), a drop on camping module that can take the place of my AWD UTE in the bow, an enclosed rear steering station for two, pot puller stations on both sides, honking big winches both bow and stern, full electronics top rack with lights, gas powered hydraulic small boat hoist big enough to lift in cargo/UTE's/camping module, aluminum tender, stern mount bar-b-q, generator, 500 miles of fuel in two tanks, self bailing floors, two large in floor fish boxes, ARB fridge/freezer, 100+ gallons of fresh water, C-head composting toilet, fresh/saltwater wash downs, shore line reels, two big house banks with solar charging, start batteries for each engine, all the electric control good stuff, all LED lights, diesel heater with day tank, propane heater with fiberglass twin tanks, camper bank for the stern area, outside seating with storage and I just got started. The GoFundMe site for this boat is: buybobatoy.com
Bob

 

[hardee]

Take a look at their web site. Really nice designs. I want a 26' bow door landing craft model with two side doors, stern door to twin engines on a bracket with dive ladder (and a kicker in the middle), a drop on camping module that can take the place of my AWD UTE in the bow, an enclosed rear steering station for two, pot puller stations on both sides, honking big winches both bow and stern, full electronics top rack with lights, gas powered hydraulic small boat hoist big enough to lift in cargo/UTE's/camping module, aluminum tender, stern mount bar-b-q, generator, 500 miles of fuel in two tanks, self bailing floors, two large in floor fish boxes, ARB fridge/freezer, 100+ gallons of fresh water, C-head composting toilet, fresh/saltwater wash downs, shore line reels, two big house banks with solar charging, start batteries for each engine, all the electric control good stuff, all LED lights, diesel heater with day tank, propane heater with fiberglass twin tanks, camper bank for the stern area, outside seating with storage and I just got started. The GoFundMe site for this boat is: buybobatoy.com
Bob

hey Bob, You live in the right state (of mind) Go bet me 100K that I am going to buy that one for you, and lets see how soon you get it :shock: :smiled

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[potter water]

16 foot riveted smoker craft 1975 model used 5 months out of the year every year since. Has a 25 hp e-tech and steering console. No leaks after being used as a boat, moving trailer for furniture, sitting in the open, filled with ice one winter due to plugged drain hole.

So, while I agree that welded is nice and maybe better, don't let a bargain on a riveted hull get away.

My boat without the engine is worth about 1000 bucks including trailer. The 4 grand in the motor runs the price up.

Oh, not for sale. Just sayin' don't write off riveted.

 

[AstoriaDave]

Salt water. Recreation and short trips mainly in Lopez Sound, crabbing, fishing in protected waters.....any longer trips around the San Juans would be in nice weather.

Sounds like you are getting plenty of advice, especially comparing rivetted versus welded construction.

I live in a salt water / brackish water area. Either construction method can perform well, with adequate maintenance and quality manufacture. In any case ask what alloy was used if your service will be on salt water. The marine grade alloys hold up much better.

The local fishboat construction shops are very particular about that. You should be, also.

 

[bobjarrard]

I bought a good condition Gregor 12'3" welded skiff with a brand new 9.9 mercury on a good trailer. Two swivel seats and some other gear including two anchors. I paid $1050 which was a real deal. Things I would look out for in a buy:
#1 rivet repairs and leaks if they will let you fill the boat with some water
#2 weld repairs, there are lines of stress on some boats caused by speed and rough water
#3 Oars. Not cheap and an aluminium skiff tends to be wide and need longer oars than you think.
#4 Get home motor. A good trolling motor and large battery will work for some.
#5 Some kind of shade, it gets hot in a tin boat in the summer.
#6 Total weight that all up you can push by yourself. I can move my full rig up hill into our garage if needed.
PS: I had to look long and hard to fine a good used Gregor.
Bob

 

[thataway]

I bought a good condition Gregor 12'3" welded skiff with a brand new 9.9 mercury on a good trailer. Two swivel seats and some other gear including two anchors. I paid $1050

I hope you fly your pirate flag when aboard! Smoking deal! Great points about repairs.

When I first moved to Fl. we bought a beater jon boat for a hundred bucks. There were some leaking rivets and several welds, where there had been continuation of the cracks.

We ID'ed the loose rivets, then hit the entire bottom inside and out with a wire brush in a angle grinder. Reset the loose rivets, and used JB Weld on the cracks. I got some two part epoxy driveway/garage floor paint, and coated the inside and outside of the floor with that.

We used the boat for 6 years almost daily and never had another leak or extension of the cracks.

 

[thataway]

One thing to consider is how the boat is finished inside. I just commented on an eighteen aluminum boat on THT. There are Ribs or "frames" of aluminum inverted "U". The points between the frames, was filled with foam. Water traps above and thru the foam. Also the center of the boat had a storage area--carpeted, and probably foamed to the bottom. Water would not drain from the bow to stern--because of lack of proper "limber" holes. The owner has torn out the floors, the foam, and wonders if he should replace foam and handle the drainage.

This is why I do not like the "bass boat" type of finish--lots of compartments, carpet over all. It goes bad in a few years; Repairs are difficult. Foam in the bottom hides it, and is required by law in that size boat...but it would be far better to have the floatation up under the gunnels, and water be able to freely flow from the bow to the sump at the stern and pumped out.

The "utility" type of boat, with open ribs/frames where you can see what is happening). Floatation under thwarts, bow platform and gunnels is often a more practical choice.

 

[CaptMac]

i have a 24' aluminum boat made by sea ark. It is a 2000 model and has a 2000 90 HP carburated Honda outboard just shy of 3,100 hours (still purrs like a kitten). I use the rig commercially. The hull is all-welded without rivets. Would assume the smaller sea ark boats are likewise well-made.

 

[Pat Anderson]

After swamping our little 13' Featherlite aluminum boat in the fall of 2001, we bought a a 16' Smokercraft at the Tacoma Boat Show in January 2002. It had a steering console, pedestal seats and a 50 hp Yamaha. The whole story of how this came to be is in a 2009 blog I wrote entitled How We Got a C-Dory. We loved that boat, and 2002 was our summer of boating fun. Patty wouldn't go out overnight on it for some reason, I guess boat campingwas not her thing (it still isn't). Then we saw a C-Dory 22 Cruiser on a mooring buoy at Active Cove on Patos Island, and that was all she wrote! Patty said "I could go out overnight on THAT boat!" I didn't know when, I didn't know how, but I knew from that moment on I would have one!

Would a Smokercraft 16 meet your needs? Who knows but you? We were not really critical buyers back in 2002! As far as an aluminum boat, it was easy to launch and retrieve, was pretty fast and handled really well. We crabbed from it mostly, and it worked fine for us. But it probably could not take the beating that a heavier welded aluminum boat could take.