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Out of the 19 boats that I have owned so far, none of them have been aluminum.
I have been getting the itch to splurge on a kick-around boat to use around the back yard (CA Delta) and figured that I would pick up one of the dozens of used aluminum boats advertised on craigslist lately.
I'm looking for a 12'er (or so) that I can hang my 9.9 o/b (off of my inflatable) on and putt around the slu's with a kid or two. I'd prefer to stick with a v-hull (no jon boats).
I have always heard but never paid close attention to the welded vs riveted debates (arguments) while bellied up to the bar at the yacht club.
Some say rivets loosen up and leak while others say that welds crack and corrode.
My first boat was an old riveted aluminum boat w/a 4.5 HP Air Cooled Ted Williams from Sears/ the Motor was a classic when I got it. I have found that all Riveted Boats leak. I know Lund makes a nice Welded Boat. If it were me, I would go with the Welded. War eagle also makes a bad a** aluminium boat.
I would also look at the High Tide Brands. They are fiberglass, but they have some small ones that meet your needs are hold up really well.
I had an old MAritime welded boat I owned it for 12 years when i was a teen and it took tons of abuse waterskieing and never broke a weld. we did have smal rivited boat that the rivits wouldcome loose.
Welded is usually the way to go as long as the Aluminum is about .100 or more. The thinner aluminum welded boats do not hold up as well. A lot of the time its hard to make a 12ft welded boat and be competitive with the rivets ones because of the extra materials that have to go into making the boat.
I have a 1972 14ft riveted boat that doesn't leak. Not that I can tell anyhow. My grandfather bought a riveted AL boat in the 50s even after the salesman told him it wouldn't last long in the bay. My uncle still uses it to this day.
Beat the crap out of a Starcraft for 15 years. It may have started leaking before I sold it. I have an Alumaweld now. I don't expect it will ever leak.
My buddy has a 17' Starcraft riveted aluminum bass boat. It's about a 1985 model with a 40hp. I've been fishing on this boat it's whole life and I have never seen more than a few drops come out when he pulls the plug after a trip.
I have run aluminum riveted boats for 45 years and still do, and have never had a leaker. I've had lund, alumacraft, mirrocraft, and currently have a starcraft. I would think that as long as you avoid something that is lightweight and get something sturdy, you won't have any problems.
I have run aluminum boats for over 35 years now and never had a problem with the riveted boats ! That is until I bought an Alumacraft boat ! Its a 2005 model and a piece of junk ! Their warranty sucks also ! I would buy the welded boat but I will never buy another Alumacraft !
Aboater: I'm not aware of any major manufacturer, such as Crestliner for instance, that makes a 12' welded hull--too expensive to create and just won't sell because of the expense.
You may be able to find a small fairly local welded hull boat--we have one close by here in Ohio that I could connect you with--but my belief is that they are few and far between
I owned a 12' Duranautic for over 25 years with only a small leak that developed in the floor at the transom from the battery bouncing around while trailering. I purchased a new 17' Alumacraft in 2007 and have well over 200 hours (salt) on through 2 seasons with zero problems.
I've owned 2 riveted starcrafts in my life. The first was a 19' 65 Chieftain that my father bought in the early 70's. It's been refitted a couple times and seen heavy mixed ocean and lake use every season. My current boat is a 26' Islander that has logged 3700+ hours on it offshore fishing and both boats have all their original rivets and do sit in the water for days without any sign of leakage. Like any boat, your mileage may vary from boat to boat manufacturer to manufacturer.
We have quite a few Valco, Gregor and Bayrunner aluminums listed for sale in my area, as well as the Sea King (Wards) and Gamefisher (Sears).
The Valco and Gregors have similar designs and lengths with the Valco being riveted and the Gregor being welded. They are lightweight "car-topper" type aluminum boats that come in lengths of 11, 12, 13, 14, etc...
The Bayrunners are more of a larger, deeper hulled boat and most that I have seen are welded. Probably more boat than what I plan to use it for.
There are a few Fisher's advertised as well. They offer both welded and riveted models. Even though they refer to this model as a "jon boat", it isn't the usual style that I have seen. I like this one. They are quite a bit more money than the $750 to $1,500 range (usually with a small motor) that I have been seeing on CL though...
Aboater: I'm not aware of any major manufacturer, such as Crestliner for instance, that makes a 12' welded hull--too expensive to create and just won't sell because of the expense.
You may be able to find a small fairly local welded hull boat--we have one close by here in Ohio that I could connect you with--but my belief is that they are few and far between
I've owned 2 riveted starcrafts in my life. The first was a 19' 65 Chieftain that my father bought in the early 70's. It's been refitted a couple times and seen heavy mixed ocean and lake use every season.
I see a TON of those Chieftans still running around here in the Delta!
They usually have yellow hulls and have a nice, old, "salty" look to them. At least for our area!
As a side note, dungeness crab season opened recently here in CA and last w/e while heading back into the Pillar Point Harbor (Half Moon Bay) with our limits, I noticed an aluminum boat heading out that caught my eye (now that I have been "tuned" into aluminums, I notice a bunch of them! LOL). I guess I should really refer to this one as an "alloy" boat!
Not that I would ever want this boat for my own (well...maybe! ) it looked to be an awesome ride. It was a cat boat about 30' long and built to look like a CG or military boat. It had the name "Moose" on it and it was a private boat (non-Gov't) that was heading out with a crab pot puller on it.
Welded or Riveted??? 
) it looked to be an awesome ride. It was a cat boat about 30' long and built to look like a CG or military boat. It had the name "Moose" on it and it was a private boat (non-Gov't) that was heading out with a crab pot puller on it.
