.100 Riveted vs. .125 Welded Lund vs Xpress

[Nat's Dad]

Interested in the Xpress H18 or H17 vs the Lund Renegade 1775 and 1875

Does a riveted hull give more and prevent cracking that maybe a thicker welded hull might develop over time?

Which type would be easier to fix if a problem developed?

I find it odd I don't read more about these two model boats on the forum.

[madmurph]

Agreed.

[Drothgeb]

I have a smaller riveted boat that I use for electric only lakes mostly. And, l have a larger .190 welded jet boat. They both have their pluses and minuses. To me smaller boats are OK with rivets, but if you are going to run it hard, I prefer welded. The .125” is about the thinnest I would consider, but I run my welded boat on the river with lots of rocks (mine has UHMW too). Depending on your use, you might be OK with .100.

[csurp]

I would also pay attention to the underwater seams. I was looking at an aluminum boat the other day that had two hull halfs joined at the midline, then covered by a center keel. Hard to repair down the road if a leak develops under the keel

[GeauxTide]

I fished out of my Uncle's boats, from 2002-2017, an Xpress X17 and an X19. .125 Tanks and drove/rode like a glass HP Boat. Two boats ago, I owned a riveted Starcraft Stratocaster with a 70hp Johnson. Owned it 7 years and never leaked. If my dealer sold Xpress, I'd be in an Xpress. I've been pleased with my Ranger, especially with Ultrex down. Since tin boats don't flex like glass, I've never tried driving through rough chop on plane, unless the waves are at my back.

[Nat's Dad]

I get the .125 is better than .100 For some reason I've thought riveted allowed a bit of flex that might crack a weld. Not sure if that's true. I've read enough posts about cracked welds with Xpress that it has me thinking.

[T-Mac]

Regarding the size of boats being discussed here, strength to weight ratio and the ability to handle flex is the basis for riveting. For example,, the pontoons on float planes take a nasty beating..and not only are the planes riveted,, so are the pontoons. They are riveted for the strength to weight factor and for the ability to withstand flex. On lighter gauge aluminum, (under .250 for example) riveting withstands flexing better than welds do. - If a weld never flexes,you have no problem. However, boats the size we are discussing do flex... even while on their trailers. Often it is not the weld, but the distressed aluminum next to the weld that cracks.. While it is more costly to rivet because it is more labor intensive, the connection has the strength properties needed, but also yields a straighter surface, free of heat distortion. --- On the other hand, however, on heavy gauge aluminum boats, (west coast style) where heavy weight is not a factor, flexing can be significantly reduced using very thick aluminum...In that case, welding is most practical.

[Great Scott]

Whether you run welded or riveted, remember some can break an anvil.
I've seen a lot of custom commercial fishing boats. They are big, carry big
loads, but dont run w/any speed. I have yet to see any except welded models,
and have yet to see one w/o split welds in the transom area, regardless of how
well supported they are.
Run you boat w/consideration to water conditions and it will last a long time, abuse it
and you will be here posting how your hull failed. LDS

[BOATS]

Whether you run welded or riveted, remember some can break an anvil.
I've seen a lot of custom commercial fishing boats. They are big, carry big
loads, but dont run w/any speed. I have yet to see any except welded models,
and have yet to see one w/o split welds in the transom area, regardless of how
well supported they are.
Run you boat w/consideration to water conditions and it will last a long time, abuse it
and you will be here posting how your hull failed. LDS

The 34 ft SeaArk patrol boats we ran in my last unit weighed 10,000 lbs and the newest had twin 420 hp diesels and could run 46, none had cracked anything. Yes aluminum all welded.

[Nat's Dad]

You add nothing to the discussion as most on here do.

[BOATS]

You add nothing to the discussion as most on here do.

Just replying to the comment that I copied in my post.

[Grizzly]

You add nothing to the discussion as most on here do.

Just adding nothing to this discussion.

Carry on please