Thread: v-hull boats in shallow water

Thanks. That was pretty much what I had came up with in my research too, the avg guy can fix a broke rivet, but does not have the welding equipment and can't weld. I really like the alumacraft and if I don't come up with a used rig, that may be the way I go. I can get the 1442 boat/trailer for $1800.

Also, I saw what this guy did with a riveted boat.


http://www.myjonboat.com/salters.htm

JEC - I don't know where you are located, but if you are in the Little Rock/North Little Rock area, I've done business with Arts Marine in NLR for years. They have a good selection of alumacraft rivited boats and good rotating selection of used rigs also. They're at least worth checking out.

Good luck. Let us know where you end up.

Jec......I would not look over a welded boat. You honestly couldn't pay me to have a riveted boat. I know thats my opinion, but its what I like. Rivets tend to break, or get loose and leak a little, and they are also not as strong as welded boat in my opinion. I duck hunt alot, and use and abuse my jon boats, and welded is the only way I will go.

Riveted may be allright for some people with open boats, but if you are going to put in any platforms, repairs are not simple.

I'm firmly in the welded boat camp!

I like War Eagles, but I will quickly acknowledge that the "perfect" crappie boat does not exist on a mass produced basis!

Titleman

You may want to check these guys prices..http://www.rivertrailinc.com/lake.htm...when I bought mine, they were cheaper than most other welded boats, but they might have went up by now. I will say one thing, mine has taken a beating, and it has held up unbelievable well. I just dont think a riveted boat would have done the same.

Guys, how much more stable will a 42 inch wide boat be than say the 40 inch bottom on the Xpress? The 2 inches I would lose on the Xpress, would it make that much of a difference? I've been in a 36 inch wide and I know thats not what I want. Will I see a big difference in the 1440 v. a 1436.

LOL -- Like I said, you will get a lot of different opinions and experiences on the rivited vs. welded question. And none of them are wrong and I don't think you can go wrong buying either as long is it is the boat you want, have faith in and meets your needs for your type of fishing. Everyone has different experiences. I do think there is a greater selection of welded.

As far as difference in 36 and 40 inch bottoms. I think you said you wanted to put four people in a boat. For safety, absolute minimum would be 48, if not bigger. For safety sake, do not exceed the boats weight limits: people+motor+gear.

Jec -

Don't discredit a riveted boat....Last night, my 78' polarkraft was overloaded by about 200lbs. And out on Maumelle with white caps. They are strong boats and will take a beating.

That is one of the great things about getting an old jon boat. You can do whatever you want to it. One word of caution, DO NOT make a deck that goes all of the way to the top of the boat, as pictured in your post. Keep the floors as low as possible. Something like this.....

JEC,

I would go as wide as your pocketbook will let you. The wider a boat is, the more stable, unless you are trying to fish back behind buck brush in real tight cover. My allweld is 48" wide & very stable. I've fished out of a 14x36 jon boat, and I couldn't stand it. Not real comfortable, and if you need to stand up, you have to be careful, or you will be in the drink. If you are gonna fish maumelle and deal w/ white capping, etc, I would go as wide as you can. I also bought from Art's Marine. They stand behind their products. They have 14', 15',16' boats that are welded & reasonably priced. The motors are quite expensive, but they have 14x42 for 15-1800 I think. They have used rigs also, if you want something along that route. GO WIDE!!

I have ran a riveted boat for 16 years on shallow rivers with a jet and not had any problem. The wider the boat the more water the bottom displaces which lets you run higher and in more shallow water than a narrow one. I now have a welded one and liked both. I would also lean toward a 48 inch bottom, at least...