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Calif Bill Calif Bill is offline
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Jul 2006
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Default Aluminum boats welding (Hewes, Duckworth, Bolton)


"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"Calif Bill" wrote in message
...

Joe, your boat is not in the same league with the boats he is looking
at.


How so?


Thickness of aluminum. Bracing. General construction. I have owned
riveted boats. Valco. The rivets will loosen over time. The aluminum will
flex. The Northwest boats were designed to run white water rivers with
rocks. Jet drives required. But since then people found out how good they
were and wanted propeller drives for efficiency or what ever. So the same
construction methods for the boat are used in the propeller boats. My boat
is 3/16 thick bottom. Welded I-beam reinforcements inside the bottom.
Depending on the manufacturer some are using boxed stringers. All aluminum.
Lund makes a great boat, they just do not have the strength of the Northwest
boats. The NW boats also weigh more. My 21' Chevy engine boat with the 67
gallon tank full scales about 3300#. I have higher sides than a lot of the
pure river sleds, so probably 300# more or less extra.