Welded or Riveted?

[wcurling]

Great Forum, I'm already glad I joined.
I am planning on purchasing a used jon boat 15' to 17' and an OB of 20 to 30 hp. My question is; which is the better method of construction riveted or welded? Thanks in advance for your opinions and suggestions.

 

[Jim]

Welcome aboard!

Thanks for joining! :beer:

I personally like welded better, but riveted is fine too. Riveted is cheaper, and leaky rivets are very easy to fix.

 

[FishingBuds]

welcome aboard mate

welded, but I own a riveted

 

[dedawg1149]

welded would be better than riveted but i would look at price difference when i did my 17 foot tracker the whole keel leak so i just rebucked all the rivets.took about 15 minutes and no more leaks .

 

[Quackrstackr]

I own one of each. :lol:

My riveted jon is a 1968 model, my welded is a 2008 model. Neither leaks.

It just depends on what you will be using it for. Severe use, abuse and constant pounding... buy an all weld.

Otherwise, millions of riveted boats are still out there doing their thing every day.

 

[bassboy1]

I personally prefer riveted boats. I can't heliarc weld at the house, but I can and do replace rivets with an air hammer and bucking bar quite easily. Of course, I don't do much in the way of running rocky rivers, and if I did, I probably would invest in a welded boat, and TIG welder (want one of those anyway)

 

[wcurling]

Thanks guys for all the impute. I'll be using the boat around the Elizabeth, Nansmond and James River, edge of the Chesapeake Bay and ICW. I don't plan on getting out in the rough stuff with this one, I have a 19' Infinity for that.
This really is a great forum!