2012 Alumacraft Floor Issues

Bought my first new boat and after taking it out a couple times there is a very loud popping noise coming from the metal towards the front of the boat. My passengers are telling me it is coming from the floor in between the braces. It only does this when there are passengers on board, but it is concerning because if the floor can flex that much, my rivets will most likely come loose.

I called Alumacraft today and the fella I spoke with said he's never heard anything like this before and he had been there for 40yrs. This is bit surprising considering the metal is pretty thin. None the less he said I would get a call tomorrow from the warranty dept and they would let me know how they plan to go about fixing this issue. Most likely add another brace done by a dealer. The closest dealer, 100 miles :!: The boat was bought from a box store, so returns or repairs from them is out of question.

Still very happy with the boat, but would like it to be proper and last as long as many of these boats we see posted here on the forums. Like the boat I just sold, 47yrs old and was water tight.

It may be from extra length of aluminum in the floor that's created a small wave between the braces.
Does the popping happen when your passengers step in that area or only when you're motoring along?

Butthead said:

It may be from extra length of aluminum in the floor that's created a small wave between the braces.
Does the popping happen when your passengers step in that area or only when you're motoring along?

Click to expand...

Only when I'm motoring along..

No return call today. Guess I will have to follow up.

Any chance we could get a close up pic of the suspect area?

If it wasn't a brand new boat I'd say throw a few closed end blind rivets in it to stiffen it up.

The first picture is where the floor is popping. I can almost get my finger in between the rib and the floor at this spot. The second picture is what the rest of the ribs behind the middle seat look like in the boat. Can you spot the rivet to no where?! None the less that are flush with the floor and gunnel's.

Just called Alumacraft and was able to get in touch with the person responsible for claims/warranty. I was told the installation of ribs on the front of the boat are normal. He is getting in touch with my local dealer (60miles) from my zip, and will be sending an additional rib and rivets for them to install in between the two in question.

So far, good customer service with satisfactory solution. I didn't have the heart to ask for additional compensation for driving 120miles, and time lost. He was too nice about it.. =D>

Rib goes out Monday. Will have the boat up there next week. Hopefully two weeks from now this will be a memory.

Well the Rib showed up a couple days ago, unfortunately it had been broken. They also didn't send any rivets. Talked to the dealer that was doing the warranty work and they were suppose to get back with me though I never received a call. Decided I should call Alumacraft to help streamline the process, apparently they are closed or don't answer on Mon-Wed?

sixgun, you just haven't had any good luck with this boat. I have an Alumacraft 1648 MV and all the ribs are tight against the hull. There have been a lot of 1542 builds on the site and I don't recall anyone having this problem. Was the replacement rib the same dimension? The reason I ask is because it looks like this one was installed too far back from the bow creating the clearance. If the replacement is the same you might not be able to use the same rivet holes in the hull and still get a tight fit. I hope that Alumacraft treats you right on this.