Most durable boat?

[Tscott8201]

Re: Most durable boat?

As ReelPlumber pointed out, I was asking more about modern production boats and who was making a durable boat. I still appreciate all the discussion we are getting on this topic. I enjoy Googling the the different makes and models mentioned.

As I stated in my first post, the real source of the question (and my frustration) came to me as I was preparing to re core the deck on my Aquasports. It struck me as funny that boat builders use materials that are degraded by water if exposed. Now of course I realize that when my boat was built in 98, composites and the like were much rarer than they are today and much more costly. Truthfully, I did not really expect to get a solid answer, as much of this is speculative.

I guess to be more specific, what boat builders build with composite bulls and decks that do not rot or absorb water? (I would assume this to be some sort of honey comb or closed cell foam)

Which builders limit core exposure to moisture by isolating hardware by mounting it in areas of solid glass?

Who makes a boat that bubba could mount something to the deck with stainless steel screws with little or no sealant and it not eventually destroy the deck of the boat due to moisture intrusion?


Tom (I am not Bubba, but apparently I bought a boat from him) Scott

 

[ziggy]

Re: Most durable boat?

i've no idea who has the most durable boat.
while not a cc nor a new boat company. i'll give a thumbs up to my aristocraft. they're all glass boats. have been since aristocraft made the change from wood to glass in the late 50's i think... www.aristocraftboats.com. check out the fiberglass brochures under vintage boats... ya can see cutaway views of their boats. my nineteen is stringerless and to the best of my knowledge, only has wood in the transom where the drive mounts too. i've only found ss hardware on my boat so far excluding cleats, stern light and bow light. everything else i've looked at is ss, including upholstery staples and any fasteners i've found...

 

[redfury]

Re: Most durable boat?

http://www.lakeassault.com/ I've always been impressed with the way these boats have been built. If you want durable, then this is the brick *house of boats.

 

[SteuryLover]

Re: Most durable boat?

I have to comment on the Robalos, at least the new ones. My buddy has a 2007 R305 with 80 hours on the twin Yamaha 250s (great motors). We were out the other day and noticed 3 problems I owuld not associate with a high quality boat with only 80 hours.

1. 30% of the SS hardware is rusting. The screws look identical, one will rust like it is steel, the one next to it is shiny like new SS. This is on many pieces of hardware.

2. On the transom we looked down while fishing and notice what looks like a guage in the gel coat. When we looked closer we found there was a decent size void under the gel, the cracking continued with a simple press of the finger.

3. The live well only kept 20% of the live bait we put in alive for more then 2 hours. All were purchased from the same bait barge and was healthy when we got them.

Just my 2 cents, I would not expect that from a $250,000 boat with 80 hours that is on a trailer. But it does ride better then my buddies 30' whaler, and the Yamahas are awesome outboards.

Sorry to hear about your buddies boat. Has Robalo taken care of the issues?

I have a 2007 R240 with over 400 hours and have only had a few minor issues that the Dealer/Robalo has taken care of no questions asked. I love the boat and the ride is fantastic.

I sea trailed 3 boats the same day out of the same inlet with 6+ foot seas. The Dealers did not want to go out but we insisted so we could get a good feel of how the boats handled. For a 24 footer the Robalo and Whaler handled great, the Grady was not so good. We liked the layout of the Robalo and they had Yamahas and that is what made our decision.[/QUOTE]


I asked him the same about having Robalo address the issues. He is a pretty passive rich guy, just says he will drop it off at his rigging guy repair it all(must be nice). I did see the lineup of CC at the last show, very nice boats with a Kevlar reinforced hull design.

I do see a few 70's and 80's CC boats more often then others, here is what I have noticed still on the water from builders that still build boats.

1. Boston Whaler
2. Mako
3. Robalo
4. Grady White
5. Donzi
6.WellCraft
7. Proline
8. Aquasport

And of course I need to mention my boat, Steury (if you can find one, Steury was bought by Viking in the early 80's. My 75 has original decks, gel coat and transom. Solid as a rock and 35 years old)

All boat builders above (minus the Steury) have been building CC since the mid 70's or earlier and are still making them today. Below is a very cool link to a Popular Science issues on Google that is a Center Console Boat Buyers guide for 1978. Shows pretty much ALL CC boats made in 1978 with original MSRP, weight and motor size.

http://books.google.com/books?id=qQ...resnum=1&ved=0CAoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false

 

[JB]

Re: Most durable boat?

Forgot Edgewater.

Add it to my short list of

Boston Whaler
Everglades

Note that Bob Dougherty designed the classic Boston Whalers of the 70s and 80s as well as both Everglades and Edgewaters. I think that might have something to do with their durability.