I own a Fisher Marine Water Strider III aluminum boat and have had it since 1978. Not used a lot but it's lasted me all this time. Had a few rivet head come off and had to weld the holes back shut by hiring a welder to do the job. Now I just plug up the holes with JB Weld and they have held up since 1992. Was going to Patoka Lake from the Evansville, IN area and it's a 1.5 hour trip. My neighbor told me about JB weld and used it to cover a hole where a rivet head popped of. We were about ready to cancel the trip to Patoka lake due to the hole in the boat. about 1/8" in diameter in size. But the neighbor (Mike) got me some JB weld and applied it over the hole. I was skeptible but after we arrived the JB weld was dried and hard as a rock. This little hole in the boat still has the JB weld on it stopping it from leakaing any water.Originally Posted by wild duck
Moral of the JB weld story is that if you get an aluminum boat with rivets just remember that the rivet heads can come off and causes leaks in the boat. One other time the weld split and I almost lose the boat. Luckily the weld broke/split at the front bow area and once I got the boat's nose up the water was able to be pulled out the back of the boat while I was moving and pulled the drain plug. I saved my boat from sinking that day at Patoka Lake. So beware that aluminum welds on a boat can break too.
If I had to do it all over again I'd buy a aluminum boat that was all welded and without any rivets if possible. That or a fiberglass fishing boat.
Lund makes good boats from what I have heard. The local Conservation Officer that worked my area and retired about two years ago fished out of a LUND Boat. If that tells you anything. He likes to crappie fish and I used to watch him fishing as the lake we fished is only 90 acres in size and there is no place to hide from anyone on the roadway next to the lake. So I could sit in the parking lot or on the roadway and see where he fished. LOL. There are only so many crappie spots in this 90 acre old stripper pit that was never reclaimed by AMAX coal company. They dug the coal out of the land and left a big 90 acre hole in the ground that filled up with rain water. It's 60 ft deep in some areas With a few structure features. But mostly it's a dish pan shaped lake with steep sides and very little wood. Lots of submerged milfoil alond the shallow edges before the bottom drops down into 30 ft to 60 ft of water.
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