Lund Hull issues
 

Just curious if anybody else out there has had any issues with their
Double riveted seams collapsing while going through some waves. Ive had the seam on both sides cave in and Lund won't do anything as they claim i hit an object in the water without even examining the boat. Had third party adjusters come look and say otherwise however to fix the damage is worth more then the hull is worth and will be written off. Boat is a 2016 1650 rebel xs. This would if Been its third summer in the water. Hoping to build a case against them so any infoisappreciated.

PS if your thinking about buying a boat don't waste your time with Lund. They won't care about ya if the time comes.

Thanks

I don’t know why they are popular in Alberta. Growing up in BC I always heard they did not do well on the coast and leaked

I have never owned one myself though

I have owned probably 2 dozen Lunds and have had excellent results and all of them except on beaten up tinner that leaked but it had likely hit many rocks over the course of it's life .... but the rest were dry as a bone.

My experience with Lund customer has been dramatically different as well. I break the buttons off my cover, 3-4 years after owning it - they replaced them, I left the bilge on and it burn out - yup warranty. Any issues I've had have been self inflicted and most of the time they just replace what they find and bill it to warranty. A pleasant surprise from the folks at Riverside in St.Albert.

Is the hull "caved in" or "dented" or just leaking. If it's caved in or dented, they probably have every reason to think you smacked something - I've hit logs at high speed and not even dented the hull. Beat up some waves, never an issue, the only time I got a dent was hitting a dead head 12" under the water which resulted in a crease and long dent but the seams were intact.

Never heard of a wave causing a dent - but who knows - I guess it could happen. And, in that case, if you photograph the dent and there's no abrasion and it looks like a hull collapse - you have a case.

Even with the cheapest crap boats out there I've never heard of a wave denting a hull - but who knows right? I guess it not impossible is it?

After reading that your dealer helped you out i have every reason to think the dealership plays a major role in how the manufacturer responds to the claim and maybe i should be focusing my problem on the dealership as they have been no help at all.

You have damage on both sides from two separate incidents, or one?
You'd have to be very skilled or very unlucky to have two strikes that caused the same damage on both sides...

I had the hulls replaced on warranty on one 12 footer and two 14 footers. Small splits in the aluminum hull going into the rivets so they couldn’t even be re-riveted. The last time I had the dealer say they hadn’t ever seen that happen to a Lund hull before. So I had to remind him that it was the 3rd hull that was being replaced for me at that exact dealership. Lol.

I’ve had 2 more that had to have the rivets tightened up because they were leaking badly.

I finally went to a welded hull and never had another issue. I like Lunds but the don’t stand up to heavy chop out on the chuck.

Yes i have damage on both sides of the hull. I know exactly when it happened. I was caught in bad weather coming across the lake and went through some 3ft white caps. After loading the boat i noticed the damage right away.

Yes I've heard the same thing from the dealer multiple times now. " I never heard of this happening" not a bit impressed with my dealer so far but i know if i go in there guns a blazing I won't get anywhere either.

What model Lund?

All in all I have 4 Lund boats and I am picking up a fifth Thursday. They are all tiller fishing models 16-18’ long. They are all pre 2003. Deep v’s and Alaskan models.
I am very happy with them and they seem to have good heavy gauge aluminum hulls. Maybe the newer models are thinner gauge?
I also have a pair of modified v Alumacrafts for river guiding which are welded hulls. Great boats as well but I think a bit lighter gauge. I cracked one of the welded boats on the front prow line hitting waves on big water but tigged it up just fine. Maybe yours can be welded?

Osky

Aluminum sheet, particularly if it comes from overseas can be sketchy no matter which brand - so it the cracks are oriented the same direction as the "grain" you may have a case - I'd look at that too. You never know.

Many rolled materials are directional (and marked from the factory), and re-bending a sheet in the same direction on some materials, then pre-stressing it will cause a greater possibility of failures.

There are many deep V Tyee's, Barons and other Lunds blasting in the great lakes and being pounded everyday.

I can tell you that the argument between "welding" and "rivets" is simply not the whole story. Ask any qualified engineer and he will tell you the same thing.

It's far more about the material properties (not thickness) and the construction. High dynamic stress (twisting, pounding, not regular movement) of lightweight materials (like Aluminum) are used on planes all the time and are still riveted.

Riveting, particularly the way Lund does it, is more expensive compared to welding - so it's not about cheap - it's about a poor lot of material or someone not paying attention in the factory or something. They install each and every rivet by hand one guy on top and and another under the boat in a jig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi4ni9fsnBA

1650 rebel XS

Why do boat dealers sound so much like car dealerships service departments haha

Rivetted Lunds,
the tale of two stories, you either love them or bail

Good Luck, I suspect that the manufacturer will do what ever they can to get out of the fix/replacement.

I feel for you, boats come with mountains and valleys of emotions.

well said, I know many older boats out there that are beat but don't leak etc then there is the one that the aluminum cracked but not at the riveted areas...my crestliner has taken a beating for 15 years now...got some warps etc in her but periodically I take a rubber mallet and tap her back into shape...no leaks to date:)

Lund is the best fishing boat you can buy....the issue is that you pay for that right. That's why right now I'm really big on Alumacraft. I'm not sure if the quality is on par with Lund, but it's close enough and the price difference is enough, that it's more than worthwhile. I used to be obsessed with Lund Pro-V and Pro Guide, but now I'm all about Alumacraft Competitor series. To me, for the price, it's the best boat going.

There is way better quality hauls out there than Lund

Kingfisher is one for starters

I know it's just opinions, but if you ask any real fisherman what the best fit, finish and ride is for fishing......they'll tell you Lund.

If Lund is the best fishing boat out there why do I see zero of them on the West Coast?
I fish out of Port Hardy. Honest question.

What I see instead is 50% Glass and 50% Welded Aluminum. Of the welded aluminum boats, King Fisher and Hewes Craft make up 80%, with a smattering of other brands. Literally zero lunds in Port Hardy.

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Been in a few and not that impressed with the ride or function honestly but they do make them pretty and add gimmicks

It’s a regional thing when it comes to preference I find. If you are originally from Ontario you are a Lund lover if you grew up in BC they are not even considered to be top 10 unless it’s for a small lake tinny

Too many stores of cracks and failed seems from the coast to hold them in high regard

absolutely could be a regional thing. I'm born and raised in Manitoba, and Lund is king. I've known since I was a little kid, when I used to doodle Lund boats and Merc engines in my school notebooks. They even have their own Lund Mania tournament that is only open to Lund owners, which is easy because anyone who's anyone has a Lund. Having said that, Alumacraft is gaining on them, with a few Princecraft and Crestliner owners thrown in the mix. The odd G3 unit, too.

I should also mention, Alumacraft is helped out greatly by the YouTube boys. First it was Aaron Wiebe (who has since partnered with Warrior), but now Jay Siemens, Clayton Schick and Tom Boley (the best of the best of YouTube fishing) all run Alumacraft Competitor 185's with 90s on the back. To me, it's the absolute perfect "Do Anything/Everything" boat. But good luck finding one....cripes, have I tried.

ALUMACRAFT boats are nice ,but those guys are also sponsored by them. I would say they are the best ever if they gave me one.:)

Lund went to crap in 2010. Hard to argue that they didn’t OWN the market for 50 years.

I have run several different makes of aluminum boats - Lund, Princecraft and Sylvan(Smokercraft).
If I was to do it all over again I would go fiberglass for a multispecies boat.
Warrior, Nitro ZV, Skeeter, Yarcraft, Ranger.
There is almost no comparison to aluminum if you run any big water.
I started out in a fiberglass boat and my last boat may be one as well.

Lund is good, but others have come to match I think.
I do agree on the Alumacraft competitor series. I have my eyes open for one now as well but I want the 20 footer tiller. I’m thinking it will be the last large guide boat I will buy. I refuse to pay retail and few are flipping them yet.

Osky

Lunds
 

Have had not problems with the hull of my Lund ski and Sport but the plastic dash has been a POS. Replaced once by Lund on warranty but then 2 years later it bubbled and cracked all to hell. Told they would not fix again. I plan to grind out blisters and pour an epoxy to fix it.

You just listed the boats that are mass marketed and some of the most available. This is why they become popular and to be honest if you want an average boat with frills like a live well or geared to C&R tournaments that is what you are looking at

If you want well built reliable aluminum you go kingfisher and hewes craft for starters. Aluminum river boat you start getting into others

Fact of the matter is for the average fishermen most brands will do the trick

I'd love to go with something like a Kingfisher for my next boat, I really like the looks of the warrior tiller with the fishing package. Maxes out at 75hp in the tiller model though which I feel might be underpowered for 4 people as my kids grow. The flex can handle a lot more in a tiller but also mo pricy.

Anyhow realistically I wouldn't be opposed to a riveted boat and would be open to a few manufacturers. I have no idea why some get so hung up on a brand just because it's the one they happen to own. I'd rather be a bit more balanced and take a number of considerations into account, including what kind of deal is available. The boat the wife, kids, and I fish out of most is a Crestliner and an argument can be made riveted is better for that gauge of aluminum. Been pretty happy with it so far though and no rivets to leak, I do however stay conscious that I probably don't want to be smashing huge chop with it as fast and hard as I can.

The point Duramaximos brought up about heavy welded aluminums on the coast is a pretty solid point, and you don't see any true river boats that get the most abuse in a riveted hull.

Hope the O.P. can get his issues resolved without to big a kick in the pants.