Explosion of Aluminum boat builders

kaelc

kaelc

Crew Member
Anyone else noticing lots of new Alunumim boat builders coming online? There seemed to be a big shake out post 2008 crash and now they seem to be showing up all over Vancouver island and the pacific north west. Is the price due to come down due to with the numbers of businesses and the ability of welders to buy precut aluminum and designs? https://metalboatkits.com/category/cutting-shops/

There are some pretty good looking custom boats coming out and some custom and production boats that make me go hmmmm https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/nvn/bod/5957733034.html

What's your favourite new design dream boat? I'm a big fan of the Silver Streak Phantom and the Stabicraft 2400. Both are lighter smaller boats that could make for a lot of fun exploring. I like the idea of bi-fold doors from Stabicraft for year round fishing and camping.
 
I think the pricing of alloy boats is mostly due to the price of aluminum and market demand. We are obviously seeing a big demand for them lately hence the high prices in the last few years. I also have noticed quite a few new custom shops opening up and a few one offs being sold online. I think it is great to see :).

My dream design would be to get Bruce Cope to draw up something similar to a 34' Striker Canyon Runner (alloy boat built in the 70's). A more realistic dream would be to have Rick from Metalboatkits modify his 27' Alaskan model to suit my needs. Stretch it out to 30', add a folding tuna tower on the roof, and of course MORE fuel!
 
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I have a few alloy boats that each has a different positive feature:
1. Ironwood 28'- beautiful progressive deadrise entry on bow, beamy and one of the prettier boats you will see
2. Cope Pachina Point 26'- again nice progressive deadrise from bow, beamy and great sea boats. Cope has some nice designs
3. Northwest 26- very stable platform and able to be creative with use of space- also very reasonable to have build a custom boat
4. Air Rider 9.3 metre- interesting Australian boat to say the least, Google them and check out the videos on how they perform. Guy in Penticton is trying to start building them in BC but in the slightly smaller model.
 
Kind of reminds me of the past when the big building boom was on and the number of contractors exploded. There was defiantly a difference in quality from one to another.
 
You have no idea of the longevity of this new wave of manufacturers. Harbercraft/Kingfisher gives a lifetime warranty on their hull to the original purchaser. They have been in business for a long time and they're not going away anytime soon. I'm not slagging any new manufacturers, but they don't have enough time in the market to have any real idea of the quality of their designs and welding reliabity. If you are concerned about resale value going with a long established manufacturer with a good reputation will always get you a large chunk of your investment back. That is one of the reasons aluminum boats are always in high demand. A well known "quality" aluminum brand boat is snapped up almost immediately upon going on the market and maintains a high percentage of its purchase value for an extremely long time compared to a glass boat. I'm not saying don't buy a boat from a new manufacturer, I'm just saying it's a little more of a gamble than buying from one of the long established manufacturers with a good reputation. If the boat you intend to buy is probably going to be your last boat then it really makes little difference. If you know that you will end up selling and upgrading again before too long then personally I'd buy a boat with known resale appeal. No one buys a boat as an investment, but it's just smart to want to maintain as much value as possible for when you trade up or sell. Names sell boats, going with an unknown manufacturer is taking a risk is all I'm saying. If you intend to buy from a new manufacturer I would not do so without arranging a tour of their manufacturing facility to be satisfied that they are producing a good quality product first. Just my opinion.
 
I feel that hull and side/transom thickness is the deciding factor in these ultra expensive aluminum boats. 1/4" bottom, 3/16" sides. Unless you are in protected waters most of the time. If a manufacturer goes belly up (fish analogy for you), then you at least have the best available construction materials.
 
Floater said:
GMD is an interesting concept, those Air Rider hulls look deadly
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Second that!

Redfisher your #4 pick is amazing
Looks like a boat to take out to Swifture and around the North Island. Can't wait to check out your other pics. It looks like the Air Rider hulls are sold as a kit, is that what the guy in Penticton is planning? I think I saw a post on craigslist.

It will be interesting, with the stock market at record highs and a gambler at the wheel, there could be a repeat of 2008 and lots of boats for sale. I remember talking to a guy from San Diego who said after the last crash he was almost eating cat food but managed to hang onto his boat. Quality boats like quality homes will retain more value then the spec and cheap ones but everything takes a massive hit. Hopefully the economy in the US keeps on rolling, oil gets a bump as do other commodities, so we get a small bump in the CAD and boat prices come down a bit.

Anyone go after Tuna with and fish the West Coast of the island with, smaller (sub 25 Aluminums)? I don't want to invest in 2000$ suspension seats for my next boat.
 
I heard a interesting fact the other day at the boat should they said there is 5 alum boat to every 1 glass boat sold in the PNW. Huge shift over the last 2 decades.
 
Kaelc.....Why the explosion of alloy boats?...I think part of it has to do with having more beam in boats than in the past. As an example a Skagit Orca 27' XLT has only the regular 8' 6" beam and a relatively narrow cabin and if an inboard with a doghouse a crowded fish deck. Great looking boat but space can be tight with 3-4 guys in it. Many of the custom alloy boats of similar length are now either 9' 6" or up to 10' 6" of beam. Way more space in the entire boat when you start to add beam. Also way less hull maintenance overall and if custom welded .....a tougher boat.

Plus I think there is overall a group of people with more money than the generation before and they are buying newer and bigger boats.
 
Welded aluminum is the hot ticket in the PNW and has been for a few years. I'd say the crop of new boat builders will be no different to any group of new entrants into any hot market: a mixed bag of the good, the average and the sketchy. We've seen a massive jump in winery licences in BC in the past five years, and I can attest that most are very average indeed. Similar for most of the rash of new craft brewers that have recently appeared. People make the observation that a market is hot and there's money to be made, so they decide to jump in. Strangely, few stop to think about what they have to offer the market that would set them apart. I've no doubt that some of these newish boat builders are doing good work already, and that some others will go on to do good work in the future. But it would be foolish to think they're all making top quality product right out of the gate. Do your research!
 
Redfisher said:
Kaelc.....Why the explosion of alloy boats?...I think part of it has to do with having more beam in boats than in the past. As an example a Skagit Orca 27' XLT has only the regular 8' 6" beam and a relatively narrow cabin and if an inboard with a doghouse a crowded fish deck. Great looking boat but space can be tight with 3-4 guys in it. Many of the custom alloy boats of similar length are now either 9' 6" or up to 10' 6" of beam. Way more space in the entire boat when you start to add beam. Also way less hull maintenance overall and if custom welded .....a tougher boat.

Plus I think there is overall a group of people with more money than the generation before and they are buying newer and bigger boats.
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Also helps that a 20 year mortgage on the boat is the norm. In turn I'm guessing that keeps the resale price so high.
The Australians are very design progressive in many things they do, I've noticed. Always seem to be thinking outside the box. GMD has had a great idea, who would have thought you could IKEA a boat?!
 
I think the explosion of boat builders is cool and should hopefully bring some cool designs.The demand is super high because stock markets are at record highs, housing has absolutely sky rocketed and people are feeling spendy. All of a sudden 150k for a boat doesn't seem all that out of reach for anyone that has had any decent amount of money invested for the last 8 years or so. As soon as the butt falls out of the markets and housing takes a dip you will see it slow down . Maybe I'm just jealous but I honestly think that you have to be out of your mind to pay the prices a lot of these guys are asking.
 
the fog ducker said:
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/boa/5979320717.html
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Ive made some inquiries into GMD and via the guy who posted that page on CL
These boats look awesome and seem a great fit to the short wave waters we get here. I'm in the market right now for a new boat and I'm very interested. I don't know what the best route would be price wise, have the guy from the ad build one or source someone local to put it together. I can get back to you guys with a comparison.
All in all, in my long experience with boats, these ones would be a great fit to our local waters, especially compared to the standard monohull options we get here locally.
 
Floater said:
Ive made some inquiries into GMD and via the guy who posted that page on CL
These boats look awesome and seem a great fit to the short wave waters we get here. I'm in the market right now for a new boat and I'm very interested. I don't know what the best route would be price wise, have the guy from the ad build one or source someone local to put it together. I can get back to you guys with a comparison.
All in all, in my long experience with boats, these ones would be a great fit to our local waters, especially compared to the standard monohull options we get here locally.
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I talked to him too at length. I couldn't get a price out of him as he hasn't built one. I wanted a full cabin on a slightly longer and beamier model but he doesn't have access to that plan..... yet. I don't have deep enough pockets to build this boat as a day boat and maybe wait for a larger model but I do think this is a great hull for our coast and I have a sense it might be worth the adventure for someone looking for a day boat of that size. Could be a great guide hull for the west coast. Also he claims he has access to Yanmar diesels and drives at a price much more attractive than the Volvos I have looked at but service for Yanmar's in BC.......maybe a question mark there. I have connected him with a boat builder friend who may take a flyer and build this one as a spec boat.
 
I have to admit that I would be a little apprehensive about taking a project on that scale to a guy who couldn't ballpark it pretty closely.

Not being a party to the conversation obviously there might be plenty of detail that would reassure me but if he's the company man in Canada, you'd have to assume that he's dealt with the home office enough that they've told him how many man hours they devote to one.

I contacted a shop in Alberta about building a design last year and they were sufficiently familiar with the process that they could estimate it pretty confidently. Granted it wasn't their first, but then they also weren't directly associated with the designer. They were just a big fab shop that had built a lot of boats, including some from that designer.

Not getting a firm price is one thing but I'd be a little nervous if I couldn't get a rough number.
 
Thunder21 said:
I think the explosion of boat builders is cool and should hopefully bring some cool designs.
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Experience from other industries and common sense says that at least some of the new builders will be good welders but have little clue about hull design, others will have slick marketing and business model but lack good welding and fabrication fundamentals, and yet others will be amazingly good boat builders but unable to fully grasp the complexities of running a 21st century business. There's simply no way they can all be rock stars. The more players in a market sector, the bigger the range between good, bad and indifferent.

As many have said, welded aluminum hulls should last longer than most owners' lifetime. That's a long time to endure an experimental design that proved to not be a good fit for our conditions. Research and reputation are always needed for any purchase, but a lifetime plus buy like a welded hull makes those even more imperative.
 
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