JonDavenport

Last night, I saw a "Lassie" rerun on TV from the early 1970's. A young man is tooling around a harbor in a little Chris-Craft runabout. He has the famed collie dog on board. He happens upon this used cabin cruiser with a For Sale sign and a telephone number on it. Does he ask permission? No. He and Lassie climb aboard and this fellow starts poking around inside the cabin. In a cabin drawer, he finds the boat's ignition key. He fires up the boat and lets the runabout drift away. He takes the cruiser out on the open water and she runs fine...for a little while. Then the engine craps out. Then this boy goes down into the engine compartment and discovered what appears to be steam coming out of the batteries. He breathes this stuff in then gets knocked out unconscious. Lassie spots shore deceptively "nearby" then jumps in the ocean to try to make a swim for shore. Then a shark starts after Lassie. Luckily, the shark and Lassie are spotted by an approaching Harbor Patrol boat with two lawmen on board. The shark is killed with the lawman's gun and Lassie is saved. Lassie starts barking to get the lawmen's attention and they spot the disabled cabin cruiser on the water. The boy knocked out in the engine room is soon discovered and then he is revived with oxygen the patrol boat happened to have been carrying. This young man is subsequently saved as well but he realizes he is in a load of trouble for acting so young, naive and stupid. Also, there was an apparent good reason for that cabin cruiser to have a For Sale sign posted on her superstructure. So, always ask the seller permission to test out a used boat first, wear a life jacket, have a fire extinguisher handy, make sure adequate radio communications are on board and be sure to have the proper inspection of the vessel before committing to any deals.

So you are saying Crestliner stinks? No, what I said was that any welded alloy boat can/could leak, split, take on water etc there is no guarantee that just because it's an all-welded aluminium boat that it will/should never leak. Regardless of being a Crestliner or not. I can't say wooden or fiberglass boats are invincible either. I think aluminum has the best longevity. It won't rust or rot. I am not sure if Crestliner is alloy or not. Though no boat is perfect, I would have to say all-welded aluminum is the least likely to be troublesome. Sure, any boat can get destroyed in a wreck. I would have to say all-welded has the nod over rivets for leak-resistance.

So you are saying Crestliner stinks?

Crestliner is aluminum, all-welded construction, no rivets. Don't know much about grade or thickness. I have never heard of any all-welded aluminum hull's failing. It would seem that an all-welded "floating beer can" would even outlive her owner. My family had a riveted Grumman aluminum canoe that developed minor seepage at the rivets after about five years or so. We bought this canoe new. I had a Lowe aluminum 14-footer I bought brand new a few years ago. She was riveted, I believe. I used to pull the drain plug after a day on the lake and a few gallons or more of water would ooze out. Not sure if this was rivet leakage or just water splashing over the bow. My wet dogs and I would get on board the Lowe after swimming in the lake too. Once I tried to launch her with the drain plug out but caught myself before she rolled off the boat trailer at the ramp. Never heard anything bad about a Crestliner hull. There should never be leakage/seepage on all-welded aluminum.

dark brown more tactical for fishing, I have decided, two-tone has an elegance too

My first and last boat was a then-purchased-new Lowe 14-footer sporting 25-horse Johnson 2-stroke power. Johnson outboards are out of production. This boat proved to small for my two German shepherds and a human companion on deck and also had tiller control which I hated.

I lament the Delta King as she is sitting docked as a stupid "Hotel" and "bar" on the Sacramento River in downtown Sacramento, CA. So, I wrote to the Delta King Hotel manger and gave him a piece of my mind in this email as follows: Mr. Coyne: It is a shame she is sitting docked idle on the Sacramento River. Her sister, Delta Queen, is now being refurbished in LA to continue navigation on inland waters in the future. I think she would be much more charming than a "Hotel" if she were cruising the Delta and playing calliope music. A grand historic treasure such as an old-fashioned American riverboat needs to be cruising under her own steam power to be done any justice. Would she not even be more profitable as a working steamboat for passengers? Is there not enough funding to make the King operable and safe for overnight steamboat service? Are there legal complications in this state that keeps the King out of commission as an operational riverboat for passenger service? Sincerely, Jonathan H. Davenport

I have the Crestliner Kodiak 18 with a 50-or-60-horse Mercury Four Stroke in mind. My boat would have the side console option and a GPS/depthfinder as well as navigation lights and a hand-held floating marine walkie-talkie with NDB. Most fellows think of these for duck hunting and fishing but mine would be an economy day cruiser for inland waters. Aluminum has its virtues. Lightweight, lasts forever and the boat is simple to clean, maintain and detail. My first and last boat was a then-purchased-new Lowe 14-footer sporting 25-horse Johnson 2-stroke power. Johnson outboards are out of production. This boat proved to small for my two German shepherds and a human companion on deck and also had tiller control which I hated. I would use my aluminum boat to navigate the inland waters of northern California: navigable rivers, sloughs, lakes, reservoirs and the Delta since I live in the Sacramento Valley. Crestliner is built with welds and not weaker rivets. These aluminum hulls have nothing but longevity. Here is a mock-up of what this Kodiak would look like in special paint.

hello from Folsom, California