Ally Craft Boats - Service

[afro]

I am complaining about the service, (or lack of), which I recently received from the Ally Craft company on the gold coast. A six inch crack in the bottom of my boat was the problem. I rang on Tuesday and told to bring my boat around by three, it was there at two. I was then told by Murray (the manager I believe) that the boat would be ready the next day and that I would be notified by a phone call. No call came, so I rang on Thursday. I was told that the boat was still being looked at and that it would be ready on Friday. I then rang back disgusted at this timeline and said I wanted to pick up my boat, which I was now told had not even been looked at. I'm disgusted with this lack of service from the Ally Craft company, especially when repairing there own poor quality work. I would encourage my fellow boaties to think twice before considering choosing and Alley Craft aluminium boat. >:(

[gunna]

I have my new ally craft in for its first service at the moment. I have asked them to check why it is leaking quite bad. I am hoping it is bungs or engine mount. Interesting ???

[Jim_Linden]

Afro,

I had an Allycraft 3.4 V-nose for a couple of years down on Wallis Lake at Tuncurry. I was quite happy with its performance - it was very stable, and I used to flick lures for flathead standing on the bow.

BUT - after a couple of years, one of the vertical welds where the forward seat meets the vertical brace cracked its entire length. I had that re-welded by a local shop.

Not long after, whilst checking the forward anchor compartment, I found that the weld holding the foredeck to the hull had let go on the starboard side.

This initiated a thorough inspection of the hull - I then found a crack across the entire width of one of the ribs at the point where the rib is turned and flattened somewhat just prior to being welded to the inside of the chine. Further inspection revealed significant pitting corrosion on both sides of the floor between the foreward and aft seats.

The boat was by now about 3 years old, and had been meticulously washed down after each use, and housed in a garage all of its life (I owned it from new).

At this stage we were about to head off on a "great adventure" North, and got rid of the Allycraft and got a Quinnie car-topper.

Like I said, as a stable and seaworthy little boat, I couldn't fault it - but from a QC point of view - never again.

Cheers, and good luck.
Jim Linden

[gunna]

Just got the boat back & tested it . Looks ok - the leak was supposedly from the lower engine bolts. Jeez Jim - mine is brand new - I hope the QC has improved since your experience.

[Luke]

Boys,
looking to buy and ally's off my list unless someone can tell me diff.

[Luke]

Just a follow up on that last message. I don't own a boat but word of mouth can be a dangerous thing for companies.I don't mind buying products and having a prob(not ideal) as long as they COVER or else I feel they are in for the quick BUCK. Gee I hope they look after you fellows.

[Jim_Linden]

Gunna,
I hope so too, mate, for your sake. I bought my Ally in 1996, and got rid of it in '99 - maybe they've cleaned up their act since then, or maybe I just got a "Monday morning boat" ;D

Luke,
Not sure how big a boat you're looking at, but just to continue on with the saga of the tinnies - we took the Quinnie 3.5 Traveller up north with us, and it was a good little boat. Only problem was that it had very little freeboard (to keep the weight down, I suppose) and the missus didn't like the crocs sunbaking with their chins resting on the side of the boat ;D
From a purely fishing point of view, the only things I didn't like was the very large seats (rivetted) - there was virtually no room under the seats, and not enough room between the two of them for two people to stand and comfortably cast. The only other problem with the Quinnie was the damned rowlock holders - they protruded above the line of the gunwhale, and fouled the roof rack bars when trying to slide the boat up on to the car.
We got rid of the Quinnie after that trip, and after much looking around, I settled on a Horizon 3.6 V-nose. We've had this away on a couple of short trips now, and am very, very impressed with it. The quality of construction is excellent, and the foreward thwart is well forward, so that there is a very useable amount of space between the two seats. There is plenty of room under both seats. The topside profile of the boat is perfectly flat, so it slides up on the roof rack without a hitch. The foredeck is strengthened underneath (great for standing on for casting), and it has seven cross-ribs, which was the most I saw in any boat of that size.
If you have a Horizon dealer near you, I think you could do worse than to at least have a look at their range. I saw some of their other boats at the Newcastle Boat Show a couple of years back, and they were very well made, and competitively priced. If you don't know of a nearby dealer, call Horizon up on the Gold Coast and they'll help you - that's how I found out about the dealer at Gosford where I bought mine.

Good luck
Jim Linden

[Jim_Linden]

Oh, and P.S., Luke,

Brett Hoskin, one of the guys who is a moderator on these boards, bought the second 3.6 V-nose in stock at the Gosford dealer after I bought mine.
He's done a many-month trip north with it already, and is now somewhere up around Cairns or beyond with it. He called in here on his way through this trip, and he's very happy with the Horizon as well.
On his way up this time he called into the Horizon factory, and they fitted front and rear carpeted casting decks, with lockable hatches and the works, on the spot for $200. Can't beat that for service can you? I had a look at them, and it was very professional job.
Cheers
Jim Linden

[The_Walrus]

Hi Luke,

Have a look at the SeaJays, wide boat for their size, good freeboard and build strong.

I spend six months looking and comparing before settling on my 4m BassNBarra.

Luc.

[Fitzy]

Gotta agree with Luc. I also spent a while checking around & came back to Sea Jay. Extremely strong boat.
I luv the ride I get from mine, & extremly stable, good for fly work.
Check em out at http://www.seajayboats.com.au/

fitz

[stevej]

whoops i revived a old post

[Chimo]

It might be an old thread but the issue remains the same .


You guys should be considering un-welded boats like these.
There are reasons why al splits etc

http://www.etamax.com.my/rec-boats.html

[Dignity]

I didnt know they were still around, from mrmory Datacol has one.

[Chimo]

I recently got one too to replace a welded tinny.

[ranmar850]

When the gauge gets too light, you just can't successfully weld ally. I'm sure someone will pop up and tell us how well they can weld a 1.8mm sheet with TIG--you can, but it won't take the sort of stresses you get in a dinghy. The parts of it that flex, ie, mostly below the chine, need to have welding limited to fitting the sheet to the extrusions that fit the keel and chines., and ends of the frames that fit to them.

[gunna]

I see I was the first to reply back in 2001. My leak was just engine mounts. Had the boat for about 10 years and never had a complaint. Sold it for not much les than I paid for it.