The hull / deck joining method (wood screws & rivets) you shared is actually quite common. My 1989 Checkmate was in fact joined exactly the same way. For may folks who either don't boat in rough water or who never really push their boats, the technique actually seems to work quite well. (I did pull the rubber out of my rub rail and thru-bolt / Nylock nut every 12" though.) The problem one runs into in rough water with this construction method is that once things start moving, the movement just gets bigger and bigger. Before you know it, your deck is flapping in the breeze like a cheap flip-flop.

A number of years ago up here, some clown with zero boating experience decided he was going to take a POS Barretta (junk / chopper gun boat) and make it go a hundred miles an hour with a small block and Alpha drive - so he added Nitrous. The first time he pulled the trigger, the thing went out of control (I know, I was shocked too) and struck a pier. The deck - apparently held on with Trident Sugarless Gum, a few wood screws and maybe some Duct Tape - sheared off the hull and landed on the other side of the pier. The guy's major injuries were on the back side of his head - from when the deck went by.

So why don't all boat builders simply glass the hull and deck together like high end manufacturers? Simple - cost. When you build out a complete hull and deck separately and then joint them at the very last step (like Baja and many others), it's far less expensive to install everything because everything is out in the open and easy to get to. When you glass the halves together first - which is really the only way to do it - you have to bring everything into the cabin and install it in fairly confined quarters. This ain't cheap and it's certainly not fun, but unitized construction as it's called, makes a huge difference in how much structural integrity the final boat will have. Think of it this way; a full egg shell has a ton more structural integrity than two egg shell halves screwed together.

Tom

Wonder what that white stuff is seeping out at the hull deck joint?
Duct tape, questionable-maybe, to hold the wiring in place until the panel is put on securing it. Where is it going to go after that?
A bent screw?
Sell your boat now! Before it is to late

Good luck selling it now that he just bashed the $hit out of it on this forum.

I have one and have no problems with it. I haven't taken it apart to see any issues with it. I think you get what you pay for. When I bought mine, its all I could afford.

Actually that is common. My Donzi was the same way.

By the way. I have a very good idea of what the white stuff is or at least what is is supposed to be. May be funny if he was to remove all of those nasty bent stainless steel screws and try to take the deck off.

Been to several boat manufacturers. All well known top names. Even owned a boat or two. And been around the block huh- maybe twice.

Baliners with through hulls. I think they rely pretty heavy on the plexus to glue it all together. I had a 272 for a couple years, was constantly tightening screws.

I want to see that, got a pic of the paneling?

You should have seen the transom on my 1987 Formula 242 LS...it was MUSH. Had it fixed by an "expert" and in 3 years it was MUSH again. How did I find out? The lifting ram fell off opening the engine compartment. So much for "legendary" Formula construction.

mine was laid up with elmers glue and tissue paper and pre rotten wood. I had handfuls of screws rolling around on the floor I never could find where they came from.