Richard, 2 years ago, I was looking very hard for a aluminum boat for fishing in the sound and straights. I was looking for a smoker craft as a first choice because of the deck space on the 16'ers. The tought of a rivited hull wasn't a big concern.
I found one that I was reallly considering buying and talked to the owner for hours. (fishing stories) This owner finally told me that buying HIS boat would be a mistake for someone that fishes alot because of the rivited hull. He told me he's had nothing but trouble with leaks. This was his opinion and I had to believe him being that he just lost a sale on his boat. I finally found a welded crestliner and have been happy with the hull design and lack of rivits.
Thats my opinion and I'm sure there's people out there with rivited hulls that are happy with their boat.