The registry
Alumacraft Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Alumacraft has built aluminum boats since 1946, when Flour City Ornamental Iron Works in Minneapolis turned its wartime aluminum-forming capacity toward small fishing hulls. Production moved to St. Peter, Minnesota in 1970, and that plant stayed the home factory through every ownership change since, including BRP's 2018 purchase and the sale to Bryton Marine Group that closed in July 2025. The best-known hull is the 1436 LT, a riveted flat-bottom jon boat 14 feet long with a 36 inch bottom, light enough for two people to slide into a truck bed and rated for a maximum of 15 hp. The company also built riveted utility V-hulls from the late 1940s on and aluminum canoes that competed with Grumman for decades.
Pick your model
Where Alumacraft came from
Alumacraft dates to 1946, born out of the Flour City Ornamental Iron Works in Minneapolis. Flour City had formed aluminum bridge pontoons and aircraft parts during World War II, and company president Henry J. Neils turned that capacity to small fishing boats once the military contracts dried up. The first Alumacraft hull came off the line in 1946, and the boats were built in Northeast Minneapolis for the next quarter century.
The brand passed through several corporate hands but never stopped building boats. Hupp Corporation bought Alumacraft from Flour City in 1960. Timpte Industries, a Mankato semi-trailer maker, bought it in 1970 and moved production to St. Peter, Minnesota, which has been the home plant ever since. A second factory came in 1974 when Alumacraft bought General Marine Corp in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and jon boats came out of that plant for 46 years.
In June 2018, BRP of Canada, the Bombardier Recreational Products spinoff behind Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo, bought Alumacraft as part of a push into fishing boats to pair with its Evinrude outboard business. The pairing did not last. BRP ended Evinrude production in 2020 and closed the Arkadelphia plant the same year, consolidating everything in St. Peter, then cut the St. Peter workforce hard in 2023 and 2024 as it moved to exit boats entirely. In April 2025 BRP announced the sale of Alumacraft to Bryton Marine Group, a family owned aluminum boat builder with operations in Washington State and British Columbia, and the deal closed that July. The marque is not defunct, and the St. Peter operation went with it.
The 1436 LT and the jon boat line
The boat most owners know is the 1436 LT, and the name is the spec sheet: 14 feet long, 36 inch bottom width. It is a flat-bottom riveted jon boat, all aluminum, around 180 pounds bare, light enough for two people to slide into a truck bed and rated for a maximum of 15 hp. Hulls like it have anchored the Alumacraft catalog for most of the company's life. The formula barely changed: formed aluminum sheet, riveted seams, bench seats, foam flotation under the benches on later boats. Weak points are the same across eras, loose or weeping rivets at the transom and keel, and rotted wood transom cores on boats that lived outside.
Other lines worth knowing
- Utility V-hulls: 12 to 16 foot riveted V-bottom rowboats and tiller boats, the classic resort and cabin boat, built continuously from the late 1940s on.
- Canoes: Alumacraft started building aluminum canoes in the late 1940s, competed directly with Grumman for decades, and the boats turn up everywhere in the upper Midwest.
- Modern console fishing boats: deeper V hulls like the Competitor and Trophy series moved the brand into walleye boats with livewells and full consoles.
Dating and identifying one
Boats built from November 1972 on carry a federally required 12 character hull identification number on the starboard transom, with the model year encoded at the end. Earlier boats used a plate or stamped serial, and Alumacraft customer service can sometimes decode old serials from factory records. On a bare used hull, the serial plate and the rivet pattern are your best evidence of era.
Asked all the time
What years was the Alumacraft 1436 LT made?
Alumacraft has built 14 foot by 36 inch bottom jon boats across most of its history, from mid-century catalogs into current production. The 1436 LT designation itself belongs to later catalogs, but the hull format is essentially continuous, so a boat's HIN or serial plate matters more than the model name for dating it.
Is Alumacraft still in business?
Yes, though ownership changed recently. BRP, the Canadian parent of Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo, bought Alumacraft in June 2018, then decided to exit the boat business and sold the brand to Bryton Marine Group, a family owned aluminum boat builder with operations in Washington State and British Columbia. The sale was announced in April 2025 and closed in July 2025, with the St. Peter, Minnesota operation included.
How do I find the year of an old Alumacraft?
Alumacraft boats built from late 1972 on carry a 12 character hull identification number on the starboard side of the transom, with the model year encoded in the last characters. Older boats used a serial plate; Alumacraft customer service has historically been able to decode some early serials from factory records.
Are riveted Alumacraft hulls a problem on old boats?
Not inherently. Alumacraft rivets hold up well, but 30 plus year old boats commonly weep at keel and transom rivets. Re-bucking loose rivets or sealing with a quality marine sealant is routine, and rotted wood transom cores are the more expensive fix on older Alumacraft jons.
What outboard fits an Alumacraft 1436?
The Alumacraft 1436 class jon boat carries a capacity plate on later hulls, rating it at a maximum of 15 hp. Older boats without a plate should stay in that same short-shaft 9.9 to 15 hp range; the flat bottom and 36 inch beam do not reward more power.
The wall
The most-documented Alumacraft vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.
