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I would not chance them either after what my buddy went through.
Now I personally would not avoid a welded hull as I have a Crestliner. Now I've heard stories about them having problems as well but after having mine for 12 seasons, I have no complaints about the hull leaking. I've had the front livewell pump crack in the first year I had it (do to a hose that was putting to much strain on the pump) and put water in the boat (fixed under warranty and still working today) and the rear livewell that had the switch bumped while out of the water and melted the pump a bit and opened up the top seal allowing water to come in. Replaced the pump myself and all was good again.
There's a lot of good info here and most of it will come down to your budget.