Fiber Glass Or Aluminum

[D/F]

There are 1119 members on this board. Im pretty sure every one has there prefrence. So lets here it
Fiber Glass
Aluminum
Or both

Myself I like both

[sturgn]

At present I have a 25' Aluminum, but I find myself more and more drawn in to the offshore fishing and I am thinking about moving to a 32' Fiberglass! I mostly think it depends on what you want out of the boat!

[ol tuna skipper]

I prefer Welded Aluminum boats overall. Lakes, rivers, bays.

I would probably prefer Fiberglass If I ran in the ocean more. With a hull intended for cutting through the waves and a full cabin.

My aluminum boat has an open design and can hold the whole family. (four kids, dogs and camping gear)Great all around boat. Had it five years and do not intend on selling or trading. It works well for fishing and crabbing, but I can pull the kids on tubes or just pleasure cruise.


I would not get a riveted aluminum boat unless it was strickly for pond fishing or small lakes. They all leak after a few years and the rivets start working loose.

Notice no brand names mentioned, thankyou.

[boater]

[ 06-13-2001: Message edited by: boater ]

[LAYthe5]

I love my welded aluminum. I have a Duckworth 20' Silverwing. Handles great, and has very little upkeep. Wash and stow. I dont have to worry about things like :fadeing gelcoat, cracking glassing, or dry-rot to the infrastructure. Aluminum is very forgiving and easy to care for, not to mention easy to re-paint. These type of boats are very expensive compared to fiberglass. You can buy more length and more freeboard in a glass boat, but then you have to find a place to store it.

Good luck! LTF images/icons/grin.gif

[Rauly]

Tupperware or a real boat?

Rauly

[D/F]

I like it I like it good info.

More lurkers??
COME FORWARD AND POST !

[Pilar]

I love my old Bayliner! Hand layed up, glass cloth hull, not chop gun. Strong and heavy as hell. Easy to fix, won't rot and lasts and lasts.

A little oxide remover, polish and wax twice a year and the water beads off and it shines.

Fish, get in the boat!

[willierower]

Aluminum all the way. In my opinion glass boats are toys! Real fishing boats are Aluminum!
Wood driftboats are cool.

[Mr. Fisherman]

I'm having a hard time with this one...

I love the Pilar, the boat not the man... o.k. make that the man too.. Did that come out wrong images/icons/confused.gif How about those Mariners.... images/icons/grin.gif

Anyway, The Puffin is a very nice aluminum boat and is very sea worthy.

I think the decision has everything to do with where you are going to use it. Rivers I'd prefer an aluminum boat, deep water I'm leaning towards glass. I guess when I decide I'll buy my 5th boat.

I have a glass boat now but it just isn't set up to be the fishing machine that I want and I don't ski.

Good topic, lets hear more...

[D/F]

Well here at the end of the summer befor school starts and I have some money I will be looking for a fishing boat. Nothing special just a motor boat and top. Im trying to decided between Glass Or Aluminum. I live right here on the columbia in St. Helens. Gets really really ruff out here. HmmmmMmMmM images/icons/smile.gif

[CP Inlet Isle]

Well, I'm sure this is going to ruffle some feathers, but here we go.I,ve owned and operated a riveted aluminun boat for eight years now.It is an 1890 ProV Se Lund.I seriously considered buying a North River at the show a couple of years back. Boy, it sure was pretty, the paint, the zolatone, full top, and that fancy hipo 350 inboard.Well, I didn't do it, and I'm glad.Iv'e ridden in my freinds Duckworth, and another buddy's Thunder jet. They are very nice rigs and warm too, and dry, but my back thanks me whenever the water gets stinky.I see all these sleds out on the Columbia and have to wonder how many of them are actually running rivers with them.Iv'e driven my Lund hard these last eight years and it's got to sit in the water for a couple days before I even think about pumping out the quart of water that it's taken on through those leaky rivets.I wouldn't trade that water for the punishing ride that a sled will give you in chop for all the salmon in the bay.Pound, pound, pound, it makes my back hurt just thinking about it.In my opinion,if your not going to run rivers and shallow water, get a boat that will take it and not give it out.Sorry about that guys! images/icons/tongue.gif

[Tanner]

"Tupperware or a real boat?"
Rauly


I love it. what a great line Rauly.

Aluminum rules the world of river, lake and bay fishing. If I was one who did a lot of ocean fishing, I would probably go with glass. I have owned 4 aluminum boats (and still own two of them) if my boats were fiberglass (especially my driftboat) I would have shattered them by now.

[ 06-12-2001: Message edited by: Tanner ]

[NEUTRON]

Tanner, interesting you've owned four aluminum boats....how many glass boats?
I have had my glass driftboat for 11 years and
it's seem some very heavy use and lots of
whitewater. Read Pilar's post... fiberglass
is tough and durable. I guarantee it, so does the maker of my particular brand. there are pro's and con's to both. I would buy another if I wanted to go bigger.

[Jellyhead]

I've owned both. My first was a riveted hull sea-nymph. Nice v-hull but a noisy ride. Tough as all get out. It was the ultimate columbia river all-species, duck hunting machine!!! Then I got all stupid (did I just say that?!?) and bought me a glass bass boat.

Well the glass boat is a very fast, stable, and fun boat. I've been in every kind of weather the Columbia can throw at it. It is a shallow vee, so it beats me up a bit in rough stuff. But.....If the same hull was made of aluminum, I'd have to wear a kidney belt every time out.

One thing I've noticed---I've never seen an air-ride seat in a glass boat before. Aluminum will beat you up if you have a shallow vee.

Everything is a trade off. Go fast, but lose the deep vee rough water ride. Go shallow vee to run rivers with, and pound your back when you get in rough water. Go 4-stroke for fuel economy, but add weight to your boat. Go glass, and you get a softer riding hull that weighs more. Go aluminum and never have to patch gel coat in your lifetime. Do a lot of research and find out what you really want in a boat......You'll end up wanting something else no matter which boat you own images/icons/wink.gif images/icons/wink.gif

Aaron

[Tanner]

A guy that used to work for my company owned a beautiful Clackacrap (excuse me I mean Clackacraft). He wanted to learn the upper Nestucca so I took him. I told him the water was low so we should take my boat because we will be banging lots of rocks. He insisted that his boat would do just fine.
I tried to avoid hitting as many rocks as possible, but in low water that was a real chore. When we got done, his boat had aged by about thirty years. It had gouges that I was really surprised didn't go all the way through the hull. He actually ended up reporting it as a claim to his insurance company. Fiberglass drftboats are great in white water (I have a friend who guides the Deschutes in his) but when it comes to low water bumpin rocks type floating/fishing, You could not buy me away from Aluminum. I am absolutely brutal on driftboats mainly because I don't like fishing crowds so I prefer fishing upper reaches, high water or low.

[Tanner]

By the way Neutron,
I have owned four aluminum boats 2 drifts and 2 sleds because I decided to go with a different design. My first drifter was an Alumaweld Alumadrifter great for putting a motor on but rowed like a tank after 11 years I decided to go to a full rocker design by Willie. My first sled was an open style 18' Alumaweld SeaDory. The kids were getting to the age where I needed a better family boat so I went to a 21' inboard Formula V Widshield boat.

As far as owning fiberglass, I grew up living on Lake Oswego and we had several fiberglass boats from Reinell to Four Winns.
We lived on the main canal to the lake which can get pretty narrow (and shallow) We punched holes in boats, scratched the crap out of them and even punched a hole in the bottom of the Four Winns on a submerged object. Never did figure out what we hit.

In my opinion, for the kind of fishing I do, Fiberglass Sucks.

[scrod]

No bout a doubt it. Aluminum rocks... but fiberglass rides! images/icons/wink.gif

[Phish_on]

Wood. My boat is made of wood. And fiberglass. And bondo, and Marine-Tex, and epoxy and PAINT, lots of paint.

But it's paid for. It's 43 years old, and does not leak AT ALL - I think that's amazing. Every time I am repairing it I say "BOATS should be made of ALUMINUM."

I had a fiberglass boat for a while too, no problems with it's fiberglass-ness. My conclusion is: they're all good.