03-04-2010, 02:59 AM
I feel you on the not wanting to go into debt for a toy. I saved for 2 years to get what I wanted and after I had the money saved up it took almost another year to find the right deal on the right boat (still yanked an additional grand out of saving to close the deal, thank god my wife loves me). I have a 17' lund and love it, but if I were to buy my dream boat it would be a deep V ranger (glass), just like Crankem's.
My take on the differences mirror what most everyone else has said. Aluminum is lighter; therefore it rided higher in the water. Rougher, but drier in the chop, burns less fuel (boat and tow vehicle), but it is definately a sail in the wind. Glass is heavier which causes it to ride deeper in the water, smoother under power, but generally a wetter ride in the chop. The heavy bow tends to pitch fork through the waves instead of riding up and over them.
Biggest factor in my opinion is a good reliable main motor. That is where all the money is spent when things start going wrong and the hardest thing for your average handy man to work on.
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My take on the differences mirror what most everyone else has said. Aluminum is lighter; therefore it rided higher in the water. Rougher, but drier in the chop, burns less fuel (boat and tow vehicle), but it is definately a sail in the wind. Glass is heavier which causes it to ride deeper in the water, smoother under power, but generally a wetter ride in the chop. The heavy bow tends to pitch fork through the waves instead of riding up and over them.
Biggest factor in my opinion is a good reliable main motor. That is where all the money is spent when things start going wrong and the hardest thing for your average handy man to work on.
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