Fishing boats glass or aluminium??

[drakebob01]

I'm in the market for a 16-18ft fishing boat? I fish 99% of the time from state parks(willard,rockport,echo,east,lost creek,etc) with great boat launches. In the classifieds(ksl) it seems you can get a great glass boat in the 5-7k range. But it is nearly impossible to get a alum boat in that range? Why are the alums so much higher? I need some advice, I don't want to spend 7k and make a big mistake. Thanks for the help!
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[FishKillr]

I am sure others will chime in here that know much more than I, but I my family and I have owned a few of each over the past 15 years. I think the main difference is weight, reapir and longevity. We have had to repair both alum as well as glass and I found the alum to be far easier to repair. I also think they last longer and look better after 30 years of hard use. They are lighter and thats a plus if you need to launch in not so perfect areas. But as you said, you will be at noce ramps and will not have to deal with this, so I would think either way. For weight, longevity and repair I have liked our amum boats much better, but I am sure others will have a totally different view. Good luck, and be sure to take pics of the one you choose.

Shawn M
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[Kent]

I have owned both and I prefer aluminum (own glass presently) except for one issue. Because aluminum is lighter the boat will give a much rougher ride in rough weather. Glass won't bounce as much in the waves and thus provide a smoother ride.
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[FNA]

I prefer aluminum. The only thing I like better about glass is when you put your bare hand on it on a sunny day, it doesn't burn!
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[kochanut]

[quote FNA]I prefer aluminum. The only thing I like better about glass is when you put your bare hand on it on a sunny day, it doesn't burn![/quote]

or into a convection over when its 200F outside
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[HockeyMan]

My only negative experience fishing from aluminum boats is trying to hold position in the wind while fishing for bass. I have fished from an 18' Tracker and an 18' high sided Crestliner and both required constant adjustment on the MinnKota even in slight breezes. I own a 21' glass bass boat and it handles wind and all but the larges wakeboard boat wakes just fine.

Weight is key though. If you have an awkward spot to store your boat then pull it off the hitch and just push it into position. My friend's 18' Crestliner is very simple to manuver manually.

HockeyMan
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[walleyebob]

Glass is good if you want to break ice or if you beach your boat a lot. And they seem less noisy. Aluminum is light so you can get by with a smaller motor and a smaller tow vehicle.They are making some awesome boats these days, and most high end fishing boats are aluminum. Crestliner,Lund,Smoker Craft, Tracker. etc. All good. I would look more at how much you want to really spend and what kind of accessories you want to add and go from there. Not much point in buying a 7K boat and not having enough money left to buy the GPS, sonar,Trolling motor,Radar and big screen TV you want. Buy one that will serve your purpose well and not put you in debt too far. Then be happy with what you got and FISH!!!
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[drakebob01]

Thanks for the replies! I haven't found the holy Grail of boats yet!! I have most of the accesories gps, sonar,etc. Now if I could just figure out a boat! I wish I could go more money but the wife(smart) doesn't want to borrow any money, so I'm stuck at the 7k mark. Once again thanks for all the input!
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[fairwayphilly]

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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[BADFISH]

I have a 14 foot aluminum boat that I LOVE!! It is the only boat I have owned, but my family has had a few glass boats. they do run a little smoother and quieter, but you cant beat the durability of the metal. I have shoved my boat on the side of my shed and pulled it out and to clean it i just hose it out. if i have to really clean it i use 409. its a snap. with the glass boats you have to wax them like a car too, at least once a year twice to keep it looking good otherwise paints fade, get hazy all that stuff just like a car. If you get a crack or ding in the glass, you will learn one of two things, either how to create a fiberglass patch yourselft, or how expensive it is to have fiberglass repaired. with my aluminum if I get a crack in it I pull out the blow torch and the alumi-weld sticks and patch it up.

I have NEVER had a problem beaching my boat when we are camping or anything else, and it is light weight enough that I can both pull it on shore so it does not float away AND get it pushed back into the water when any waves beach it for me.

one thing I am going to do to help "fix" the ride issues and dampen the noise on it is I am having a spray in bed line material painted into the passenger area up to the gunwhale. for two reasons, to help with the sound and rough ride, and to give a good traction surface in the boat. Cabelas has a gallon or pint of this stuff for sale for about 80 bucks, the gallon covers 50 sq feet. plenty to do my 14 foot dream there is also a primer for metal and one for wood you need to have pending what you are putting it onto. very cheap, and they make 6 or 7 colors to choose from. after that I want to paint my boat like a OD green or something just to keep the weather off my metal, provide a little seal to the surface.

My boat is a 1963 something or other, all i can read on the steel plate is 1963. the DMV charges me 18 bucks a year to register it, and I am WAY under the requirements for extra insurance, which for any boat with 50 or more horsepower it is a LAW to have at least liability. so think about that when you are checking out the I/O 454 with 310hp on it too. that is another bill.

needless to say, I reccomend aluminum for durability and versatility. for fishing. I do not do any other "water sports" so for my needs my 14 foot aluminum dream is perfect.
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[drakebob01]

I ended up getting a 1995 tracker 16ft deep v. Seems nice.(No big bumps or bruises) It has a 40hp for the main, a 8hp trolling motor and a nice electric one up front! As a bonus it came with two nice cannon downriggers. After I rewired the new taillights, and got some new tires on the trailer, registered the boat,bought a state park pass,then what good is a boat without a new fishing pole, and then I figured 50 rapalas and lucky crafts weren't enough so added 10 more.(Help I have a serious addiction). I am ready to take it out Thursday.. So I am thinking maybe Hyrum(after the reports or maybe Bear Lake never fished up there) I really wanted to hit rockport but I am not thinking there would be enough open water.
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[wiperhunter2]

Sounds like a sweet boat, if you don't mind me asking, how much did you give for it?
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[drakebob01]

I paid 4400.00 for the package. I really wasn't sure I needed the 8hp trolling motor, but after thinking about it I'm glad I did.
It also came with a fishfinder that I sold for 200.00, I have a nicer one that I installed
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[wiperhunter2]

Nice deal, I'm sure you will be happy you got the kicker, it will take a lot of hours off your main motor and give you a good back up if one of your motors fail.
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[BADFISH]

sounds super sweet man, glad to hear you got into a nice package. now if you can get into a nice school of fish!! []
I think you will like the 8hp kicker, on my small boat i have a 9.9 that just makes scream i think. but i only have a little 22 thrust pound electric as my kicker.

Hey if you dont mind sharing, I would like to see some pictures of your new dream, just some basic shots of it, see how the set up is and all maybe learn a bit from you on that. I am thinking of installing a "deck" on the front half of my boat with just some 3/4 inch plywood and cheapo carpet from cabelas. to make kind of a area the wife could stretch out a bit if needed (she is a sun soaker)

congrats, and good luck.
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[drakebob01]

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[BADFISH]

[indent]Very Very sweet set up man!!! thanks for sharing. [cool]
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