aluminum v fiberglass

Lowlysubaruguy

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Dec 3, 2012
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Ive been looking at 26 to 30 foot boats now Im shopping. I live in the NW but in a couple of years plan to spend three months a year ( the cold dark wet snowy ones) in Florida diving fishing and boating. Ill trailer it back and forth so I have a width limit in mind, thats complicated because I live in a spot that has a very narrow troll bridge and tunnels both direction on each side of me. The good news is once my boat is back to my home land I live a couple miles from a boat launch and can easily get it to water. I live a miile from the Columbia river and will do a fair amount of boating here as well as possibly the Puget sound from time to time.

The boat could be 9 feet wide if the trailer was 8'6" . I own a 20 foot welded aluminum boat thats 17 years old and like new. I keep my boats a long time. While I am hard on equipment I service them equally as hard and repair everything that breaks or wears out before its dead. Im a little OCD to boot.

A cat has proven to be to wide when i get to a big enough platform so cats are out. I also want something i can easiily get to the bow a walkaround class of boat however I do not want or need a really fat walkaround bow eating up some of its cabin area as I do still need enough berth to sleep every now and then. And to complicate this I want fresh water shower and a decent toilet with macerator. Needs to have as large of a swim deck as possible with a walk through door.

Ok boats Ive interest Proline Robalo Striper something like this. However i have looked into having a welded aluminum boat made for me. In the 26 to 28 foot class . But I just dont see any welded aluminum boats in Florida while im there. Is there a reason for this other than the fact that there more popular up here in the NW or is there something I need to know about welded aluminim and life in warm salt water. It will most likely be moored in water the time it spends in Florida.

Money wise i can have a custom built boat made for a lot less than a new fiberglass boat a little more than they are used but Im just not findiing the right used boat in my area and i really dont want a boat from Florida that has not been cared for very well.

And then theres powerplant questions by the time I outfit this with the outboards with enough HP to make me happy I could easily have an inboard with some real ponies and fresh water cooling?

Well thats probably enough to spurr some input and more questions thanks in advance
 

jbcurt00

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Oct 25, 2011
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Do they make a macerator head that 'pumps/dumps' into a holding tank, and doesn't discharge overboard? Only macerator I've ever used, was in a mid-60s Marinette, so I am not up to date on macerators.

Info here


Best of luck, FYI, theres a nice aluminum cruiser on ebay, <$17K. I think its a 32ft Marinette, mid-80's maybe....
 

Chris1956

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Mar 25, 2004
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27,033
Towing a 26-30 footer to Florida is a pretty big tow. Why not get a boat in each place? It will save a lot of wear and tear on the tow vehicle, trailer and most importantly you.
 

Lowlysubaruguy

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Well I drag big long fat heavy crap all the time so Im geared for it, I also wont be around to check on my boat while where back in the NW not to mention all of our gear that will be in it. We will be there long enough that its worth the tow and I also hit a hand full of relatives and friends both directions to ease the long trip. And im thinking theres only room for one six figure boat in my life LOL. Now if the boat of my dream comes in under budget that might be different but im not finding anything that would make me happy as well as fit in the price range of a boat that i would leave unattended for 9 months a year.
 

Lowlysubaruguy

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Im struggling with my comperters functions on this sight sometimes I cannnot post or repsond to posts then other times it works.

to answer JBcurt00 questions the newer boats macerators are killer you can have a variety of ways to hold and transfer there contents get them in your live wells and bait stations to clean up fish parts as well.

I am stuck in lengths of 28 foot or less even 26 in many models as they get to wide to get through my local tunnels and the troll bridge. Otherwise id be lookiing at 32 foot fiberglass boats as I can get everythhing i want in this size of boat. I live in a unique spot I have a troll bridge over the columbia it was probably built for horse and buggies 8'6" is the maximum width you can tow over and I have to fold my mirrors in to keep from getting them wiped out by other trucks mirrors its really narrow. And then on my side of the river I am locked in by a series of tunnels both ways that are not quite as narrow but log trucks come through them and cross the center line all the time

I really just need a couple million in the bank and I could just live on a beach year round LOL that would solve most of my boat needs.
 

MTboatguy

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Jul 8, 2010
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I think I know the bridge you are talking about, I took a set of mirrors off my Mother in Laws motorhome on that bridge once, many years ago!
 

Illinoid

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Sep 28, 2013
Messages
137
To make that trip legal at over 8'6" beam you would need to buy permits in almost every state you travel through.

In smaller boats I think glass is usually much heavier than aluminum. If that is also true in larger boats aluminum would make an easier tow...particularly through the mountains.
 

Lowlysubaruguy

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Dec 3, 2012
Messages
514
Im not sure if wieght is that much of a factor between the two when you get into this class. In my 20 footer that I own know its a huge advantage to be aluminum.

So in my dream boat the trailer would be 8'6" and the boat would be say just under 9' LOL if I got in a serious accident I might get hung out to dry but I read about most highway patrol are not looking that close at boats that are not over 9' Not saying I wont get a ticket or have issues but I know guys that tow 9 foot wide boats all over the NW and regularly without issues. My issue in width soley resides with a troll bridge thats not passable if your over 8'6" period and the tunnels so Im stuck other wise id be shopping for 34 foot class of boats and id probably permit it when ever it left my home area. I am very close to a few boat launces and kind of remote limited traffic and when im in Florida it will most likely be moored in the water the entire trip.

But to get into an aluminum boat to fit my needs it will have to be new and special order its not out of reach but its a chunk of change Id love to buy the boat I want used. Not going to happen in Aluminum most likely. I found a proline in Florida today which leaves me with hope that I might find a used boat there on one of my visits. Im not going to make a special trip for a boat yet but Ill shop harder on when I return.
 
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