Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

Different strokes for different folks, but I had a metal boat and I did not like it at all.
Rode rough, unstable in rough water, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I like the ride of the glass and the storage on my 21'er is like nothing you will find.

 

[heycods]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

Spinner I had practice on the ride, I drove a Dodge truck for the last 5 years.d This little boat is more stable than the glass boat i traded in on it. thats one reason I wanted it back, that and its all storage, glass boat didnt even have an ice chest:'(

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

Lund has some nice aluminum tournament bass boats. They have the same raised deck, storage and hull shape as FG but with a bit more freeboard. And you will rest well knowing you own a Lund!

 

[koolerb]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

I'd buy a Lund in a heartbeat if they had what I'm looking for. The nice thing about all the bass boats (Skeeter, Ranger, Stratos, Hydra-Sports, and even one aluminum Mod V) I've fished on this year are the decks. The front and rear decks are flush with the gunwales. The nice thing about that is you can lay a half dozen rods on the deck and they’re lying totally flat and out of the way. All of the aluminum V hulls (at least all I've seen) have probably six to twelve inches of freeboard between the top of the gunwale and the deck so you can't lay the rods flat. The tips stick up and you end up catching them when casting. I almost casted one clean out of my Tracker last time out.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

Oh, I actually prefer the higher gunwales because they keep stuff from falling off.

 

[gbpacker]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

I own a 21 ft Triton TR21 with a Merc 250 and I would not trade it in for any aluminum boat. I have owned both. You stated that you were going to use this boat for Tourneys and to me that would be reason enough to go with a few year old glass boat. There are tons of deals out there and they are not as hard to take care of as everyone suggests. Sure they need some wax occasionally and you want to be careful in super skinny water, but I am a believer in taking care of what you love so owning a glass boat is not a hassle to me.

 

[gbpacker]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

I have a 17 ft aluminum boat with a jet foot for beating up the local rivers!

 

[teamADR]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

I just went through what you are now. i spent about 9 months looking at the alum. boats available within 150 miles of my house. by the time had it down to two or three boats: Lowe, a Fisher and a Triton, I found getting the alum. boat I wanted was at most a couple of thosand less than a glass boat. Triton has a very inezpensive entry level glass boat, Stratos makes two - a 17'6" and an18' 6" from about 21k to about 24k depending on rigging. I stumbled across a new ( 06) BassCat Sabre 18' 1" full loaded for 24800 plus tx and lic. I cannot explain the difference between the best alum. and my Sabre. It truly is night and day ... if you look around I am sure you can find an 06 or 05 sitting on a lot that the dealer would love to be rid of. Good luck.

 

[koolerb]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

teamADR - That's odd you're mentioning the Sabre because its currently at the top of my new boat list. I looked at one at an outdoors show last month, nice boat. Small enough to be easy to tow and get into tight spots on the water, between docks, etc. But seems like lots of storage and deck space. Looks good too, nice boat. I just signed a deal on a new house today so I'll probably have to spend another year or two drooling over cool fiberglass boats running circles around my Tracker. I’m going to teach my wife how to back the trailer and drive the boat this year so maybe sticking with the old Tracker for another year is for the best anyway. Have fun with your new Sabre.

 

[Barlow]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

I'd stick with a glass boat when considering a floating pier for tourneys.

 

[teamADR]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

Thanks, it is a nice boat with lots of space, ... teaching the wife on the old boat definitely has its advantages ..good luck.

 

[softbaitmaker]

Re: Aluminum Bass Boat, or Fiberglass?

Well, I have owned both Aluminum and Glass. I had an 19 ft.Alumaweld with a Yamaha 150 on it and I liked the boat and it handled well and had all the fisher friendly options and Now I own an SX 190 Skeeter with a 150 HPDI and I like it also. It does ride a little better and feels a little more stable up on the pads but I will take my fiberglass boat anywhere I would have taken that Aluminum boat without hesitation because I buy a boat to fish out of and go where the fish are. I do have a Hamby Keel guard on the Glass boat which give me a little added protection but I still go where the fish are. Besides that I have seen a lot of tournaments won out of Tracker Boats that were plum full of pretty fancy shiny glass boats high dollar boats. Boats don't catch fish, anglers catch fish............d