Aluminum vs Fiberglass

[WyoChris]

I've always fished out of aluminum boats here in MN. Now that im down in Ft Campbell, KY, there are obviously a lot of glass bass boats around..... and I look a little out of place with my Lund Mr Pike. Just curious...... what are the pros and cons of aluminum and fiberglass boats? Whats your opinions on which is better?

[machohorn]

Just fish!. If you are comfortable in your boat and know how to use/fish out of it then you are farther ahead of most other people that buy the spendy shiney boats and pretend to know how to fish. I fish out of a glas boat, dryer ride but rocks/docks create havoc on it. I hunt out of a alum boat just because I got it cheap and did not want to camo my glass boat.

[516]

Aluminum is better than fiberglass the boats are lighter and can be faster. But the the good thing about glass is there heaver and ride the waves better.

[Tyler23]

i think the glass boats are suppost to ride better?

[eyebjim]

"Aluminum is better than fiberglass the boats are lighter and can be faster"

180. The exact opposite from the boats I have owned.

[JimBuck]

Having only owned Aluminum my opinion is a bit bias. I like aluminum for the durability. I don't know how many times I've ran into stumps, rocks and other debris while fishing. Some of which may have put some serious dents into my hull. With aluminum they just bounce off (in most cases). If your fishing some skinny water, rivers or other systems that you may not know so well....you can't go wrong with having an aluminum hull just in case. Ultimately, go with what makes you most comfortable/confident on the water. I think having a Lund Mr. Pike in Kentucky is pretty awesome as well. Show those bluegrass boys how we do it up north.

[bassphish2005]

Tin on the river/glass everywhere else...that's how I roll!

[gregg52]

I think you need think about where you going to do 90% of your fishing

I fish lakes had a glass boat for 20 yrs bumped rocks and the like it didnt fall apart or break that glass is built

i fished alot of touraments on mille lacs and i know had i treated a tin boat like i did my glass boat the tin one would have been broke in half in the 2nd yr

i was on winnie with a friend in a pro v in bout a 15 mph wind

if i had to fish outa of a boat like that i wouldnt fish or i'd be fishing in one spot alot

i hadnt been in a tin boat in along time i couldnt believe the difference rough and soaked to the bone

some say tin is cheaper but when i'm at some of the shows its not enough to take a beating like that I do have an RV on winnie now so 90% of my fishing is there (jusy bout every week end)last spring i bought a new glass boat and actually the first water i had it on was miss river pool 4 i fished where i wanted hit a few logs runnin we fished a lot of back waters

with no problem

it a 20 ft boat so in my opinion if you are going to fish lakes 5-6000acres or more i would certainly look at glass and those guys in the south with as you say their fancy metal flake boats dont seen to be scared of stumps as all those reserviors down there are full of them

i mean even lund themselves decided glass was smoother than tin

but to each their own and thats just my opinion

[fishorgolf]

First of all any boat is a good boat if it gets you out fishing.

But. Over the last 30 years I have owned alum. boats from 14-23' and have enjoyed everyone of them but a couple years ago I bought a 20' glass and would never go back to an alum. boat by choice again. I fish mostly big water and I could never go back to the pounding I used to take in my alum. boats.

[1900_LE]

I think you need think about where you going to do 90% of your fishing

I fish lakes had a glass boat for 20 yrs bumped rocks and the like it didnt fall apart or break that glass is built

i fished alot of touraments on mille lacs and i know had i treated a tin boat like i did my glass boat the tin one would have been broke in half in the 2nd yr

i was on winnie with a friend in a pro v in bout a 15 mph wind

if i had to fish outa of a boat like that i wouldnt fish or i'd be fishing in one spot alot

i hadnt been in a tin boat in along time i couldnt believe the difference rough and soaked to the bone

some say tin is cheaper but when i'm at some of the shows its not enough to take a beating like that I do have an RV on winnie now so 90% of my fishing is there (jusy bout every week end)last spring i bought a new glass boat and actually the first water i had it on was miss river pool 4 i fished where i wanted hit a few logs runnin we fished a lot of back waters

with no problem

it a 20 ft boat so in my opinion if you are going to fish lakes 5-6000acres or more i would certainly look at glass and those guys in the south with as you say their fancy metal flake boats dont seen to be scared of stumps as all those reserviors down there are full of them

i mean even lund themselves decided glass was smoother than tin

but to each their own and thats just my opinion

Now here's a guy who REALLY hates metal boats. "If you'd treated a tin boat like you do your glass boat??" What in the world were you doing? Maybe you have so much money that to take and literally beat the [PoorWordUsage] out of a boat for the sake of doing it is ridiculous. Maybe you have more money then sense.

I've fished out of both, and I agree that a glass boat will give you a better ride. But I wouldn't trade my Lund in or sell it because everyone else has glass. Like another poster wrote JUST FISH, man. The heck with everybody else!!

[Daze Off]

I own tin but prefer glass. Tired of getting pushed around by waves and wind so easily. Part of that is the style of boat too - Lund style vs. bass boat style (any manufacturer). It is harder to bass fish out of a Lund than it is with a boat made for such things. Can get into and run in skinnier water, easier to pitch/flip, and not pushed around so much because glass is heavier.

Not impossible to bass fish from a Lund but easier in a boat made for it. If I was able to I would switch in a minute. Will some day.

[gregg52]

lol

not alot money here believe me i had that boat for 20 yrs

and yes after being in that lund on winnie i am not a fan of tin boats

i was refering to about beating my boat was the first couple of yrs i had it i was fishing alot of tourments most on mille lacs and just getting to where you had to get could be a chore

i had a crestliner angler it was the only thing i ever bought in my life that was 10 times better than what salesman told me

i running a 60 evrinrude on it tiller i could easlier run with 125-135 hp tin boats on not much of a chop and i was dry

so i ran it pretty hard the first couple of yrs and was kinda refering to strenght of the boat i see guys on here talkin bout rocks and stumpps etc etc like if you hit a rock your boats going to shatter like a pain of glass and i spose if you hit a blouder at 40-50 it might but in 20 yrs i guess i seemed to be albe to not do that and if you hit that same boulder in a tin boat i'm thinkin you might rip a hole in it to

i went the fatory where by boat was built and it will long out last me (56) and kinda my point is if you fish small lakes or kinda of novice and dont go on the water when its ROUGH then those tin boats are fine but like i said i do 90% of my fishing on winnie and mille lacs

and i wanna be albe to fish when i want or not be in the middle of either and worry bout that cloud comin over the horizon and again its just my opinion if your happy with your lund thats a good deal

i wasnt telling any body to go get another boat

was just replying to aluminum vs fiberglass

i spose i could have sugarcoated it some

but facts are facts

[kc0myy]

I would say a glass boat. they are heavier than tin and I think hold up better. I worked for warrior boats in the detail shop and I have seen what rocks do to glass. and I think its a whole lot easier and cheaper to repair glass than it is for tin and it looks alot better too. if your asking me I me I would say to check out a warrior. they are a very nice boat and they WILL keep you dry on windy days. I hope no one gets mad because i told him to check out a warrior.

[rodmaker]

Alot of depends on the water you fish. If you fish small lakes, aluminum is just fine.

I fish bigger water, Mille lacs, Gull. I've had aluminum boats up until last year. The last aluminum boat I had 14 years. It was an Alumacraft 185 Compeditor with a 75 Merc tiller. It worked well on Mille lacs.

Then I purchased a used 2003 YarCraft 1895 storm last year. There IS A DIFFERENCE.

Glass is smoother, quieter. Just seems like they cut through the water better.

Don't get me wrong. When it's howling out there, you will still get wet, and tossed around, no matter what you have for a boat.

When you get into the bigger Walleye boats, there isn't a huge difference in weight between the two. Glass is heavier but not by that much.

Again , it's personal choice depending on the bodies of water you fish on.

[gregg52]

well the deal is you just cant shape tin like you can fiberglass

thats the bottom line i think the weight keeps you in the water

rather than that nose comin up and slaping back down

i also think when your back troling or what ever you have a little better control

i would think you might have noticed that in that storm

i have basically the same hull its just a wheel boat dcx

[Hookey]

I know what you are saying about the south and their Glass boats. My close friend moved to Lake of The Ozarks and I spent many a vacation down there. If you ever see a tin fishing boat down south you can bet it will be a Jon Boat.

You are talking serious Bass Fishermen down there and that is probably the reason they choose Glass. They have fantastic boat landings at most every access and no need for roller trailers. These are big waters with huge boats and a twenty foot glass boat will get beat to death when the high rollers are out.

Having both I would say if I lived down there I would have glass but being in the Holy Land I choose aluminum.

[WyoChris]

It seems like there are a lot of different opinions out there on this issue. What is the best boat for large rough/windy lakes? I just can't see those bass boats taking the waves very well compared to the deep-V hull of a aluminum boat. Granted, a glass boat probably rides very nice on calm waters, but do they really hold up well with big waves?

by the way, I'm a true Minnesotan and I love my Lund.... im not considering selling it for a glass boat. I just want some ammo for when im trash talking with the southern redneck triton hat wearing bucketmouth tournament fishers.

[rodmaker]

For rough water in Mn. If you go YarCraft, Warrior, or Ranger you could not go wrong.

Each of the above are excellent, boats, comes down to preference.

[JBone]

I roll a deep-V Skeeter and love it! Stable fishing through the wind I really enjoy....

[PerchJerker]

Glass bass boats are fast, they shape the hull so the boat rides "on the pad" making it very fast because there's not much hull in the water when flying across the lake. And the boats are wide and stable when fishing from them. The downside is they are rough riding in bigger waves, due to the shape of the hull.

Glass Deep-V or Modified-V boats are not as fast as bass hulls but are better riding in rougher and wavier conditions. The layout in these boats also makes them a lot more multi-species and multi-purpose than a bass boat.

Glass will ride smoother and drier than aluminum. For smaller boats and smaller lakes you won't get as much benefit from fiberglass, but on bigger lakes and with bigger boats there will definately be a noticable difference.

I don't think you can say glass or aluminum is faster. It depends on the hull. I have a glass boat that has a reputation for a great ride but not a fast ride. I've had guys in tin boats run faster than me, and have seen the guys in them get bounced around a lot more and get a lot wetter. But there are also some glass boats that are faster but not as smooth as the one I have. So it's really hard to make accurate general statements about one vs. the other.

[Sandmannd]

If I had the money, I would go glass for sure. Very smooth ride. Aluminum still is a great boat though.

[rodmaker]

You backed up some of the things I mentioned earlier. Couldn't agree more!!!

After having my glass boat for less than a year, all I can say is for the bigger water like Mille lacs, it's perfect for me, and the family. My Alumacraft was nice, but I did take a pounding. There is no perfect boat out there. When the wind "howls" you will get wet, in any kind of boat!!

There are alot of people out there who would love to have your boat!!!!

[gregg52]

as far speed goes the way these things go threw fuel

i backed way off mine last summer and up the fuel time some

i have a 20ft glass boats the runs bout 44 tops on flat water but i'm ok with that its fast enough for me but i slowed down to bout 35 seemes to help plus if you are rough

water its a better at bout 30

as far as gettin wet i dont to often unless they are really rollin and i have to go at them at a bad angle but i'm in a wheel boat with a windshield

[rodmaker]

I should have made myself more clear on that one. I don't get too wet if I'm going straight into the waves. But like you mentioned , if you have a cross wind and going into them at an angle, you get wet.

[PerchJerker]

Sitting here indoors in early March, looking out the window at nothing but snow and ice, I wouldn't mind feeling some lake water splashing on my face right now