Aluminum vs glass

[Jshock2010]

When boat shopping what do you look for? How's a 20ft Xpress " 175" hp gonna compare to a 18 1/2 ft glass boat? Skeeter zx150 hp " does the larger boat makeup for the smaller boat or is the fiberglass still a smoother ride

 

[X-Tennessean]

Weight and hull design will dictate the ride.
Rangers in 03-08 in the vx hull are the cadilacs IMO.
Really depends on your body of water.

 

[hammer33]

Hull design? bass boat style will be faster but rougher ride. V-hull smoother ride, slower, may roll side to side more. Two completely different boating/fishing experiences with the same material.

In general, fiberglass will be a softer ride as it is heavier and less "bouncy". But hull design trumps all. An 18' fiberglass flat bottom (Carolina skiff) will beat you to death in a chop, while an 18' deep V aluminum (Lund) will ride much smoother.

 

[user 14220]

Fiberglass can be formed into any shape therefore can ride better, especially when you add in the extra weight.
Weigh that against the fact aluminum requires almost no upkeep and is more durable.
Flip the coin and decide. I have owned both. Doubt if I would ever go back to glass just because of the upkeep and durability.
I owned a 19 foot semi V when we lived in TN. Alumacraft T195. Loved it. It did everything I wanted it to do and rode smooooooth.

 

[BigCityBubba]

The only time I prefer a heavy glass boat over an aluminum one is in the spring on larger bodies of water like Ky Lake. A friend of mine had an alumacraft 195 invader with a 150hp on it. I loved that boat right up until the point the wind kicked up and it created a nice chop on the water. You end up soaked and beaten. Always keep rain gear on your boat even on sunny days with no rain in the forecast.

 

[TRHC]

For me, it really depends on what kind of conditions you'll be fishing in. I had an 18' SeaArk with a 115 on it and for fair weather fishing, it was almost perfect. It was wide, stable, up on plane almost instantly, drafted shallow, and sipped gas. But…..as soon as the wind got up above a puff, it was like a sail, and it was a royal pain. That was the biggest, and really only, complaint I had for that boat. I had to constantly stay on the trolling motor to fish, the wind just blew it all over. As for running, it handled regular wakes and chop just fine. Anything above that, and it was pretty rough though. When my boys got into fishing high school tournaments, I sold it and bought an older, but well maintained Triton 20X. Going to a bigger glass boat simply let us enjoy more days on the water. We no longer had to put it on the trailer when the water got a little rough, or even choose to stay at home when there was wind in the forecast. All that said, if you fish smaller lakes or go mostly when it's nice weather, aluminum will be just fine. Probably even great. But if you plan to fish the Tennessee River lakes where stiff winds blowing against a heavy current can create 3' rollers, I'd definitely go with glass.