Aluminum vs glass

Glass is heavier & has smoother hull designs I’ve had both. I can afford the fuel bill with my aluminum boat. More storage in aluminum (by far) too.

You can listen to all the chatter you want. Until you have owned both the difference doesn’t seem possible.

The ride will almost never be the reason a guy switches back to tin.

The ride will almost always be the reason a guy goes to glass in the first place.

You will be paying for this, nobody else. So you decide what you want. All you will get here are biased opinions.

Good luck and have fun shopping!

wormdunker wrote:

Glass being heavier than Tin is non old wives tale. Technology has eliminated any difference in weight. I will give you an example of a direct comparison of similar model boats.

A ranger 620 is listed as 2400 lbs on the Ranger Website, The Lund 2075 pro V is listed as 2150 pounds. So Ranger is 250 heavier right? Wrong.
The Ranger includes standard features that are all additions to the Lund weight. Bow Mount trolling motor (80lb Terrova 60″) and batteries (3-29 class) easily balance off any weight difference between the two boats. But start adding the Sonars, Battery charger and the scale tips (Pun intended) to the TIN side as being slightly heavier, maybe by over 100 lbs heavier.

The ride quality is solely a result of a hull bottom that is designed to cut waves and turn the water/Spray Downward. Not to be overlooked those same contoured surfaces greatly reduce drift when compared too Tin. Cant tell you how many times I have been on a drift without a sock out, look over to see a comparable sized tin boat WITH a bag out drifting by me like I was standing still. Boat control while fishing is often overlooked but is another factor that should not be overlooked when making a decision between the two.

All you have to do is go out on the lake in a chop, sit back and watch a glass boat take on the waves and a tin. Spray from a glass boat is usually about 5-6” behind the driver and directed down at the water surface. You will see Tin spray directed upward and is often equal or just slightly behind the console to the windshield. Lower powered tin spray is almost always ahead of the console.

I have owned both, I was so impressed with my first glass I have not gone back. Wont even get into the waterproof storage in every compartment in the boat, so awesome.

PS if we are talking tillers, get a rain jacket almost all are wet.

Very well said.

Dutchy’s comment about biased opinions couldn’t be more true. I have learned fisherman really take offense when someone voices an opinion that differs from what they own and are very proud of. Tell me my boat sucks, or that my opinion is wrong. I can live with that. Just don’t expect an invitation to go fishing with me.

Dutchboy wrote:

You can listen to all the chatter you want. Until you have owned both the difference doesn’t seem possible.

The ride will almost never be the reason a guy switches back to tin.

The ride will almost always be the reason a guy goes to glass in the first place.

You will be paying for this, nobody else. So you decide what you want. All you will get here are biased opinions.

Good luck and have fun shopping!

mahtofire14 wrote:

I would love to be able to take my boat out on the Minnesota River and feel confident that a log or rock wouldn’t destroy my hull but with my glass boat I just don’t have that. Its the only reason I have in getting an aluminum hull (which I might still do with my next boat). Just my opinion and something to think about.

Just an FYI, you can repair glass boats back to new and when you damage aluminum they are just wrecked… I run glass on the river all the time. If I hit a rock it cost me $50-$200. My buddy did the same with his aluminum. He was told the fix would not be easy and very expensive. He just runs the aluminum boat with a nice dent now.

Sorry to bring this back from the dead. There’s Midwest tin can aluminum boats and there are west coast aluminum boats. After thoroughly researching them, the differences are pretty drastic, IMO. Check out Kingfisher Flex Multi Species line-up. All welded .190” thick 18 degree dead-rise with reverse chines formed in. Then you get into prestressed jig forms that add rigidity, so there is minimal flex. Sides are .125” thick, too. Not many Midwest boats do that. Generally .100” thick is considered a tank around here… I would consider these to be lifetime investment, low maintenance, going-to-repower-it-a-couple-times boat. You put a hole in a hull like that, I’m betting fiberglass may be worse.

I’m not opposed to fiberglass, either, though. My biggest gripe is upkeep, but the fishability and storage of say, Warrior boats, hard to argue against it. They will certainly track and blow around less. One question I haven’t figured out is if floatation foam absorbs water over time like aluminum boats do. I can pull the floors of my Aluminum and replace as needed. Can’t do that with fiberglass readily.

You also really need to clean and wax fiberglass a significant amount to keep it looking good. Aluminum, give me an unpainted hull, let’er oxidize, and worry about nothing – especially road rash, road salt, etc. while trailering. Dock rash? No worries on an unpainted, heavy gauge aluminum hull.

I don’t know what my Deep V will end up being down the road (Warrior 198, Kingfish Flex 1925 or 2025, or North River Osprey 21’), but my river boat I just bought was a Kingfisher 1825 Warrior Tiller. .160” 12 degree bottom, .125” sides, custom ordered with no paint on the sides, galvanized trailer, Merc 115/80 jet tiller. For what all this boat is and how I’ve rigged it (two 12” Helix’s, 80lb Terrova w/DI, 24V anchor winch), nobody around here makes a comparable boat – even remotely! I can do 6” of water on plane in the river and still fish up to 2’-3’ waves safely in open water. The west coast stuff is built sturdy and versatile and generally not seen around these parts of the country.

Just thought I throw my experience and personal research out there for ya’s.

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Nice rig.
I have been interested in getting a jet boat for years.
Kingfisher makes some nice boats.

Fishinguns statements echo my experiences. After 25 yrs of owning “quality” Lund’s, I went with a west coast style boat – a Hewescraft. IMO, the build quality and durability are not even in the same ballpark between the two manufacturers. There aren’t any cheap plastic components and crappy fasteners to rattle loose or break on my new rig. It appears to be built to last, unlike the embarrassing overall quality I experienced on my previous boats.

Thanks, guys!

Oh man, if Hewey would do a custom Sea Pro with a mid-ship center console, I’d be in hog heaven! Their Open Sportsman was in the running for my riverboat, but 1.) my Kingfisher had thicker sides and 2.) I got to sea trial my salesman’s Kingfisher set-up almost identical to the way I wanted to rig my boat. It did end up costing more than a couple thousand more than the Hewey, though…

Kingfisher didn’t want to do some smaller custom stuff I wanted, mainly additional side trays for rods, so I’m going to end up fabbing them myself with the help of my machinest buddy. We think we can rivet one per side in without needing to weld or rivet to the hull itself and void my lifetime structural warranty.

If I stay Aluminum for my deep V, the North River has definitely caught my eye in the 20’-21’ range. Check this beast out with .250” bottom, .125” sides (.190” optional). I know she’ll blow around a bit though. I’d likely be running a bigger main and 15hp EFI kicker as opposed to twins, if I went this route. The Bad Mammer Jammer:

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