Would you rather…..

Have a 18ft fiberglass boat or a 20ft aluminum boat?

18 glass

If you are talking ride quality only? Glass

18′ Glass. Smoother dryer ride.

glass

Tritoon wrote:

Have a 18ft fiberglass boat or a 20ft aluminum boat?

Heres the deal in my opinion. A 18′ glass boat rides better than a 18′ alum boat. But……don’t overlook the ride of a 20′ boat. You add that 2′ and the ride changes drastically. In a perfect world save some more money and get a 20′ glass, but if you need to do something now go 20′ alum. You win either way.

I have had both a 18.5′ Stratos 385XF glass boat and a 20’3″ Lund Pro-V 2025 aluminum boat and I said to several people that without question I preferred the 18.5′ boat. The extra room was the only benefit over the smaller boat and it did not come close to get me to prefer that boat over the smaller boat.

Where I live? 20ft aluminum with roller trailer. Launches around here are SHALLOW.

Depends on the brand.

Get a 20′ glass boat….

They’re very similar in price to a tin boat these days anyway

20ft Lund is only aluminum I’ve been looking at

Skeeter, Ranger and the occasional Lund are the only glass boats I’ve been looking at

Dutch was kind of on the same thought process as myself. Loaded 20ft Lund (kicker, talon, good electronics) for a tad more (and sometimes cheaper) then a 18ft glass boat with electronics only.

Randy Wieland wrote:

18 glass

X2

Easy,
20′

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Glass

Lunds are well built boats. The two pro-v’s I had, I ran hard and they never gave me any issues other than the Yamaha 225 off shore a complete turd out of the hole, but that wasn’t the boats fault. If you fish big water you will get very wet on a windy day.

Fbrm has a good point that not all aluminum boats are created equal. If it was me, id be looking for a 22′ center console Tritoon with a 150+ rigged for fishing. That’s my next move.

You fishing rivers or lakes ? Wouldn’t want a glass boat on the river , would probably want the glass boat on a lake

Tritoon wrote:

20ft Lund is only aluminum I’ve been looking at

Skeeter, Ranger and the occasional Lund are the only glass boats I’ve been looking at

Dutch was kind of on the same thought process as myself. Loaded 20ft Lund (kicker, talon, good electronics) for a tad more (and sometimes cheaper) then a 18ft glass boat with electronics only.

Are you talking used or new boats? The prices I’ve seen/heard on a new 20′ lund would be very close to that of a 20′ skeeter. Either way, glass is the only way I’d go.

Are you talking used or new boats? The prices I’ve seen/heard on a new 20′ lund would be very close to that of a 20′ skeeter. Either way, glass is the only way I’d go.
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All comparisons are based off used boats

Mike m wrote:

You fishing rivers or lakes ? Wouldn’t want a glass boat on the river , would probably want the glass boat on a lake

I hear people say this and don’t understand it. Plenty of guys running glass on the river with no issues, including me.

Matt Moen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>michael martine wrote:</div>
You fishing rivers or lakes ? Wouldn’t want a glass boat on the river , would probably want the glass boat on a lake

I hear people say this and don’t understand it. Plenty of guys running glass on the river with no issues, including me.

lots of backwater areas i wouldnt venture with a glass boat . Just this weekend i hit submerged logs in sloughs ive been through many times , crossed sand flats where I was dragging bottom . Just think aluminum is a little more forgiving , especially when the river is low like it is now.

Glass

Mike m wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>michael martine wrote:</div>
You fishing rivers or lakes ? Wouldn’t want a glass boat on the river , would probably want the glass boat on a lake

I hear people say this and don’t understand it. Plenty of guys running glass on the river with no issues, including me.

lots of backwater areas i wouldnt venture with a glass boat . Just this weekend i hit submerged logs in sloughs ive been through many times , crossed sand flats where I was dragging bottom . Just think aluminum is a little more forgiving , especially when the river is low like it is now.

I run glass on the river without issue. The river really isn’t that “low” despite the fact that everyone keeps saying that. It’s actually “normal” for August. The last 5-6 years have just been absurd with the amounts of water in the system at times

20 ft aluminum tiller for me, but it really depends on your fishing style. I fish lakes around my house 90 percent of the time. Might not be ideal for lotw or mille lacs, but the few times I go it does exactly what I need. And the smaller size lakes, like forest lake white bear and such the aluminum is just perfect

Dutchboy wrote:

Heres the deal in my opinion. A 18′ glass boat rides better than a 18′ alum boat. But……don’t overlook the ride of a 20′ boat. You add that 2′ and the ride changes drastically. In a perfect world save some more money and get a 20′ glass, but if you need to do something now go 20′ alum. You win either way.

I’ve ridden in my cousins 21′ Barron enough times to know it rides rougher than my 18′ Stratos 386XF

Canadian shield – aluminum

Feel better when bumping rocks pulling up to shore for lunch. otherwise I would take the 18′ ft glass. I have no need for the additional room and all the reasons mentioned above.

I dont personally fish much ” big water ” more skinny water then anything. I’d prefer room over comfort on big water. Chisago lake doesn’t get to rough and mill lacs is only on random weekends. North trips are once a month maybe. A 20ft tiller aluminum. That way when i bump rocks and shore my boat on the river while camping I wont stress.
But thats also why I run a early 2000s boat and don’t complain about worm guts and mud on my carpet. I use it for what its intended and not to win a beauty contest.

Now if I lived on mille lacs or lotw it would only be glass.

I may be wrong here (it happens a lot lol), but it would depend on how often I think the boat will be hitting shore. If you plan on beaching it at the cabin, and camping in Voyageurs and Vermillion, I’d go aluminum. If it won’t ever touch anything beyond the trailer and/or sand, I’d go glass.

I’ve owned both Glass and Aluminum in the past. I will agree that the ride in a glass boat is nice. But for me the upkeep and worry of damage to a glass boat just wasn’t worth it to me. I tend to fish hard and often and take several trips a year to Canada. A aluminum boat just fits my fishing needs better these days. The weight to tow and the ability to load and unload on less than Idea landings is also a big factor to me. Everyone say get a glass boat for those ruff days on those ruff waters. How many times a year do people really actually end up fishing on ruff days in rough waters ??? If I go someplace where the water is to ruff for a 20″ aluminum boat then I either find a smaller lake to fish or I skip a day of fishing. I cant tell you the last time I skipped a day of fishing do to ruff conditions. If you have the money, Time to care for it, Don’t tow it a ton and along ways, Fish lakes with great idea landing, Fish BIG ROUGH water ALOT. Then Id say a glass boat is a good option for you.

buckybadger wrote:

I run glass on the river without issue. The river really isn’t that “low” despite the fact that everyone keeps saying that. It’s actually “normal” for August. The last 5-6 years have just been absurd with the amounts of water in the system at times

I was just telling the FW that the other day. Since the river has been so high through out the last few years, people won’t be able to take the short cuts they have in the past without things going bump.

I’ve had a 17′ Lund for 15 years on the river. Every night I was out in the dark in the backwaters. People told me I was crazy for running a stainless prop. People told me I was just plain crazy…

I have a Skeeter Solara (18′ glass) now for three summers going into the same places. So far (knock on fiberglass) the only glass repair I’ve had done was from hitting a dock with the aft end.

I’ve trolled out of the Skeeter but most of my fishing is done anchored amongst the gnarly wood 6″ below the water.

I’ll take glass over tin any day. I’ve often said I wish my boat was longer, but just as many times, I’ve said “I wish my boat was smaller”. It’s going to be your call keeping in mind how many people you have normally join you.

On a side note, there was a fella with a brand new glass boat that ran smack into a closing dam. Realized he had a water leak. Came back to the launch and loaded it just to find out the rock was stuck in the hull yet. Had it fallen out, I’m not sure how he would of made it back. I’m pretty sure had he had an aluminum hull the rock would of fallen out. Not that this is any reason to pick one over the other.

Have fun with your decision!