FIBREGLASS VS ALUMINIUM

[squire]

All was looking at getting a new boat around 18ft was wondering what everyone thinks about the differences between aluminium and fibreglass.Pros and Cons. Cheers Marty.

[MTpockets]

Hi Marty,
I have owned 2 alloy tinnies and one fiberglass runabout.
Firstly the glass boat.... I found her to run much smoother through the water and far less noisey. She was a fairly old model and eventually I found 2 x 4' cracks in the hull causing her to fill up with water each trip. The cracks were very fine but under load they opened up and let a lot of water in. I paid $1200 to put a new floor and new hull rails in, and seal the cracks. That problem came from poor maintanence from the previous owners and I was the one who ended up with the bill. The only other problem with glass is you must stay clear of rocks and concrete ramps otherwise you can damage the gelcoat and end up with a similar problem to what I had. Glass boats are also very heavy and a good trailer setup is required to make sure she sits safely while on the road. A not so good fitting can damage the hull or at least cause stress to its strength. Apart from that, if you do buy glass, make sure the gelcoat is in good condition, and keep her well maintained.

If you go with a tinnie...... My experience is they are very sturdy, and can take a bit of rough handling but are noisey and dont cut through the waves as well as a glass, but depending on size and design can match glass pretty well. My first tinnie was a Stessel 3.9m forward control with a 28 Mariner. She was a workhorse and took me everywhere I wanted to go with no hassels. I did have a electrolisis problem around the rear bungholes, and had to cut it out and weld in a new section, but that worked out ok. One thing to make sure you dont do, and thats leave sinkers sit on the floor or else the lead reacts with the alloy and you get real problems.

I now own a Stessel 4m with a new Yammie 30hp forward control with canopy and she is just perfect, apart from being a tad small, but love her to bits anyhow.

My choice is Alloy based on the hull problems I experienced with my glass boat, but given the right conditions, would have no hesitation buying a new glass if I had the opportunity again.

Hope your choice is a new boat but if buying 2nd hand, buyer beware, boats can be decieving when the heart rules the head. [smiley=smitten.gif] [smiley=whip.gif]

cheers
Les

[Needmorerum]

Marty, I'm in the same predicament, I'm looking for something around the 6m mark and above and am not sure what to get either. What I have come up with is that as none of our ramps up here provide any accessories to help launch and retrieve, a GRP boat would sustain quite some damage when I want to go out by myself. This isn't putting me off getting a GRP boat though as I figure that I would tie it up to a jetty that we have near the ramp and then put the trailer in the water and then go back to the jetty and drive the boat on. Although this is some mucking around I have allot to weigh up before making my purchase.
I will be following this thread with some interest to see what responses are given to the never ending debate of hull material.

Corry

[snappa]

REGARDLESS what they are made of
enjoy
fibreglass is easy to repair ;D
alum doesnt like getting welded and causes more cracks around the weld :-[
?? make sure it has twin hulls ;D ;D

[Kerry]

Might add a third dimension to the issue and even though it's not directly related to the glass or alloy at the end of the day if you can't tow what you are thinking towards then you might need to adust your thoughts when it comes to comparing boats of equal length.

Cheers, Kerry.
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[nofrills]

howdy all

ive got a theory ive always thought is right and i might get shot down in flames but id like to see what you's reccon.
if you have two boats the same shape and size and one is alloy and the other is glass,the glass one will ride smoother because its heaiver and will displace more water as it impacts a wave.the down side is you need a bigger motor to push the extra weight.
so if you take the alloy boat and bring it up to the same weight as the glass boat with stuff like,larger fuel tanks,bait tanks,big eskys,and a big fat deckie that dosent help wash the boat afterwards.and power the boat the same as the glass one would;nt they ride almost identical?.

now im not tellin im asking ???
cheers scott

[blaze]

hi scott
IMO only
I think with ali you get that metalic banging any way and that tends to vibrate through the boat
and
I love glass boats
so I am
bias
cheers
blaze

[ANYFISH]

gudday nofrills
i think your on the right track with the weight thing.
the other thing is the hull design. the glass boats seem to be better designed to suit the rough water because it is easier to work with than ally. the ally just cant be folded or pressed to the same shapes as glass can be laid.

does anybody know of a web site wich explains the technical side of hull design ???

same again. i am not telling i am just throwing ideas about
cheers anyfish