aluminum or glass CC

[tiggere]

we are moving to the beach in June and the wife said I could have a boat...eventually...and after reading a little I saw "ironwoods" battle tank and decided to look around in the aluminum category...anyone ever ride in an aluminum CC that cares to comment on ride quality...something in the 28' to 35' range in aluminum...my wife and son are not going to want to take a pounding...

[darbikrash]

The folks that like alloy boats really like them, to me it depends what you are doing with the boat and where you boat. In the Pacific Northwest, aluminum may outnumber glass boats, because of all the junk floating in the water, and the fact there are a lot of very experienced guys that can fabricate aluminum in that area.

In the smaller sizes, say 26’ and under, the Black Lab/Pacific boats look like a great option. Once you start getting up in size to say over 30’, the weight and cost penalty of aluminum becomes hard to overcome. Also, metal boats are usually limited to developable (simple curvature) shapes, which although usually this only applies to the topsides, it can mean a drier boat, as glass is not limited by shape or curvature. If you can draw it you can mold it out of glass.

The aluminum guys will argue this all day, but the facts are that a well designed fiberglass hull in the 30’+ size range will weigh less, cost less, likely be stiffer AND stronger than a metal boat. Some would say glass boats are better looking as well, but that is opinion.

Certain attributes like puncture resistance and ductility are better in metal, but you have to have a boating environment where these types of features override the other factors to justify aluminum.

For a more “pro-aluminum” perspective, there are a lot of knowledgeable folks on www.aluminumalloyboats.com if you haven’t already been there.

[tiggere]

yeah I have been over there looking around...thought I would ask a group of glass boaters their thoughts...the one thing that I do like is they seem to last forever...no spidering or gel coats to fuss with...ease of maintenance of the exterior/interior is definitely high on my priority list...its going to be a fishing boat after all...was curious on ride comfort mainly...