fibreglass vs Ali
Submitted by surfymuzz on Sat, 2015-05-30 20:57
hey guys new to boating so looking to do a little more research
probably an obvious one to you but what are the main differences between fibreglass and Ali?
obviosly Ali is lighter but how does that benefit a boater?
i know fibreglass is heavier and goes through the chop nicer so why do so many people buy ali boats?
im looking at something around the 20ft mark, seen some cracker ali fishing boats but not sure how they would handle the chop and swell and the main reasons people would buy them?
thanks for the feedback in advance :)
Muzz
stevebw23
Posts: 155
Date Joined: 12/11/11
Gday Muzz, I've had both ali
Gday Muzz, I've had both ali and f/glass and the benefits i've found with my current ali boat is because the ali is lighter it's cheaper to run (less horsepower/fuel required), easier to tow up north, easier to launch/retrieve solo. I think it's also easier to keep clean (no blood stained white f/glass to worry about) I've found putting thick foam under the front carpet cushions the jarring from choppy conditions but still nowhere near as soft a ride as my last f/glass boat. I just go slower now when it's choppy. They've both got their good and bad points i think, i changed to an ali boat mainly because towing is a lot easier.
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Stewk
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 28/11/13
Hey Muzz, I've had both and
Hey Muzz,
I've had both and would agree with stevebw23.
Ali is more durable or at least I feel that it is. I would not be concerned pulling ali up a beach, but would try to avoid in my fibreglass.
You can run smaller engines and therefore your daily fuel bill is going to be less scary.
Ali is lighter to tow thus a smaller vehicle is required and so on.
However once you actually get on the water the glass boat's ride is like chalk and cheese. After owning both I would take fibreglass everyday of the week.
If things don't change, they'll stay the same.....