but if your happy with your testies in your mouth get a ali more robust and easier maintinence, should be able to pick up a reasonable baron, pacemaker or swiftcaft around that price they are very good seaboats. baron sportsman with a inboard will give you the space for three divers and gear i had one 6 years ago very happy with it

Ali for me all the way .. for that sort of price youd get a good 18 footer in either format .. ali is stronger with easier care and tows easier where as glass rides better. id rather have the ease of towing if heading north and a good heavy Ali aint too bad on the ride .. my old 18 foot westerberg was bloody great.

I have had both ,and would not go back to ali , but in saying that a trailcraft,trailblazer,would be a great boat for you if your doing a lot of diving .but may be out of your price .as dazza said boron or swiftcraft both good glass hulls and if you keep you eyes on the net and in the papers you will get one for the price your looking at..

what are your travel plans though. access to the water may be the deciding factor. Ali can take the knocks better and easy to cut and weld if need be. need to watch electrolisis though but just disconnect your battery leads. glass doesn't like knocks and puntures easy. if you plan on beach launching or rougher roads then all these considerations will play a part in your decision. if you learn how to skipper an Ali properly on the water then its not all ball bashing/ spine crushing........ there are some members selling good boats

have had two tinnies and now got a 17ft glass baron, wont be going back!

Glass for me. But I am biased, check out the boat I am selling on the post titled Chivers Sportfisherman for Sale.

I am going to a bigger boat, but this one dives 3 OK, 4 at a pinch.

I went through this very question, as most do. The closer for me was I drove mine in convoy with a 5.4m Trailcraft Trailblazer to Rotto in a 1.5m sea. When we got there, I could walk, the other guys couldn't.

Get a RIB, the ride will beat glass or ali hands down.

Having had 3 glass boats and 2 ali's,glass wins hands down when it comes down to a comfortable ride.Yet having said that,wood is better than both of them except for the maintenance.

I've got a Chivers but not selling.
Having had a good look around before I went for the repower on my ugly duckling, I'd say from the pictures, Cammos got a nice boat there.
I'd add an anchor winch and you'd be done.
Have a look at the boats on boatlocator, boatpoint.com , boatsonline.com, you'll get an Idea of what's available in your price range.

cheers shane

Its a matter of personal preference, I have been out on both and fiberglass is of heavier displacement, but there is nothing wrong with aluminium.One suggestion I have, maybe one of these gentlemens members, might give you a demo before you buy and commit to a boat, that does not suit your needs. The longer you think about, what your boat is to be built of, the more confused you will become, there are arguments for both and against, it really is personal choice in the end. Jim.

i would be going glass but i have only owned 2 glass boats but have travelled in ali boats and the glass wins hands down , i have an old 1983 23 foot fraser, she weighs just over 2tonne but thats also running a 350 chev, if your looking at around the 18foot mark you should be able to get a much lighter one for towing, it also depends on how old the boat is to how heavy it is as the newer glass boats arent as heavy as the old. your best bet is take a few for a test run both glass and ali and that will help make the decision, glass v ali its just like the old arguement ford v holden , everyone has their favourite.
and also , welcome to the site

on how you are going to fish it up north? If you are gonna run it up the beach, overnighters on islands, go creek bashing, take it into gnarly reefy shallow water etc, then I'd go an ali every time. If not, then a glass boat will generally give you a better ride as stated by all and sundry.

if you could get one for the price.Made from plastic and all the benefits of both ali and glass rides like glass more rough and tumble than ali.If they made a 7 meter plus cabin style boat i would not have the boat we have now.What i did to the old boat was border line barbaric and it took it in its stride.

What ever you choose to take on a test run try to make it when its a bit sloppy/blowy etc because on a good day even real crappy hulls seem good and never settle for just one test run

Defenatly glass for me
I like others have owned both and my current boat is a V19 hains. Old school heavy hand laid glass and it is the most comfortable boat ever owned.
In saying that when living up north it was ali hands down. Didn't have the thought of damage as you would with glass.
Depends on what you are going to do the most with your boat.
Good luck and happy boat hunting.

Glass is comfort, Ali is guts and determination.
In Perth (SW) glass because the ride is better, you dont have the tides and islands to rock up to. Up here in Karratha you would be half mad with glass IMO. They just dont handle the rough stuff like beach landings (i wouldnt do it) and the tides causing unforeseen dry land (ask Tailor Marc). Up here the bash bash rides do occur but the lee of the islands provide safe boating.
There is always pros and cons to every situation.
Cheers
Neels

We have an older glass boat which is very heavy and needs a bigger 4x4 to tow it. We can not beach launch it and it is better for us if the boat ramps are a bit deeper for launching.

I am no expert however we are happy with our boat choice it fits our family well, it has high sides which are safe for the kids and it has a low centre of gravity with all of the boat weight low down which means it sits well in the water and does not roll so much in the swell.

I have been told by hubby that ali boats tend to sit on top of the water and the glass boats tend to sit more in the water and push through it when underway. We saw this when we went on the Rottnest Convoy a couple of years back..We had an ali boat in front of us which was all over the waves.

But as has been said earlier it depends on what you want your boat to do and where you want to take it.

If you are looking at older glass boats just check that the glass is not starting to delaminate (go all spongy and bubble up) If you do not know how to do glass repairs this can be an expensive mistake.

I have been in Ali boats and man i was sore aftwards, glass is very nice riding but you're buggered if you treat it rough like mentioned above and i am now a poly convert. Owned a 4.1m and man did it cop some abuse, you'd never put a hole in it if you hit something pretty hard to puncture 14mm of plastic especially since it has a little give in it like a shock absorber makes for a very smooth ride. I now have a 5.3m CC on it's way and even though they are no the prettiest boats around they are built for function and make great dive and fishing boats due to their hull design which is the most stable platform you'll find in a monohull. Problem is the range of boats and finding one for sale as they aren't too common, there is also the Triumph range and the Ensign which are imported and the Plaka boats made in W.A if you are open to a new experience take a look at a poly boat, no rust, no electrolysis, no cracking gelcoat and can be repaired by you if you scratch it, what other boat can just have things mounted by self tapping screws.

Glass all the way...its a bit like comparing dhu fish and samson fish in eating qualities.

But given your budget, you would get a newer and possibly better boat going Ali.

ali for me
depending on the manufactureer there are some ali boats that ride as nice as glass . ali is lighter so easier to tow
easier to repair
cheaper
less hp for same speed so less fuel lighter on pocket
providing your anodes are spot on shouldnt get electrolosis ( i never have)
this is more like a stella saltiga debate it will never be won. take em for a test ride and buy whats comfortable
brenz

I'm with Brenz, you're gonna find dogs of boats in all materials so just take a few for test drives, they all their benefits and you just need to work out whats best.

this is definantly the marine version of Holden vs Ford, don't get us started on 2 stroke vs 4 stroke :D

that rough riding ali thing, yeah they ride rough half of it has to do with the fact half of them like quintrex have these super flat bottoms which dont cut through the waves, theyll never be glass though