Aluminum vs Fiberglass Boats

What type of boat is better for you, aluminum or fiberglass? Choosing the size and style of boat is one thing, but what about the different material used to build them. Is one better than the other when you talk about aluminum vs Fiberglass? In this video we will cover:

1. Fiberglass Boats Pros and Cons. 0:46
2. Aluminum Boats Pros and Cons. 2:52
3. Recap 3:50
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[boatinglessons]

What is your favorite...aluminum or fiberglass?

[skeetersaurus]

I worked for OMC (Outboard Marine Corporation) for a long time, and have watched, and worked in the 'hull department'...and I'm here to tell you, I'd NEVER actually purchase a fiberglass boat! The reason? He forgot to mention that the stringers and bulkheads on ALL 'mid-market' fiberglass boats are pine plywood and studs! The matting is prepared, the release agent is put on the mold, the mat (wet hull) is laid-in, and then the stringers and bulkheads are installed...then capped with more wet fiberglass. The end result? A wooden skeleton, wrapped in semi-permeable fiberglass...that over time, takes on water, swells, stress-cracks the fiberglass, then rots (air gets in), then much of your structural integrity and strength are gone...and if you don't think so, go to the next 'major storm area' afterwards, and look at the 'toothpicks' left of 'fiberglass boats'...you will see rotted sub-structure EVERYWHERE! Forget that, buy an aluminum boat, learn to TIG weld, and keep your boat FOR LIFE! If 'fiberglass' was so great, major ships would use it for hull design...as it is, the U.S. Navy is turning to 'Aluminum Hull military ships' currently...and THERE IS a reason for it...(also, if you want more proof...just look at your 'always in the water houseboat designs'...there is a reason they are ALWAYS either steel or aluminum below the waterline).

[rottenanimal]

I live in Canada and most of the lakes are very rocky. Hitting a rock will put a dent in an aluminum boat. Hitting a rock with a fiberglass boat can do major damage and take a lot of time and money to repair it. I chose an aluminum boat every time.

[lostcanadian]

You can beach an aluminum boat on a pebble beach with no harm done. Don't dare touch your fiberglass hull to anything

[TEKKKNO]

Fiberglass material soo expensive also hard to work with in my experience

[SI-lgvp]

Living in the NW the aluminum boat is like a pickup truck. It keeps its value and can be sold for top dollar year round. My Northriver boat is like a tank and looks as nice as the day 2005 I purchased. Plastic boats lose value, have cheap interiors, cheap hardware, and cheap trailers. Check how well a metal boat vs a plastic boat depreciated.

[slaphappyduplenty]

What does it for me is that aluminium is completely recyclable, plastic less so, polyester not at all. A small polyester boat is 200 lbs of future toxic waste and a problem for my kids to deal with. An aluminium boat is a future saucepan, bicycle and/or another boat.

[Dunghye]

Hello my dream is to own a fishing boat someday .... but dont have budget greating here from philippines.

[TheInternalwisdom]

I live in Vancouver area and a super ugly looking aluminum boat from 70s costs as much as a super sexy and slick fiberglass boat 1/4 of its age here.. lots of rocky shoes and people beach the boats.. ive seen both aluminum and fiberglass being beached.. but i guess i understand why you wouldnt wanna drug yr slick sexy fiberglas of the rocky shoes.. if once the surface has minor cracks it can start all that rotting

[zynnotzen]

Everyone here seems obsessed with hull strength and the ability to hit a giant log or something. A big part that needs to be consider is which material makes a nicer boat to be on. Fibreglass boats are more comfortable. They are quieter smoother and feel more solid in the sense that the material is thicker. They are just more pleasant to be on and they are just as strong as aluminum in water as long as you dont hit a rock or tree which is pretty hard to do in the ocean. This is my take as someone who fishes the pnw

[YMYagizErgenc]

how will heat exchanges react ? if I try to wrap the hull of an aluminium trawler with gelcoat and 2 layers of fiberglass in and out. I will have the advantages of gelcoat like you said, keep salt water away from aluminium, smoothing rough edges...

[saifsaif]

Lool u haven’t seen Australian made aluminium boats. Here in aus fibre glass is old news unless your looking for a boat that live in the marina. Aussi aluminium boats👌👌👌

[dwayneroberts]

I live in Florida it's not the lake water that threatens you down here its the rain. It took me one time out caught in a fast moving thunderstorm to realize just how dangerous the rain was. People have a tendency to feel safer in lake than the ocean. Until you get caught in a Florida thunder storm on a big lake you can't begin to realize how wrong feeling safe is. My boat was getting hammered by 4" an hour wind swept rain and the temperature went from 92 degrees to 72 degrees in minutes. The lake formed a chop in minutes and that chop just kept getting more intense by the minute. There was a definite bathtub effect happening These waves were bouncing off the shore and growing each time. I always run a good bilge pump and I had a 1100 gallon bilge pump thank god it kept working and it was working hard to keep up with the water entering the bilge. I lost everything else the motor wouldn't start the electronics were failing but that beautiful pump and my trolling motor saved the day and I limped along the shoreline bach to the ramp. If you go down in Florida you're swimming with alligators so I bought a 19' CC with a self bailing deck and as always I put a brand new 1100 gallon bilge pump float switch in it and added a second bilge pump just above the first. It's a ocean boat that's how serious I take the weather and the lakes down here with over 28 miles of shoreline.

[ecec]

for my motorcycle i chose it will be as light as possible

[SamDavis-dv]

although i would agree most fiberglass boats handle better there are some plate boats here in australia outperform some glass boats such a bar crusher, surtees and stabicraft

[Kamabushi]

Completely nonsense
an Aluminum hull can take a bullet
a fiber glass cant
ever had a bump in a early chevy corvette?
Aluminum hulls do not burn because it is not manufactured with highly flammable resin.
They save lots of weight which means you can go up in size.
Geez the list goes own
I don’t want to be in rough seas in a
a plastic boat unless you are The Viking of the high seas.
Fiber glass repair is expensive and time consuming
the list tilts heavily towards aluminum
altho they might be expensive cuz
duuuuh
they are aluminum...
he says fiber glass is stronger
I dont think so
compression test for composite is 30k lbs complete crush
Aluminum is double that and is lighter
dont think so

[mikeb]

Thank you so much Sean for this very helpful video. Like all other vider Videos i learn so much from them. Keep up the good work cheers

[michaelhodgkinson]

My biggest thing is I want to be able to bring it up on a rocky shore or rocky beach to go camping or for a shore lunch so fiberglass is just about out of the question.

[philipstreechon]

You did not talk about all of the wood or foam that is used in all fiberglass boats that will rot then you are screwed. WHY DID YOU LEAVE THIS OUT AND YOU KNOW THIS IS TRUE ????

[jimquantic]

Really good, calm, rational explanation. One thing I see today--is heavy, heavy aluminum boats, like Duckworth, Hewscraft, North River and a 20 foot model going for over 100K--unreal. Yet, the design strengths and limitations you describe still apply.