Fishing boat styles and types come in various forms nowadays. Each has its own use and specifications with their own advantages. An aluminum fishing boat is one of these. The size of an aluminum fishing boat can be as small as 10 foot but can go up to a huge 24 foot long on some specialized models. The shape of aluminum boats can come in both flat, V shape designs and also in a pontoon style. An aluminum fishing boat can be used as a charter fishing boat when you simply want to rent out a boat for the day or weekend.
Advantages of Aluminum Boats
While there are merits shared by any type of fishing boat out there; the aluminum fishing boat has some advantages all to itself. With the greatest competition comes from fiberglass boats, the aluminum boat has many thousands of fans thanks to their merits:
1. Aluminum fishing boat can be customized and painted to become just about any other kind of boat you desire.
2. Aluminum boats are preferred for most man made lakes, because of their rugged build and can resist being punctured by underwater trees and other submerged items.
3. Aluminum boats are resistant to rust, decay and drips. Many aluminum fishing boat can be used for decades.
4. The ability to repair or fix aluminum boats is rather easy. Most repairs are done with welding or hammering out dings and dents.
5. Aluminum boats are fuel efficient because they are light weight. If you run out of fuel, they are also easier to row than most other types of boat.
6. An aluminum fishing boat can be carried by one person depending on the size of the boat. Most other boats, made from fiberglass need five people just to move it around with more amounts of time and energy.
7. An aluminum fishing boat can be customized by the user to gain the best function from the boat that is wanted by the user.
Demerits of Aluminum Boats
While there are many merits of using an aluminum fishing boat, like anything else there are also disadvantages as well:
1. An aluminum fishing boat is not good for use when there is bad weather approaching. Lightning can easily strike the boat and people who on it.
2. Aluminum is not good for salt water fishing because the salt is corrosive and will eat away at the rivets. This will eventually cause the aluminum boat to leak or crack.
3. Aluminum fishing boats are not as flexible as fiberglass boats when it comes to shaping and customizing the boat.
4. Aluminum fishing boats are not as sleek on the water as fiberglass boats and tend to plow the water as opposed to pushing it aside. This allows some water to get into the boat from the splash.
5. Aluminum boats do not run as smoothly on water as fiberglass and tend to give riders a funky ride.
6. Aluminum boats can not carry as much fuel as their fiberglass counterpart. Therefore extra fuel cans are needed for any long trips away from shore.
It all depens on your use to make an aluminum fishing boat a better or worse choice. Make your choice wisely.
Used Aluminum Fishing Boats
Personally I'm a huge fan of aluminum boats, and would never buy a fiberglass boat. Here's why.
You're buying a boat because you want to be fishing, not working on boats. If you want to be working on boats buy a timber fishing boat and I can guarantee you'll spend many hours working on it. If you love that then fine, but for me I want to be fishing, not working on boats.
So timber is out. But what about fiberglass compared to aluminum. After all you see a lot of fiberglass boats out there.
What do you want in a fishing boat? Well you want it to be tough. Water resistant. Impact resistant. Low maintenance. Long lasting. Light. Easy to use.
Aluminum is all of these and more. It's extremely tough. It is welded not riveted, so is totally waterproof. It is highly impact resistant. That doesn't mean that it can't be holed, but it's pretty hard to do. Rather than get a hole aluminum tends to dent. This is great. If you hit something, as I recently did, you end up with a dent and head home feeling silly. If you hit something in a timber or a figerglass boat chances are high that you end up with a hole, and someone needs to come and get you because your boat is sinking.
Aluminum has a very high strength to weight ratio. So it's light and easy to handle, both in the water and onto and off a trailer or even a roof of a car. It's incredibly strong and will take a stack of punishment. It needs very little maintenance and will last forever.
A fiberglass boat on the other hand, has some drawbacks. It is heavier. It is less resistant to impact, and more easily holed. It takes a little more maintenance, although much less than a timber boat. And if treated badly it can absorb water. Be careful not to damage the gellcoat, or if you do repair it before you go out again.
And whereas an aluminum boat retains a very good resale value because they are so tough and durable, fiberglass boats can be more easily damaged and for this reason may not retail their value as well.
So for me it's an aluminum fishing boat every time. I've had all 3, timber, fiberglass and aluminum, and will be sticking to aluminum.
And the best thing about aluminum boats is that they are so tough and durable that it is far better to buy a used aluminum boat rather than a new one. A new boat is expensive, and like all things new will lose a lot of it's value as soon as you buy it. So a used aluminum boat is much cheaper, and will retain it's value to when you sell it you'll probably get most or all of your money back. I bought a used boat 2 years ago and it's worth as much or even more than when I bought it.
So if you're pondering your choices between the different types of fishing boat, make it a used aluminum fishing boat. You won't regret it.
Both Fidens Felix & Peter Clark are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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