Aluminum vs. Fiberglass???

[feelay]

Y'all keep talking about dinging stumps and fragile glass boats... Ain't true! I've bumped my Ranger on hundreds of stumps without any damage. Some of these newer hulls are so tough, you can't knock a hole in them with a ball peen hammer.

[Pepop]

First, +1 to what feelay said! I think it's the new composite construction that make the newer hulls so much tougher than the older one's. Now, My 2 cents, I bought an entry level Stratos 176XT (glass boat) when they first came out in 2007 mainly because of the very popular add touting the stability of the Stratos in a side by side with a Bass Tracker Tournament 175. Now, after fishing the boat for over 7 years in the timber infested backwaters of Lake Palestine and out in the open of the same lake where the roller's can quickly grow to 3 & 4 feet with only a 15mph wind from the right direction, I feel confident that I can make it back to the ramp even if the wind picks up. Though I may be wet & I will likely get bounced around, if handled correctly it's as safe as about any comparable rig. I have slid up onto and down off of many stumps without damage. There is storage space to spare and though it won't hold ALL my gear (heck, I'm a "Tackle Ho" so a mid-size U-Haul professionally packed won't hold all my gear), it carries everything I need on any given outing. Having fished from aluminum "Bass" boats too, in my humble opinion, there isn't any choice. Fiberglass all the way!

[Tundah]

This question has been burning in my mind for some time now. I currently fish from a Tracker Pro Team 190 and I love the boat but it'll throw you around when the wind picks up. A lot of guys say fiberglass boats are a lot more steady in rougher water. Then people talk about how aluminum holds up so much better than fiberglass which seems to make sense. But a lot of the bigger names in crappie fishing use fiberglass. I've never fished from a fiberglass boat but I'm interested; which makes for a better crappie boat, aluminum or fiberglass?

I'm in the same boat...literally and figuratively! I too have been going through "glass" contemplations.

[river scum]

the fiberglass boats are much better in wind. thats because they are twice or more as heavy. as far as makers go. they can probably make a much larger profit from fiberglass boats apposed to aluminum.lol just like the mercury myth, "number 1 on the water". thats because they owned more company transoms, not because they are better motors. if you game me a merc i would sell it. lol
there are good and bad for both. i have had both. ill stay with the aluminum for my money. i dont generally opt to fish in windy areas and i can run with the others with half the motor. that equals big savings with these gas prices. the gas will also apply to the towing. now if you run long distances on big rough water you should opt for a heavy wave cutting fiberglass boat. your back will thank you. you have to pay with price and weight for comfort.

they both have their place in the world. im sure thats been said already though.(didnt read thread)

[Cane Pole]

I fish out a tin boat. I got "style".