Compare the value of an aluminum fishing boat to a fiberglass fishing boat in 10 years

There’s many choices when it comes to buying a fishing boat. Generally it comes down to an aluminum boat, a fiberglass boat or a timber one. Today we wanted to look at a comparison between the advantages and disadvantages of aluminum versus fiberglass.

There’s no doubt that a fiberglass boat looks great. Because fiberglass boats are built in a mold they can be rounded and shaped to look fantastic, and the gelcoat coloring looks sleek and inviting.

And of course whilst it’s quite possible to paint and aluminum boat and make it look good it just doesn’t look as good as a fiberglass boat.

However there’s many other good reasons to choose aluminum over fiberglass.

A fiberglass boat looks great when its new, but it ages fast. Whilst aluminum is durable and long-lasting a gelcoat finished to a fiberglass boat gradually deteriorates until it goes dull.

Image by Velo Steve via Flickr

The color fades and it just doesn’t look like it did when it was new.

Gelcoat scratches. Every time you put your boat up on the beach you gather a whole new bunch of scratches underneath the boat.

Fiberglass is relatively easy to damage, and it is not uncommon for a fiberglass boat to have been holed by impact. Whilst it is perfectly possible to repair a fiberglass boat a repair may well not look so good 5 or 10 years later.

And aluminum boat however, if treated well, will look almost as good in 10 years as the day it was purchased. Aluminum won’t rust, it won’t fade or go dull and although it will scratch it takes much more to scratch aluminum than it does to scratch gelcoat.

And the bottom line is resale value. Go online and have a look at some second-hand boat dealerships and see if you can find the original price of the boat when it was new. Do that and you will find that fiberglass boats, whilst colourful and flashy when new, lose a whole lot more of their value as few years later when being sold second-hand. Continue reading “Should You Buy an Aluminum Fishing Boat or a Fiberglass One?” »

A serious repair to an aluminum fishing boat usually requires professional help

Despite the fact that aluminum is the best and toughest material for building a fishing boat it is possible, though not likely, at some stage during the life of your fishing boat you will need to effect a repair.

It is unlikely, though again possible, that this will be because of a punched hole from a collision with an object. Generally speaking aluminum boats bounce off an object without actually puncturing the hull. They may sustain damage like a severe dent, however because the boats are very light this is less likely than it is with a timber or fibreglass boat.

But it’s not impossible, particularly if you hit an object at high speed.

However a puncture is not the only form of damage that may need to be repaired. It is often possible to get small hole or leaks.

One of the most common ways of doing this is to leave a lead sinker lying in the hull of the boat for an extended period of time. Lead and aluminum do not mix, and this will eventually form a hole in the bottom of the boat.

Image via Wikipedia

If the damage to the boat is significant then it is not recommended to attempt a repair at home unless you are particularly skilled. Whilst preparing a small puncture in an aluminum fishing boat is quite possible at home, larger repairs requiring welding are best undertaken by a professional.

Of course the same applies to repairing a large hole in a timber or fibreglass boat.

Small holes can be repaired using proprietary aluminum repair materials. Approach the owner of your local aluminum boat dealership to find out more about buying these. It will also be important to become familiar with the instructions for use before attempting to repair the hole in the aluminum.

But we repeat that a larger repair job is a job for the professionals. Unless you know what you are doing it is unlikely that you will affect the repair sufficiently well, and the result will probably not look good, and may not work.