Fibreglass Boats Vs Aluminium Boats

I'm in the market for a new boat right now. Looking for a 16 foot flats skiff that run in 6 inches on plane and float/pole in less. After much reading and research, I knew aluminum was the way to go. Hard to beat a good welded aluminum boat. The one I chose (I don't have it yet) is an MV hull with a tunnel and sponsons. It will probably float in 4 inches of water and get up on plane in 6-8 inches with appropriate prop. This boat will cost less than half of what a comparable glass boat would cost. Aluminum has it's disadvantages, but for me, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

4 mils is about 5/32", or just over 1/8" thick aluminum, the drop metal ram they use in this video is very specific damage.
They designed it to optimize the damage in favor of the glass. In real life the damage is usually caused by a much bigger object like a pier or a rock. Aluminum deforms and bends much more localized. Where as glass transfers the stress much further into the hull. So aluminum you end up replacing 3 square feet of hull, but for the identical glass boat and rock the entire side of the hull is fractured and cracked. My friend does glass for a living he just bought and repaired a 45 foot sailboat for $15,000.
The boat hit a rock and the deck separated from the hull. His first week he was wondering what he got himself into.
A aluminum boat would been on its way the same day by cutting out the damaged hull braces and welding on new skin.
Glass transfers the stress and damages ten times the area as aluminum.

Great video, I'm interested in learning more about fiberglass boats and design, any suggestions?

this is one of the most powerful composite boats videos i have ever seen.
Thank you.

that fiberglass was plenty well damaged it would have leaked guaranteed aluminum boats are faster for the same horsepower so more economical

This video is has a few mistakes. 1 Alunium boats don't pound more. It's hull design I had an old fiberglass and wood boat that old sucker pounded like crazy take a new alunium boat of the same exact size with more HP on the back it goes faster and is like night and day. The biggest advantage of alunium boat is you can drive it right up on the rocky beach and not worry about scratching the paint or fiberglass. They don't tend to use 4mm for hulls they use a thicker metal. At the end of the day fiberglass is cheaper to make less labor but it's not as durable when it comes to going up on the beach. Alunium boats also catch more fish then fiberglass boats because they work like a big flasher which looks like a bait ball in the water so they attract the fish. So alunium boats are better for durability long lasting (age better) Less maintance over all just change zincs. The biggest disadvantage is the cost. They're very expensive.

If you look at 2 boats side by side 1 is fiberglass and foam and 1 is alunium and they have the exact same features. The alunium boat is always more money If it was the best why are there no landing craft boats made out of fiberglass companys seem to only make them out of alunium so want a boat that can haul stuff like an ATV to a hunting spot alunium boat is the way to go just drive on and off.

Fiberglass is very time consuming and there is too much room for human error with the odd batch not mixed correctly, air bubbles missed that will lead Osmosis down the line ( boat cancer ). You cannot beat alloy, can come pre cut on a pallet with fold lines already marked out, simply fold then tack together then weld and you have a boat. No cutting, vacuum bagging, rolling, mixing, any prep, or huge amounts of joins needed like fibreglass, using peel ply for smoother surface ( more money ) but the biggest advantage of alloy is the finished surface that has plastic on one side you peel off once finished. You make a boat out of fibreglass and don't fair it with bog then paint it ( more money ) it looks like it's made of play doh... I agree fibreglass is quieter and smoother but that's because the boat is flexing in all the week spots that will I guarantee will start cracking within 10 years. I have worked in both industry's and currently building alloy boats and I can tell you I much prefer working with alloy. You can do a quick sand or use an acid wash on alloy to bring it back to new, its even possible to bring it up to a mirror shine. What do you do when you e glass boats has chips or faded paint etc? You sand the whole thing down, meth wash it for example, prime, then top coat ( MORE MONEY!!! )

yea patches never hold up. I would much rather weld onto aluminum and grind back level. fiberglass rots too easily for me.

The video failed to mention that the main reason the vacuum pump is used it to get a more favorable ratio of epoxy resin to fiberglass for increased strength.

why not compare it with polycraft boats??????