I sold my 19' bass boat 6 weeks ago to buy something lighter and easier for me to deal with as I get older (age 66). I can buy a Ranger or Vexus aluminum boat for the same money as a Nitro Z17 glass boat. All would have 115 hp outboards. The alum rigs would be 18.5' long and the Nitro would be 17'4" long. I was leaning towards the larger alum rigs but now I'm considering the glass for the better ride and no worries about tin splitting or welds breaking. I mostly fish the river and bayous is why the tin was my initial thought. What do you experienced guys think for about the same money?

I have a friend who went from a 21' glass Ranger to an aluminum Ranger and he absolutely loves it.

River and bayous - I would go with the aluminum.

I’d go with aluminum in this situation also

I bought a crestliner. Got a 150 on it. Loaded out. Can't wait to get it

if money is no issue get you a nice big crestliner.

I went from a 19 ft glass to a rt188 115 merc I love it

Light and easy to deal with ain’t happening with a boat. The only winner with regards to the weight of the boat are the wind and the tow vehicle. The Z17 will ride better, be more stable, and power load off and on a trailer with ease. No muscle required whatsoever. The aluminum choice, for an older guy, seems like a losing deal. All it will get you is tired and less days in the water.

If you are close to Lufkin or Nacogdoches and want to go out in a Ranger RT188 let me know.

As an older, not quite as old as you, guy I can tell you the lighter Aluminum boats are easy to load and unload without using any muscles.

I added a set of Trick Steps to mine and that is the single best non-fishing addition I have made to mine.

The best fishing addition I have made is the Ultrex trolling motor.

How many times are you going to tell us this?

While I agree with you on some of these, todays aluminum boats are VERY stable fishing platforms. They’re not tippy anymore. The RT-188 is a phenomenal fishing platform.

The Vexus aluminum boat is very nice. All fiberglass interior & boxes. I would not hesitate to buy one.

Not a fan of their glass lineup.

till his keyboard runs out of ink, gonna be a while I think.

upkeep on the glass boat will be twice what the tin cans are, fuel costs will be a bit higher for the glass hull.

I'm 67+ and still launching and loading a champion 202, it's all in how you set up.
recently put a launchnload on and that makes a huge difference in loading for me.

They are having lot's of problems with their Aluminum boats. Welds, cracks in metal. Warped decking, leaks around transom, improperly screwed down consoles. Vexus is not what one expected from that group.
If I were to buy a tin boat. I would look hard at Avid or Excel.