I'm planning to buy a NEW aluminum boat this summer, either Tracker, Triton or Ranger. I've been reading the discussion about the issues with aluminum boats and now I am questioning whether I should look at fiberglass instead of aluminum.

My logic for considering a new aluminum over fiberglass is 1) I fish in rocky highland reservoirs, 2) aluminum would handle nosing into rocky shorelines during launch and recovery better than fiberglass, 3) aluminum would be more durable than fiberglass bumping off submerged stumps and, 4) lake levels will probably keep dropping so more stumps and rocks exposed.

Anyone have any experience or suggestions as to whether aluminum is better than fiberglass in rocky, stumpy reservoirs?

Thanks for your input.

Sent you a PM...

Make sure and factor in how windy the lakes you fish are.

sdavis24 - that's an excellent point and is one I have not taken into consideration. Thanks for your input. How would you take the wind into consideration? Would you want to buy a heavier boat, install a more powerful TM, or ???

Aluminum goes "boing", fiberglass goes "crunch". As far as the wind goes, hull shape has more to do with it than material when it comes to ride quality.

The is just my $0.02, but if you fish very windy open lakes, which is a lot of Texas, in an aluminum boat you'll get blown around a lot more than a glass boat.

I'm sure a more powerful trolling motor will help a lot, my boat is a 12V system, and there isn't an easy place to stick an extra battery to get a more powerful 24V motor.

You can always anchor, just depends how you like to fish. If you search on here there are plenty of threads that compare the two types of boats. Once again this is just my opinion, and having my boat blown around in the wind while I'm trying a slow presentation is a pet peeve. It all comes down to personal preference.

I'm no expert, but weight plays a big factor, an 18ft aluminum boat is lighter than an 18ft glass boat. Hurts in the wind, helps in the cost to tow it around on the truck.

Aluminum boats will cost less to buy and less to maintain. Easier to get in shallow water and less susceptible to damage from stumps or rocky banks and generally cheaper to fix when they do get damaged. They'll also get blown around in the wind more and ride harder in rough water.

If you're fishing in a shallow river, aluminum is the obvious choice. If you're fishing on Texoma/Tawakoni/Hubbard with a 30 mph wind, fiberglass is the obvious choice. Where on that spectrum are you at?

Everyone has provided great insight. I fish Canyon Lake primarily, Lakes Conroe and Raven as secondary locations. Only river fishing would be the upper end of Canyon Lake. Wind is a big issue for me now on Canyon because I've been fishing out of a kayak on the main lake points. Early morning has been fine but once the wind picks up in the late morning my day is done.

What I am hearing is that fishing on windy lakes requires a heavier fiberglass boat with 24V trolling motor to overcome wind effects. Stumps likely to affect aluminum or fiberglass in similar fashion (boing or crunch) and I need to be careful how I beach the boat while launching and recovery.

Appreciate all the comments, folks.

What size boat are you shopping for?
I'm jumping to the assumption that if you're shopping aluminum you're probably looking around 17'.
If that is correct, shop fiberglass before you buy.
Since all the "cool guys" think you have to have at least a 20' boat, there are some real deals out there on smaller glass.
I was Tracker shopping and ended up in a lightly used 17'6" glass boat with a recent 24V troller and a new HDS5 for about 10K less than I was about to drop on a new Tracker.

I'm thinking in the 17-18' range for aluminum. Some of the feedback I received has got me to rethinking fiberglass. I need to do more research. Appreciate the feedback. Thanks.

I have a 18' G3 CC that I also use as a work boat on Travis. If the wind and chop pick up, it's a wet, rough ride, but the light weight makes it manageable since I'm by myself all the time.

A heavy boat may be less prone to getting pushed around while using a trolling motor, but not really a factor when it comes to running on plane in terms of ride quality in rough water. An 18ft glass flatbottom skiff will ride much worse in a chop than an 18ft aluminum deep V even though it weighs more.

The boat at the top of my list is the Triton X18. Modified V aluminum hull, would upgrade to 24V 72lb thrust TM and a 115HP 4-stroke.

Anyone own this particular boat that would share their experience?

.... If I am not mistaken, Bob's Boat Biz out at Lake Fork has this exact boat for sale, gently used. I think it's a 2010 or 2011.