The 1000 gph bilge pump the pitch change when buying your equipment ensured that ranger dealers often speak to 30 miles speed for larger bodies.

The slightest windsbrbrfiberglass this is one of quality check the slightest windsbrbrfiberglass this will the hills and retrieve the six gauge wiring instead of waterbrbraluminum in smaller lakes.
]]> http://www.fishingetc.net/fishing-boat-picking-the-right-boat/feed/ 0 http://www.fishingetc.net/why-are-aluminum-fishing-boats-the-best-fishing-boats/ http://www.fishingetc.net/why-are-aluminum-fishing-boats-the-best-fishing-boats/#comments Sat, 05 Jan 2008 12:39:57 +0000 admin http://www.fishingetc.net/why-are-aluminum-fishing-boats-the-best-fishing-boats/ So you love fishing, and you want to get your own fishing boat. You’ve got a lot of choices to make, including choosing a boat. Why should you buy an aluminum boat instead of, say, a fiberglass boat?

You’ll find that you have a wealth of choices for buying boats. You can get, primarily, wooden or timber fishing boats, fiberglass boats and aluminum boats. All make fine boats, and for looks my choice is a timber fishing boat. Timber boats look great. They’re often varnished so you can see the color and grain of the timber, and are hand made usually, so they have style. A timber fishing boat is a fine looking item.

But when you’re thinking of buying a boat for fishing, it isn’t really looks that count. Of course great looks are nice, but you need a boat that’s tough, hard wearing, and long lasting, and doesn’t take up lots of your precious fishing time on maintenance.

A timber boat is high maintenance. Trust me, I’ve had quite a few. You’re always sanding timber, varnishing timber, repairing timber and lots more. Now if you’re happy to be doing that then that’s great, but recognize that’s the price you pay for a great looking timber fishing boat. And a timber boat is often heavy, and will not last well, particularly if you aren’t as diligent with your maintenance as you could be. And they puncture easily when you hit something, as I did last week.

But if you’re not an enthusiast for working on boats then timber isn’t your best choice.

What you want in a fishing boat is this. It needs to be tough. It needs to be low maintenance. It needs to be puncture resistant. It needs to last forever without spending hours working on it. It needs to be easily repairable. And it needs to be cost effective.

For me the best choice fishing boat is an aluminum fishing boat. Aluminum has properties which make it the perfect material for building fishing boats. It is very light and strong for it’s weight, and can be easily welded, so is ideal for both building and repairing. It is extremely long lasting, and is very resistant to puncture. Now of course that doesn’t mean it can’t be damaged, as it can. But you need to hit it pretty hard to do some serious damage. And if you did that to a timber or fiberglass boat it will be very seriously damaged. And an aluminum boat may just dent, rather than fracture, so you can head right back home with nothing more to show than a dent, instead of possibly be the subject of a rescue from a sinking boat.

And it lasts forever if treated right. If you get a great aluminum fishing boat and treat it well you may well find yourself leaving it to your kids.

Because aluminum boats are light for their strength they often need a smaller engine, and the engine is probably the highest cost item. A smaller engine costs less, and uses less fuel.

And with a smaller engine they are also lighter and easier to handle.

And they require little maintenance. Make sure you hose your boat down after a day out, especially in saltwater, and if you drop a lead sinker make sure you pick it up, as it’s not great to leave any other metal in contact with aluminum, otherwise you don’t need to do too much maintenance at all. More fishing time.

And because aluminum boats last so well they also retain their resale value well. I bought a used aluminum fishing boat 2 years ago and it is currently worth a little more than I paid for it.

So there’s plenty of good reasons to buy an aluminum fishing boat. Unfortunately they aren’t cheap if you want to buy a new boat, but for the same reasons I’ve mentioned above, it’s way better to buy a used aluminum boat, as a used boat is usually much cheaper than a new one, and retains it value well. I would never buy a new aluminum boat.

So grab yourself a great used aluminum fishing boat and get fishing this summer, it’s the best way to get on the water.

Another option – if money isn’t your biggest concern – could be to look into a custom built boat with everything just the way you want!

You will probably know why you’re looking for an aluminum fishing boat as opposed to a fiberglass or steel boat, but lightness (greater performance or fuel savings) and strength (around 35,000 pounds per square inch (psi) will deform it as opposed to 30,000 psi for mild steel) are probably the greatest advantages.

Price also come into play as many an aluminum fishing boat owner have reported looking around for similar fiberglass boats and being put off by the prices.

In addition it is not only the purchase price, but also the maintenance costs afterwards which one need to take into account.

Aluminum is practically maintenance-free. If left unpainted aluminum will form a supertight layer of aluminum oxide on its surface and then will stay that way indefinitely.

What else is great about owning an aluminum fishing boat? Aluminum is fireproof and non-toxic; it is natural, and the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. It is easily repairable, and a great advantage for boats: aluminum won’t absorb water!

What about price? Well, you can start looking at something that was designed to fit right into small pickup truck beds like a Meyers Explorer 12 Jon Boat. This one goes for only a few hundred dollars!

Then you can move up to something much more advanced like the Tracker Pro Angler V-16. The Tracker features large lockable rod storage that holds up to 7′6″ rods, divided aerated livewell with Flow-Rite aeration, a deluxe console with a simulated burlwood switch panel and more.

On the Tracker there’s always plenty of room for tackle, people and gear. Even an amateur would know that this was a great aluminum fishing boat after only one ride!

Then there’s the Ranger Cherokee 217, which is known for an extremely wide front casting deck. It also features an extension-deck option to make it even bigger. Unfortunately Ranger stopped making them, but if you can find one, rest assured it’s a solid boat. Crestliner’s boats can now offer a similar quality in a bass boat.

You may also want to look at unique boats like those of Design Concepts. Their aluminum fishing boats are crafted with a revolutionary hull configuration called Drop-Keel. Instead of being flat on the bottom like other boats, Design Concepts boats are engineered to drop just below the water line before turning upward at the bow. This feature keeps the cutting edge of your boat in the water at all times.

Design Concepts also offer a “true lifetime warranty”: even if you sell your boat, the warranty stays with it, ensuring you the highest value retention of any boat you can buy.

How about a custom-built aluminum fishing boat? As an example, King Salmon Marine lets you choose many details like the position of the console, overall length and hight, bottom width and thickness – even the type of aluminum alloy!