imported_JD__
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2003
- Messages
- 243
Re: Aluminum vs Fiberglass - Picking a new boat
I own a 2003 Avalanche. It is advertised to have a high performance hull design with formed lifting strakes and a modified V pad. On my boat there is an exposed weld bead running the full length of the keel from the stern to just before where the bow starts to turn up and there is a very slight rippling in the hull on either side of the keel. I'm not complaining, I was aware when I purchased the boat and accepted this as being representative. Compare the aluminum Avalanche @ 1380 pounds to its glass counterpart, the Nitro NX 882 @ 1487 pounds. Hang a 150 Opti on each. The Avalanche estimated speed is between 60-62 MPH, the Nitro is 63-64. Drop down to a 115 and you're talking about 4 MPH difference. <br />Most people can't believe my boat is aluminum, it has a baked-on automotive paint with clear coat. The boat does have a dry ride and is roomy with the 8' beam. It sits rather high out of the water with no back-wash when coming off plane. The hull is .125 thick with all aluminum decks, lids, etc. All in all I like it a lot. There are some things I don't like but that's true with any boat. <br />I found this one at a repo brokers lot last year. It was sold new in Janurary '03, re-poed in June '03. Got it for about 9k less than what a new one cost.<br />Buy a new boat? Heck no, unless you can figure out how to write off around 5k or more in depreciation the first year on a boat. Look around, there are some deals out there.<br />JD
I own a 2003 Avalanche. It is advertised to have a high performance hull design with formed lifting strakes and a modified V pad. On my boat there is an exposed weld bead running the full length of the keel from the stern to just before where the bow starts to turn up and there is a very slight rippling in the hull on either side of the keel. I'm not complaining, I was aware when I purchased the boat and accepted this as being representative. Compare the aluminum Avalanche @ 1380 pounds to its glass counterpart, the Nitro NX 882 @ 1487 pounds. Hang a 150 Opti on each. The Avalanche estimated speed is between 60-62 MPH, the Nitro is 63-64. Drop down to a 115 and you're talking about 4 MPH difference. <br />Most people can't believe my boat is aluminum, it has a baked-on automotive paint with clear coat. The boat does have a dry ride and is roomy with the 8' beam. It sits rather high out of the water with no back-wash when coming off plane. The hull is .125 thick with all aluminum decks, lids, etc. All in all I like it a lot. There are some things I don't like but that's true with any boat. <br />I found this one at a repo brokers lot last year. It was sold new in Janurary '03, re-poed in June '03. Got it for about 9k less than what a new one cost.<br />Buy a new boat? Heck no, unless you can figure out how to write off around 5k or more in depreciation the first year on a boat. Look around, there are some deals out there.<br />JD