The top reason for purchasing aluminum fishing boats is the durability and ease of repair if it ever becomes necessary.
A welded, aluminum boat hull is stronger and will last longer than a fiberglass boat.
In addition, aluminum fishing boats are easier to customize, repair, and retrofit to meet changing needs.
Aluminum construction is the top choice of many boating enthusiasts including government boats.
Aluminum fishing boats are used as small to medium sized fishing boats, and are a long accepted standard material for high-end luxury yachts.
Approximately half of all United States built boats are made of aluminum, and it is a versatile material for boat building.
Some of the crafts are small, thin-hulled boats fastened with rivets, while other have thick, welded on sections of aluminum.
Aluminum has a higher strength to weight ratio than most other boat building materials, and offers a great dent resistance.
They are also a lighter overall boat.
The lighter weights of aluminum fishing boats give the boat great performance, via greater speed, reduced fuel consumption, and a greater payload.
Aluminum as a metal has great toughness, surviving impacts that neither steel nor fiberglass can withstand.
When fashioned into a boat hull, some blows that would cause a steel or fiberglass boat to rupture only cause aluminum to dent.
Fiberglass is particularly susceptible to cracking and fracture during impact, due to its brittle nature.
Aluminum fishing boats are also much easier to repair than fiberglass, particularly easier to fix than a fiberglass boat with a foam liner.
Aluminum dents can be pounded out with a hammer, and if it is absolutely necessary, sections of a plate can be cut out with a saw and replaced.
These repairs are both economically feasible for the boat owner, and also require much less time to complete.
Furthermore, aluminum is not flammable, while fiberglass boats contain petroleum-based resins that makes them burn easily once ignited.
Though most fiberglass boats are treated with a flame-retardant resin, if the boat does catch fire it will burn readily, whereas aluminum fishing boats will not.
Aluminum as a metal also resists corrosion, making it perfect for salt water fishing expeditions.
Another advantage is the ease of customizing an aluminum boat.
Fiberglass boats are built from molds, making changes costly and difficult.
Design alterations on an aluminum fishing boat, however, are simple, with cutting and welding or drilling and bolting new sections to the boat.
In addition, with the advent of computer-aided drafting and design, custom hull shapes can be generated easily and made efficiently out of aluminum.