Aluminum Vs Fiberglass As a Boat Construction Material

Apart from being the most commonly used material; there are quite a few advantages of using fiberglass when compared to aluminum. Fiberglass has a unique property by which it can be easily molded into any shape; this gives them the ability to carve the streamlined portion of the hull.
Fiberglass boats are best if you want your boat to render a nice and home-like feel; if you want to patch it up with nice interior amenities and furnish the cabins with woodwork, Small House Plans Free the boat would look more luxurious. Even if you want to keep your boat out in the water for extended periods of time, fiberglass is easy to clean and maintain.
However, owners of fiberglass boats have to protect the boat like a precious object because a slight crash into a reef or a stone in shallow water could cause your hull to splinter or crack. If you could afford an expensive boat during the purchase, chances Low Cost House Designs And Floor Plans are that the boat still floats after the impact owing to a foam core between fiberglass layers. Fiberglass is at least 1.5 times as dense as aluminum and therefore, the engine works harder to push a fiberglass boat, affecting fuel economy and performance.
The other material that is becoming increasingly popular for boats is aluminum.A�History has it that aluminum was the first material used for constructing boats over fifty years back. The riveted body has been replaced by welded joints which have resulted in providing a higher degree of strength and attractiveness to the boats.
Aluminum may not be as flexible as fiberglass when it comes to making clean straight portions of the hull, but it has 10 times more shear strength than fiberglass. This is why dents can be easily repaired and holes can be patched up without the fixing process costing too much. Being a lighter material, the engine does not have to exert extra thrust to push the boat forward, which results in a good fuel economy. With newer welding processes in hand, aluminum is definitely a better building material than fiberglass.