Posts: 1663
Location: Kodiak, AK | lambeau - 12/21/2010 2:19 PM
glass...aren't as easily repairable and don't take stumps and rocks as well as tin does.
in what ways do you think this is the case?
Well catastrophic failure is the same in either boat. Neither is bombproof, but tin wears better and tolerates impact damage better. If I were to pop a rivit in my Dad's Lund, I can buck a new one. If I put a glancing dent in that same boat by running over a stump in the river, it's likely a fairly easy metalsmith repair if you "need" to repair it at all. If I hit a stump with my Ranger, I can't just do a glass lay up in the garage and be back on the water the next day. At the very least, chipped gel coat consists of filler, sanding, feathering, new gel, buffing and polishing. And that's just gel damage...if you damage the glass itself, that's major repair if you "can" repair it at all.
And I've broke ice in a Lund, but you couldn't pay me to do that in my glass boat. I'm not saying glass is fragile. I'm saying that a tin boat will take some abuse better than glass. And that's not even mentioning oxidation, fading and all the other cosmetic stuff in a glass boat that you need to stay on top of to keep it looking good.
Case in point, you see KeelShields on glass boats, but how many do you see on tin boats (though I have actually seen them on pontoons)? Beach a tin boat on gravel, no biggie. Beach a glass boat on that same beach and you're likely going to chip something without a KeelShield.
Are you of a different opinion?
Edited by esoxfly 12/21/2010 1:51 PM
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