Have had several glass boats, pro-gator; stratos, Tahoe. Never owned tin, Son is starting the highschool circuit
and I am tossed up between glass and tin, bay vs side console. Looking at a new LOWE stinger 198; triton 179
and a couple tin bay models excell, LOWE or xpress. Mainly looking for input. Kids and I do a lot of camping and I like the room of a bay, hated when I rubbed my glass boats in stumps. Fishing Louisiana lakes and maybe a couple coastal trips.
Last edited by Marze541; 12-03-2020 at 10:19 PM.
Stay with glass i bought my first tin rig this year and hate it. I will be back on the market for another boat in less than a year.
Just remember that not all tin boats are equal. Coming from a fiberglass bass boat you probably wouldn’t be satisfied with a tracker but a pad hull boat like xpress, Vexus, or Avid would probably serve you well.
I started with a tin rig and I caught a ton of fish out of it! Little did I know that a glass rig handled much better while behind the wheel and while on the trolling motor. I'll always have a glass boat if I have the choice.Originally Posted by jarhead175
'13 Triton 19SE 225 Pro XS
'09 Chevy Silverado Z71
Go ride in a Avid bay boat in Pierre part with RP at Beaux and Daigle. If end up wanting the bass boat layout they have that too.
Lots of people make that mistake.
You have to choose what will make you happy but having both tin and glass I would have a hard time going back to tin. The tin I had eventually cracked and needed welded and some of the stories I been hearing around here and the cost of the new tin rigs would be very upsetting to spend that and have issues. These are just my opinions are there are plenty of happy tin owners out there that have no complaints.
I have both, good examples on the extremes of both types. I have also fished tournaments and I think the fact your whole reason for getting a boat is to tournament fish with your son shouldn't be overlooked. My take is: I love my 21' Skeeter FX21 glass ride and I love my 17' Lowe 17HP pad hull tin. They are two different ends of the fishing spectrum. For river fishing in rip rap and spur of the moment trips where I know I won't be traveling far by boat, for those trips I love the tin boat. Since you want to fish tournaments with your son the fact is that most of your competition are going to be in glass rigs, probably 19' and bigger capable of covering long distances at pretty fast speeds. A tin boat just isn't going to be able to do that. Some of the newer big (20') tins with 200+ HP come close but reality is that a tin hull just can't be designed to give the lift and ride that designers can get with glass. The big high HP tin rigs are not cheap. In my opinion if you start out with a tin rig it won't take long before you and your son will be drooling over all the pretty, fast, great riding glass boats that you will be competing against. I suggest you go ride in a top of the line 19- 20' tin rig with max HP and do the same in a glass boat. Make sure you go out in moderate chop and ask them to run as fast as is safe. Compare the speeds and the comfort and then decide. I think you will go glass. Like I said, I love my little tin boat, it has its place but not tournament fishing against big fast glass rigs.
i just came out glass to a Vexus tin. No regrets!
2024 Phoenix 818, Mercury 175 (3B414035) Trick Steps, 3 Garmin 106 SV,s, LVS 34. BoatEFX dual bow mount. Ionic 12V 125AH, 2 12V 100 ah LiTime’s for the TM. Minn Kota 345 PCL charger,
I have owned both and love glass boats. Can't really compare the ride of a quality glass rig to aluminum, its apples to oranges. The only tin rig I'd consider switching to is Lund pro v bass. Yes a glass boat requires more maintenance but the benefits are massive. I have a chip on the bottom of my hull, obviously smacked something this past season. I filled it in, some gel coat, sanding, polishing and you can't even tell there was a repair. If that was aluminum, at the very least I'd have a dent and paint missing. At the worst a crack that would keep me off the water and need a professional repair. Tin boats have thier place for sure, I don't feel 150 plus hp is what they were designed for. However, there are exceptions.
Well, my opinion is if you're going 115hp and under go tin. 150hp and over go glass. And if you go over 115hp with tin make sure the hull is made of .125 aluminum. I've had two different 19' glass rigs with a 200hp and they were money pits. They also had one foot in the grave already when I bought them. I wanted something that I could buy brand new, barely notice the payment each month, cheap to run, and easy to handle BUT also be safe when the waters I fish are at their worst just in case I get caught by surprise. Nearly 5 years later I still feel like I made the right choice and have rigged to to my liking (see sig). My big glass rigs fished nice and had plenty of storage but for what I do tin is the better choice. Jarhead has the same boat I do and HATES it but he bought his for the wrong reasons. If you switch to tin and expect it to handle like a glass rig you're gonna be disappointed. Marze541-I think a fiberglass bay boat would be your best option since you say you liked the room of them. If I were to go buy a new rig today it would be an Avid 18XB with a 90hp BUT for the right reasons. If I regularly tournament fished I'd be in a larger glass rig. If I regularly fished big lakes that could potentially require long runs in big rollers I'd get a larger glass rig. If I had the money and a garage to put it in I'd be in a larger glass rig. But if you want something newer and reliable at a lower cost and don't need too terrible much to be happy buy a tin rig with a 75-115hp, rig it right, and be happy.
2023 Xpress H18 with 115 SHO and Powertech NRS4 21p
8" Bob's Action Jack
Garmin Echomap 12, 10, 9, and LVS34 networked with Netgear Switch
Ultrex
Trick Steps and Ramp N Clamp
Pulled by a 2016 single cab HEMI Ram
Treat others like you want to be treated when on the water EVEN WHEN IN A TOURNAMENT! No fish is worth having a confrontation because you cut someone off or came in on top of someone.
I just made this mistake, and now I have a brand new tin boat in our classifieds that I am gonna lose 15k dollars on and it only has 5 hours on it. The engine is not even broke in yet. Go look at my 15k mistake and don’t do it like I did. Lol
My new Sea Ark BC 210 is in the classifieds. Soon as it sells....I’m ordering a glass one!
Nice looking boat plus a great motor. Looks like the live wells are like Basscats. What did you not like about it?
If I lived in S La and fished coastal on occasion, I would go with a center console. Most dedicated bassboats are not equipped with an oval or round baitwell - and livebait can be a game changer on the coast. I have a 20’ Xpress center console bay boat - and after fishing standard bassboat layouts for forty years, it is amazing how much easier it is to get around in a center console. If you are going to spend some time coastal fishing along the beaches or nearshore oil rigs - I would consider a self bailing center console. Dont think any bassboats are self bailing. The center consoles will not run with a dedicated bass boat as far as speed - either in tin or glass. I would not want carpet of any type in a coastal fished boat
I mainly fish crappie and I just underestimated the size of this boat. I don’t need one that big. It’s wide and almost 22 feet long. I fish a lake with lots of trees. I need something a little smaller to navigate the trees. Gonna go to an 18 or 19 footer. The Sea Ark is beautiful, and im gonna make someone a sick deal on it. I’ll go all the way down to 38K, but that my absolute bottom.
I’m not a “bass boat” guy I’m a saltwater, estuary and inshore fisherman, and I’m more than happy with a “tin” hull.
It’s all about hull design, this7408F1CF-EBFA-47F6-B648-EE29D3BBA9DF.jpeg
is what I’m buying, it’ll ride smoother in a chop than any glass bass boat, but it’s slower, it’s more stable, but your TM will work a lot harder than in a bass boat due to the lower weight and higher freeboard.
It’s all about horses for courses, glass has its advantages, but so does aluminium.
^^^^ What is that? Make and model?
Mike, it’s a Quintrex 630 Frontier, http://surfcoastmarine.com.au/boat-d...ntier-rear-cc/
I’m biased, I have a bare hull ordered, but it’s a great hull in most conditions. It cuts through a chop with little fuss, ocean swells are no problem, and it’s extremely stable at rest. Going into the wind into a breaking chop it gets a little bit of spray, but nothing that’s going to soak you.
The problem with factory fitted versions, like every other Aussie boat in the segment is that the fit out is practical but not elegant by any means.
Last edited by Smokeyr67; 12-07-2020 at 06:31 PM.
The Lund Pro V Bass XS is ideal for high school fishing. It seats 4, handles big water well, and fishes great. It’s the ideal boat for high school fishing, as you can bring three kids to practice or another kid and his dad also. I had one just for this, and it was perfect.
Im lucky to have one of each in the garage. 18' tin and 21' glass. Each has its place. Lately I spend more time in the tin rig, but I don't tournament fish.
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