How much does a fishing boat weigh & which one is stronger? Depending upon the material used in the manufacturing of the boat its weight could be more or less. Yet important thing to know is that whether your towing trailer can carry this boat or not. A smaller family fishing boat that is 18 feet long such as A Raider 18 fisherman model could be as heavy as 700kgs. Special thought should be taken into account on the weight of a motor and other accessories and tools as well.
It is because your trailer towing wheels will need to have enough capacity to pull off the weight without much effort. It can be useless if you have a long towing boat trailer, but it doesn’t have enough loading capacity. Thus, before you think of buying a trailer for towing your boat, think of these extra things that are later going to be included.
The knowledge of size factor of my boat & towing ease
Again, this question has a broader answer, but it could be narrowed down if we know the size of the boat and the material. Then you can guess the approximate weight of your fishing boat. This will be explained to you by your dealer or a broker. If you’ve bought it a second hand from someone then there’s no guarantee you will get all this information unless you’re an inquisitive person.
You may check the weight of your boat in your paperwork for your boat too in the dimensions section. The engine of the boat can be detached, so either you add that weight separately or not could make a little difference.
If you live in the UK or if you’re a Londoner and need help with buying a towing trailer for your boat then you can check ‘indespension’ too. They’ve got a good gallery you can check them out. Richmond, Gunnersbury, and even the surrounding areas near Kew Bridge on the River Thames are great spots for boats. You can learn more about fishing boats if you are a boat enthusiast. Of course, there are a lot more places too but this is what I could think of. Go to the nearest marinas and check what kind of boat trailers are people using the most. This will actually tell whether the one you have in mind is good or not. The experienced anglers know very well over the years what is better for your boat.
The qualities of each material used in the boats
wooden boat maintenance
Wooden boats are to this date widely used. There is certainly a reason why it is not gone out of use.
Material used in boats determine the weight too
Quite obvious would be to take each material of these fishing boats and try to place it in water and see which one floats and which one sinks faster. The second would be to simply place it on a weighing scale and measure it for yourself. This is the simplest way yet a weight of a boat could be taken into consideration depending upon the maneuvering purpose or transporting it.
aluminum material in boats
- Aluminum Boats : Aluminum is light in weight compared to the fiber glass. A Plastic boat is more lighter but it has its own unique quality and for that reason they are chosen materials for boat construction. There used to be some disadvantages of an aluminum boats. Disadvantages like being wider and noisy and easy to get a dent and the water damage. Aluminum bass boats are a good example in this case.
I checked a very small 3.50 meters aluminum boat & it weighed 128kg without anything in it. That’s because a motor would be separate. Often Aluminum alloy model boats are good but you may notice the corrosion period once its starts to take over your boat. You may be able to see the corrosion when you typically lift the carpets. Often areas you can’t see easily without an effort are where the damage starts (corrosion).
Salt water boat safety tip for an aluminum boat is: People now a days use corrosion resistant paint to save your boat from salt water.
Steel & Plastic boats
- Steel boats are not easily breakable nor it can get a dent as easily as aluminum. A bit heavier than Aluminum boats but could be stronger than fiberglass. As they too like aluminum can take a dent to a great extent. They however can tear open on a really high impact. This could be rare because it could happen only in terms of high speed or impact accident. Sailboats are more often having steel as their hull material of fiber glass.
steel material in boats
- Plastic: Plastic is mostly seen in a bass fishing smaller boats as it can be a bit heavier compare to even aluminum. This is because in order to make it stronger it needs more thickness . Having that thickness increases its weight. The best is also that just like a wooden fishing boat even a plastic boat would be taking a lot longer to sink fully.
This however is better to have if you want something unsinkable. If my boat is constructed in brilliant construction manner then I could have a very effective tough and longer lasting boat. I can’t expect to have this one looking as good as the fiber glass or aluminum or steel.
The wooden boats
- Wooden boats: The wooden boats have been used since ages to go fishing. There is certainly a reason why it is not gone out of use. It certainly has a high cost of maintenance but it is worth it. I checked the weight and dimensions of wooden boats the found something interesting. ‘A 70ft boat could be almost 100 tons when loaded. Also a displacement weight of a 62 ft wooden classic boat was 45 tonnes.’
The best of having this material boat is that they could float way more longer than the metal boats. This way the crew’s life could be saved in case of danger. These boats are almost very effective during the rough weather or extreme weathers compared to steel or aluminum boats. After the maintenance these boats can really last long just like its counter part metal boats.
The Fiber glass boats
- Fiber glass : The benefits of these boats are smoother in ride. Many of you who have used a fiber glass boat knows what i am talking about. They are aesthetically better than aluminum boats. They however, have a draw back and that is once they are damaged then they are hard to fix. You may even find a fiberglass bass boat for fishing much helpful if you are into bass fishing too.
You may get compensated by your boat insurance provider but you won’t be able to use the boat unless its a minor damage. From all those boating enthusiast and boat owners that i read from in the comments i go this. I learnt that they consider fiber glass to be more heavier than aluminum but smoother in riding.
The strength of steel vs aluminum vs fiber glass:
The winner in the strength would be steel of course and then aluminum. This is the reason why I can see many old and even new transport vessels are made of steel. Fiber glass has a high tolerance but it can shatter on the impact where as aluminum doesn’t.
Among all of this the thing that matters the most is the quality of the boat construction. Even the cheapest material fishing boat can cost you way more than the expensive version of the expensive material.
The basis of strength criteria is purpose
Heavier boats tend to do well in terms of speed in a certain scenario. Light weight could help but engine would not be that heavy causing it to have less power. It may not be the case in every instance. Please note that the purpose is more important here else you may lose the plot and use the boat not for the purpose it is meant. That includes a hull design which could be like a mono hull, a catamaran or a trimaran since each have their own unique qualities. Choice according to the purpose works anytime. Each category of boat has its set limit beyond which, is being of no use.
Which one do you think is stronger?
- Since aluminum boats are lighter they are more cost efficient & faster on the same power but get less speed in the fiber glass boat.
- Getting the Aluminum boat repaired is easier as it can be welded but you can’t do that with the fiber glass boats
- Metal boats are easily susceptible to the weather. This means they can get really hot in summer and really cold in the winter or the northern cold climates.
- A little tough and still a life saver could be a wooden boat because of its floating capability
- Aluminum is considered more durable when we think of a collision & steel is also a very good option
So from all this knowledge I learnt that aluminum and steel are more Eco friendly and stronger. In terms of collision or an accident they are really good that is the reason we see aluminum used in cars.
As a conclusion I hope this has answered our question we talked in article which is-How much does a fishing boat weigh & which one is stronger?
References:
- http://www.almet-marine.com/images/clients/EN/Aluminium-users-guide/Ch10-corrosion-behaviour-of-aluminium-in-marine%20environments.pdf
- http://www.indespension.co.uk/28-roller-trailers
