Aluminum boats vs rocks...

[TylerDeckFFEMT]

Any other Susquehanna River Boaters here? Well im a fairly new boater, and just got my second boat, a 1992 Crestliner fishhawk w/ 40hp mariner prop motor. I am new to boating on this river and realizing quickly how much rocks are attracted to my boat! I hit them slow, I hit them fast, I hit them drifting. I have plently of respect for the river and I drive SLOW! But I was just wondering how much this boat can take? If I wack a rock at 1/4 throttle, I mean how horrible is that? and what about my motor? Just need a little support here and curious what your take on this is. Thanks!

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

If I was gonna hit rocks I would wan't to do it in a tin boat. Check out salmon fishing boats and river sleds, no glass boats there. Those guys bang rocks all the time.

 

[marcortez]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

I would seek out some local advice where the water hazards are in your boating area, before I gouged a hole in the bottom of the boat or busted off a lower unit on the motor.

Rocks and aluminum (or fiberglass) don't like each other too much.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

'Tis true. However, aluminum can take it a lot better than glass. We do lots of river fishing here and that's the boat of choice. Been running them for years myself. And just remember, as you learn the river the rocks will begin to find you less attractive.

 

[robert graham]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

I'd be more worried about your motor/foot/prop than that aluminum hull. My aluminum jon boat gets run up on oyster bars, beaches with rocks, etc., don't seem to hurt it much. Of course a lot would depend on your speed when you hit the rocks. If I ran in a very rocky river,might consider a motor with jet drive lower unit.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

Watch what everyone else is doing... if you are hitting rocks and they aren't, might want to change where you drive! hitting rocks while pulling up to the beach is one thing, hitting while underway is entirely something else, and is very, very bad for a boat with a prop in the water. You WILL destroy things. Lower units and props in particular.

 

[marcortez]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

What what everyone else is doing... if you are hitting rocks and they aren't, might want to change where you drive! hitting rocks while pulling up to the beach is one thing, hitting while underway is entirely something else, and is very, very bad for a boat with a prop in the water. You WILL destroy things. Lower units and props in particular.

Exactly.....running along at 20MPH and smacking a rock with the outdrive, you can be guaranteed something is going to go bang.
Now the EPA police will be after you for leaving a gear oil slick on that river, while your floating down stream popping another beer and wondering what the heck happened.

 

[TylerDeckFFEMT]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

I drive very slowy thru the river and i doing my best to learn the river, but it take a WHILE lol, and I was out with my buddy the other day with a 16' jon and a jet... :-( hope I didnt buy the wrong boat!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Aluminum boats vs rocks...

For boat construction you have two choices -- glass or aluminum. Hit a rock with a glass boat and you have as a minimum some serious cosmetic issues with scuffed gel coat and chances are there will be glass missing down to the first layer of glass matt. You now have an issue with water absorption into the layers. Unless to tag a very sharp or jagged rock, you may dent a tin hull but you won't rip it open. Even if you do, your local welding/fab shop can weld the split or install a patch and the repair won't cost half as much as the boat. Your first investment needs to be a navigation chart for the river. Most of the published fishing "Hot Spot" maps show river channels, depth and obstacles. If the river level fluctuates greatly then about the time you have it figured out, water level will drop and a rock or obstruction that wasn't a problem previously will suddenly become one.