There are pros and cons to both. One of the things that I like about glass is the ride, way superior to aluminum because the manufacturers can simply better form the hull for hydrodynamic characteristics. Rivets have never been a problem for me in 20 yrs of owning aluminum, but you do hear about others that have had problems. Welding an aluminum boat has its drawbacks as well. There's a reason airplanes are put together with rivets. For abrasion, like that of pulling a boat up onto a sand/gravel beach, aluminum is much better than glass. And having a history of primitive camping on the shores of Sakakawea, it played a big part in my decisions to stick with aluminum over the years. Since I haven't done that much over the past 15 yrs, my next boat is likely to be glass. However, why the hell the manufacturers want to keep putting sparkle into the paint on glass boats is beyond comprehension to me. It hurts my damn eyes when the sun is shining, and since that's when I normally fish...they suck! As far as slimers and getting them dirty, last time I checked they use similar carpet and paint on fiberglass cleans up just as easily as paint on aluminum.
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In a perfect world, I'd have a 16-17 ft aluminum boat for smaller lakes and a 20 ft glass boat for the bigger bodies of water with good ramps.
