Race to settle great aluminium versus fibreglass debate
Two boats will go head-to-head tomorrow to try and settle one of boating’s biggest controversiesA fan of fibreglass? Attracted to alloy? A race in Perth tomorrow hopes to settle the debate over which is faster by pitching two boats against each other, each built using the two very different materials.
UPDATE: The drone providing the live feed of the race cut out just as things were getting interesting. Oceaneer Marine plans to re-run the race. We hear Zephyr may have had an advantage over Desperate Measures once the boats had completed the course.
Perth-based commercial and recreational boat brokerage Oceaneer Marine reckons tomorrow’s race will go some way to settling the office rivalry over whether boats built of fibreglass have an edge over those built from aluminium.
The race, which will be livestreamed on Facebook from 10.30am Perth time (1.30pm ADST), will pitch Desperate Measures, a 2000 Batavia Boat Builders-made alloy plate hull with a length of 14.0 metres and a beam of 5.0 metres, against Zephyr, a 1994 fibreglass Harris Craft measuring 13.5 metres in length and with a beam of 4.1 metres.
Powering the alloy boat is a 700hp FPT Iveco marine diesel engine, while the fibreglass boat features a 650hp Yanmar marine diesel engine.
The two boats will steam along a nautical mile-long leg, set a pot, loop around, pull the pot back out, and then steam a mile back to the finish line.
The aluminium boat will also have a slight turning advantage over the glass one, as it uses a dynamic rudder to turn, giving the boat more responsiveness at the helm.
The race will be live-streamed on Oceaneer Marine’s Facebook page. Both the boats are listed for sale via the brokerage.
Fibreglass or aluminium?
Oceaneer Marine managing director Matt Lovelady said the differences between fibreglass and aluminium would always be the golden question for commercial and recreational boaters alike.
“Everyone says that fibreglass is softer riding because it’s heavier, but you know with osmosis fibreglass boats become heavier and slower as they get older,” Lovelady said.
“With aluminium boats it’s the opposite because with electrolysis they become lighter and faster,” he said.
“There’s also the ride factor. The theory is that a fibreglass boat will ride softer and better than bobbing around in the ocean on a tin can.
“However, with contemporary aluminium boatbuilding coming a long way and the advances in naval architecture these new aluminium hulls are completely stable on the water," Lovelady said.
“These days it comes down to just personal choice.”
Recreational preference
Lovelady said the fibreglass versus aluminium tribalism in the recreational boating sector also seemed to be fading.
“There are a lot of [recreational boat] buyers out there who really don’t care,” he said.
“They just want to buy a boat that’s circa $100,000 and basically say ‘get me a boat around that price, I just want to live the boating dream’.
“They really don’t care.”
So what does Lovelady predict as the outcome of tomorrow’s race?
His likely champion will be Zephyr, the fibreglass boat that on paper ranks as the underdog.
“The Harris Craft is an older boat with less horsepower, but it has a narrower beam so should be more nimble,” he said.
“That’s the one my money would be on.”
Oceaneer Marine is also a broker for Gold Coast-based luxury motor yacht maker Maritimo.
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