The difference in price between a custom and a factory boat is more than double sometimes triple. A custom boat is usually a better built boat but will also usually be much heavier. I've owned both and the last aluminium boat I bought was a factory Alumaweld. I bought it for my son who is 14 now last summer. The boat is 15' long with a nice front deck to fish from with a swivel seat mount. It has a 12volt bow mount trolling motor and storage in the rear seat. It’s light weight and a 25HP Yamaha pushes it around 30 while sipping gas. He can run it all week on 4 to 6 gallons. I put a sheet of plywood for the flooring and painted it all Duralux aluminium boat green. Total money in the just the hull is $1400.00 including the trolling motor mount and seat storage. I bought it from Hanko's in Berwick. To have a similar hull built I would easily have $4000 just in the hull and would need a 40hp to power it. This hull will last us 20 years easily. In fact it will likely be sold one day for what I paid for it. He fishes out of it 4 or 5 days a week during the summer and all of his friends are jealous as heck that he has his own boat. He is becoming really good running it too. One of the best purchases I have made. I have never been able to sell a custom built boat for what I had in it. I guess it's all in what you want. I will not buy another custom alum hull.
|