Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

What's Up With All The Diamond Plate?!

Boats 
3K views 21 replies 13 participants last post by  constructeur 
#1 ·
Took my dad on a guided trip for salmon on the Umpqua on Saturday. We had a great time and have some beautiful filets vacuum sealed in the freezer. I took the opportunity to ask the guide all my drift boat questions. We got on the topic of diamond plate aluminum. I thought it might be tougher, or to reinforce certain areas. Nope. Purely for looks. It's actually a softer aluminum that dents and scratches easier. And it's heavier too. Yet so popular on aluminum DB these days. Maybe there will be a day when the fad is over and people won't want to buy your used DB because it has diamond plate sides. Great material for floors though, better traction and doesn't need to be as tough as the sides. Thoughts?
Plant Vehicle Tire Tree Shade

(Secretly I think this is a sweet looking ride, but pretty overkill. Probably scare away a lot of fish!)
 
See less See more
1
#6 ·
I haven't noticed anything like that lately. Could keep people back a bit due immenent blinding by reflection.. wow, she is BRIGHT.

Stealthcraft is a couple hours south of me in the little hamlet of Baldwin.. right on the banks of world renowned Pere Marquette Creek.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Not pontoons but we used it for the floors.

Boat Vehicle Hood Automotive tire Watercraft


Diamond plate is heavy and terrible on glare from the sun. We wound up coating it with Line X, which added more cost and weight. However, despite losing out on the "cool" factor, we are phasing it out and going with a high-tech poly floor. Much lighter in weight (but with a great strength to weight ratio) and easier to work with.

But it does look cool on drift boats, despite the disadvantages of standard aluminum, as stated by the OP.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Definitely designed to catch the fisherman. I never said I didn't think it looked nice. Was just surprised to find out that appearance was the only purpose. Although some claim it hides scratches better, others will say it scratches easier. Agree with the painted diamond plate, looks good in dark colors.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top