[flyingfrizzle]

I would say if you got plenty of money and are worried about weight on the boat I would go with the composites you spoke of, but if your not worried about weight much and just want it to last till you part with us here in this life the wood is fine. I have saw strick say it before up here "wood is not the enemy" if done correctly the wood will last 30+ years easy. I am using wood in most of my projects and feel like it will out last me and I am a young fellow. On the race boat I will use composites, carbon fiber, coosa, and such but weight will be a big factor on that. One other thing that comes to mind is the resale value. If you are building it to sale composites help sell a boat, but to keep for yourself wood would be my choice. I also think sometimes a heavy boat will ride better and if you get a boat too light it will loose the ride quality but gain some fuel economy. The trick is to get a good over all balance. If your going with a large heavy four stroke stroke on the back you might want the coosa in the rear to help offset the motor weight. I used foam composite core on my bracket build for my 20' because of the 465lb motor on the rear not for the rot free advantage but to try and offset the motor weight for balancing issues.