re: Advantages/Disadvantages of various types of boats?

Flat bottom boat will require less horsepower to push and run in shallower water. The trade off will be sea keeping. It will beat you to death in all but the calmest water. As deadrise (V) increase sea keeping ability (ride comfort) increases but so does draft and horsepower requirement. A bay boat is a decent compromise between the two. Usually they have less than 10 degrees of dead rise and can run in fairly shallow water. As to the aluminum/fiberglass debate that is almost the same as chevy vs ford. Depending on the fabricator; great things can be done with aluminum. Usually but not always fit and finish is better on a fiberglass boat. However I feel aluminum will outlast.