thanks jake. yeah i've looked at the VV after reading about it on this board. also looked at the dave scadden thing at cabelas....both are kinda outta my league as a starter boat i think. plus i don't have enough cabela bucks....hence the reason i'm buying from them. thanks for confirmation about the aluminum. that helps a lot in narrowing my selection. being i've never used one, i really don't know what i'm looking for in a boat. i just don't want to drop a bunch of dough just to find out i got a POS because i didn't do my research.....won't be the first time :-)