Glastron

06/10/07

Glastron Boats

I am presently on my third Glastron boat. Have never had a problem with any (lucky in my opinion) and would be hard pressed to look for a different one because of this.

Boat #1:

1978 16' Glastron Carlson w/ 115HP outboard. My first venture at a boat and bought it as a joint venture with a friend. I never recommend buying something like a boat with someone else (other than a significant other). Never had a problem with the boat, but there were expectations that were never met regarding joint maintenance of the boat so towards the end I purchased the other 1/2. If you do purchase a boat, or any other vehicle as a joint venture, be sure to have a separation contract prior to the purchase if things do not go well, I was glad that I did. Had the boat for 2 1/2 years w/o a problem, loved it the whole time, just not enough room.

Boat #2

1991 17.5' Glastron Sierra w/ 135HP inboard w/ SS High 5 Prop. I got this boat late in the season and loved it. Did well for several years w/o any problems, but eventually traded it in for a larger, newer boat. The 135HP did well, but was a little underpowered along with not having much storage. When in Arkansas in 2000, I saw the new Glastron's and fell in love with them due to the increased storage area available.

Boat #3

2000 SX195 w/ 5.0L MerCruiser and MerCruiser SS High 5 Prop. The purchase of this was a little delayed from what I initially had intended, but I love it. It is the ideal boat for my uses. Most of the 19.5' boats available were close to 3K Lbs, a little more than I was comfortable for my 4.0L Jeep to pull. The SX195 weighed in at 2200Lbs which was very reasonable. The other thing is that the SX195 has a very low draft which made it so that I could feel O.K. about taking it to the local County lake (very low water level) which is within 10 miles from home. The 5.0L has way more power than needed in most cases, with the High 5 Prop the boat even feels stable doing a U-Turn at 35 MPH, if not prepared one is thrown from their seat (has happened on multiple occasions).

Modifications to the boat so far have been minimal. Replaced the factory prop with a MerCruiser SS High 5 Prop, Installed an in dash MP3 Player and a Thru-Hull Depth Sounder (maintains depth at 45+ MPH). At the end of the first season, 100% synthetic was put in anything with lube, hopefully will increase the lifespan of the boat, I plan on keeping it for a long time.

The trailer has had the axel replaced with one that has electric brakes. If that conversion is done I have found that it is much less expensive to do a complete axel replacement rather than retrofitting brakes. The cost is about $240 to do it this way and can easily be done by anyone. Required putting the trailer onto blocks and a socket set. The axel is only held on by 4 u-bolts attached to the springs. I was a little nervous about this until I looked at it and saw the simplicity of the installation.

Disaster Strikes the Spring 2007

Something happened with the winterizing of 2006, the dreaded cracked block was found the before taking it out in 2007. Replacing the engine with a 350, hoping it will be fun when it is back in the water.