Are glastron's good boats?

[Scott Danforth]

Says the guy with a 30 year old boat ;-) My 46 year old sailboat would disagree.

My boat has already had 2 interiors, one transom and stringer job, the drive rebuilt 3 times, a minor motor make over in 2012, and a complete new motor awaiting me to finish the complete re-gel inside/out.

I wont get to the v-berth until next year.

So my boat is literally starting its 3rd life.

So yeah. I am in the middle of resetting its design life.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Come on Scott, you are scaring the guy and boating is not the most expensive, I know of one hobby that I took up many years ago that has cost a whole bunch more than any boat or airplane I have owned!

You ask what......

A wife!

:facepalm:

:lol:

I dont have a filter.....however just pointing out the fact that like everthing man made....there is a designed finite life

FWIW....My first wife cost me a few hundred k (retirement nest egg)

 

[jimmbo]

FWIW....My first wife cost me a few hundred k (retirement nest egg)

Divorces are Expensive, because they are Worth it

 

[alldodge]

My 23 year old is still as solid as a bought it, hull, transom gel all good, vinyl shows some wear but not bad. So I'll disagree with a boats life expectancy. Only replaced one seal in the shift area over is life

My 24 year old boat would also be just fine if the water tank had not started leaking, and I didn't add the extra anodes. It would still need more HP but would still be running.

Just my opinion like others voiced

 

[Blind Date]

My 23 year old is still as solid as a bought it, hull, transom gel all good, vinyl shows some wear but not bad. So I'll disagree with a boats life expectancy. Only replaced one seal in the shift area over is life

My 21 year old Sundancer still looks and runs like a new boat. But if it had spent its life under the Florida sun in a salt water environment it would probably would be a parts boat by now. So the 15 year old design life doesn't apply to every boat across the board. Environment and many other factors play into just how long one will last before it's not worth putting money into anymore.

Getting back to the OP's question, Glastrons were at one time one of the better, more expensive boats you could buy. After they were bought by Genmar they became a budget boat with a nod to performance, building off the reputation of the Glastron/Carlsons of past. The years your looking at should serve you just fine from a build quality standpoint. Remember that a Mercruiser or Volvo drive system in the cheapest boat is not any different than one in the most expensive boat.

Not sure where your at but in MN a 10 year old trailer boat that has been garaged its whole life and taken care of is still basically new. Due out our winters its really had about 3, maybe 4 years of use. Amazing how many people buy boats and never use them. They just sit in a garage and collect dust. My buddy with an 18' SeaRay is a perfect example of that. So the right boat that's 10 years old should give another 10 years of basically problem free operation.

I always say buy based on style, layout and amenities. Once you figure out what you want, may be more than one boat, find one worth buying. Of course condition is important, well duhhhhh! In the end get something that makes you feel good every time you get behind the the wheel! It's a toy, you're not buying a washing machine.

Good luck!

 

[QBhoy]

Don’t make them like this one anymore. 1978 Schimitar Carlson with big block 7.4. She is totally original condition.

 

[QBhoy]

This is my other wee boat. Just started the restoration.
Classic Glastron CVX16 roger Clark edition. Very rare these days. 1985

 

[southkogs]

Don’t make them like this one anymore. 1978 Schimitar Carlson with big block 7.4. She is totally original condition.

Your boat? Beautiful. I've always gotten a kick out of that design.

 

[QBhoy]

Your boat? Beautiful. I've always gotten a kick out of that design.

It’s not I’m afraid. I’ve grown up never too far from it. It was kept at my marina in storage almost since new. Used once or twice a year and cherished by its one owner all its life. It revently went to his house in France. Soon to come back and go on the market. There only were ever a handful of these in the UK. This will almost certainly be one of the best kept in the world. The boat, gelcoat interior and trailer are honestly like new. I have its little sister. The cvx16

 

[SkaterRace]

All you need is a tow pylon for skiing with an Outboard. Get a harness for tubing. Been there, done that with my Bayliner.

Besides, you're not introducing new words into your vocabulary such as bellows, u-joints, etc. But I get the appeal of the I/O having a large swim pad.


Out of curiosity, why limit yourself to Glastron? Since you're going used, there are other manufacturers that will fit your price point.

I've been there with towing harnesses for tubing and I've never had good experiences, granted I was using old stuff that was badly designed (still safe though).

As for limiting myself to glastrons, I really like the look of them and they seem to fit well with what I want, bench seat in the back, swim platform, bolsters on the captains seat (pretty important to me) as well as are bow riders which is the style I want. I have looked at other boats and am open to other just glastron is my preferred brand though I would not turn down another option because of brand if it was as good or better than I could find in glastrons. I went to look at a Larson today and it was really nice, I am going back in the spring to test drive it since I couldn't now because of snow.

 

[SkaterRace]

Come on Scott, you are scaring the guy and boating is not the most expensive, I know of one hobby that I took up many years ago that has cost a whole bunch more than any boat or airplane I have owned!

You ask what......

A wife!

:facepalm:

:lol:

No scaring me off lol I have owned boats since I was 12 (it was a crappy thing that should have not been on the water but I didn't know better). I spent almost all my money from ages 12-17 on boats owning a range of crappy but progressively better boats each year.

Wife... now that is an expensive hobby you got there, hope to god you don't quit that hobby because that is when it gets really expensive. It's a money trap lol :faint2:

 

[DouglasW]

At the risk of creating a firestorm, I will say I always carefully shop for a used boat in the best condition over most else. Being in Florida, that means looking for boats that have come south after being used lightly in landlocked northern climes (Michigan, Indiana, and Idaho for my last three). Of course, the boat has to have some initial quality associated with it. But I would rather buy a pristine, low usage, off-brand boat than a rusted, faded, and leaking renowned brand boat every time. So far, that strategy has served me well for the last 50 years. I'm 70 now, so it took me 20 years to wise-up ;-)

 

[SkaterRace]

At the risk of creating a firestorm, I will say I always carefully shop for a used boat in the best condition over most else. Being in Florida, that means looking for boats that have come south after being used lightly in landlocked northern climes (Michigan, Indiana, and Idaho for my last three). Of course, the boat has to have some initial quality associated with it. But I would rather buy a pristine, low usage, off-brand boat than a rusted, faded, and leaking renowned brand boat every time. So far, that strategy has served me well for the last 50 years. I'm 70 now, so it took me 20 years to wise-up ;-)

I think everyone here would agree that condition matters the most on a used boat. Only thing is going with a better brand of boat you get a better starting point also some cheaper boats are not built great and will fall apart quicker even if treated well.

 

[DouglasW]

I think everyone here would agree that condition matters the most on a used boat. Only thing is going with a better brand of boat you get a better starting point also some cheaper boats are not built great and will fall apart quicker even if treated well.

Time will tell everything.

 

[poconojoe]

Don’t make them like this one anymore. 1978 Schimitar Carlson with big block 7.4. She is totally original condition.

Wow! Very cool boat! I never saw a boat with a T-top!

 

[Scott Danforth]

FWIW, Friscoboater is currently restoring a Scimitar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhV6HW-P7iE

 

[jkust]

My comments assume that whatever boat you look at, the boat is as if it just came off the factory floor condition wise.
I spend a good amount of time at my lake home on a large lake here in MN. It's all lake boats and no center consoles or salt water style boats. One of my neighbors bought a brand new 24 boot Glastron last season. It is almost a case study in corner cutting for them to keep the price in that 50k range. It is actually shocking to see how little 50k gets you today. So would I buy a new Glastron, not as long as there are used boats available. I think the Glastrons that you are suggesting are a far better value and they didn't seem to cut quite the same number of corners as this new generation does.
On the VP versus Merc, for me it's about what my local marina services which is Merc.