14 GW invader resto

[MARINER RACING]

Hello to All!
I know that there are a few GW Invader guru’s here
Any info would be greatly appreciated
I am bringing an old 14 ft back to life.
This one that i have , doesn't have a balsa core.
And the cockpit is different than any that i have seen here, with the exception of a 1972 that i saw while researching.
It was blue metal flake when it was made.

I am trying to find out why this one is so different
And what year it could possibly be.
I had read a story about the infamous 12 of these that were given away before the molds were crushed.
There are absolutely no hull numbers on this boat
It was laid up pretty light but solid where it counts
Looks like the transom is 1/4 plywood sandwiched between 2 pieces of 3/4.
The boat has a stringer system in it made of solid pine. the floor was glued in and glassed in around the edges
I attached some pictures .
The boat wasn't taken apart before i got it.

[specboatops]

Looks like a 15' not the 14, but I'm sure you have tape measure and confirm. I had a 1970 15' V bottom, and a 1973 Tunnel hull (Torpedo) great hulls. If you go to youtube and search "vintage Merc" you'll see video of my 15 footer running right at 78 mph on GPS. Cockpit looks typical minus the tie bars that are connected from the transom to the front of the gas tank area. Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck with it!!!

[MARINER RACING]

Thank you for the response!
i measured it from transom to tip of bow
it measures 14ft 3 inches
its the lack of the deck bars to the floor and no balsa that is making me question what it is.
the boat def looks like it wasnt just a copy, due to the wood glassed into the deck , and the glassed in card board tubes
putting a 3cyl 2 stroke 90 merc on it.
this is resto # 6 for me
my yellow tunnel was my #3

[WaterZebra]

Hello to All!
I know that there are a few GW Invader guru’s here
Any info would be greatly appreciated
I am bringing an old 14 ft back to life.
This one that i have , doesn't have a balsa core.
And the cockpit is different than any that i have seen here, with the exception of a 1972 that i saw while researching.
It was blue metal flake when it was made.

I am trying to find out why this one is so different
And what year it could possibly be.
I had read a story about the infamous 12 of these that were given away before the molds were crushed.
There are absolutely no hull numbers on this boat
It was laid up pretty light but solid where it counts
Looks like the transom is 1/4 plywood sandwiched between 2 pieces of 3/4.
The boat has a stringer system in it made of solid pine. the floor was glued in and glassed in around the edges
I attached some pictures .
The boat wasn't taken apart before i got it.

It may have been a ultra lightweight one-off for Mercury Hi Perf.? The boss of Mercury Racing back then ran a GW Invader with a short shaft Merc 1350. These boats were the sweethearts of the APBA FJ class until the Allisons and Critchfields came along. Definitely worth the time,labor and materials to restore! Hull transom is definitely not strong enuf to support any of the new 4 stroke Mercs. Note that this boat was laid up in plain white gelcoat. No two tones or metalflake (basic cost, single purpose raceboat?).

[GWInvader]

How's the resto coming? Would love to see this moving - vintage!

Thoughts on this: someone's been in this pretty heavily. The strength of the boats really came down to the two rods going from the transom to the end of the well, and without 'em, you have a very weak boat indeed. Curtains are missing on the sides of the cockpit, so it's a later model 14'. Balsa core is actually much better than ply - it's much, much lighter and just about as strong, so it's not something cooked up to be high-performance. To find your serial number, crawl in the back (under the well) or up in the nose, and look UP. The five-digit number is almost always embedded there in both places. It'll be on a piece of tape or paper strip embedded in the glass. Race boats, btw, appear to have been beige in color (see elsewhere on the web for the GW Invader history doc; I think it's posted on the Fiber Glassics GW Invader page). Good luck to you! Love my 10', 14' and 15' GWs and GXs.

[WaterZebra]

Could you post some pics? Would love to see your Invader collection!