PDA

View Full Version : Anyone know about the G3 ?



Sleekster
05-14-2001, 08:45 PM
A friend had one, sold it before I got a ride in it. Had a 3 cyl Johnny on it but had a V4 OMC at one time.

Anyone own one--past or present?

What's the history on them?

Just curious.

Ray Neudecker
05-14-2001, 09:15 PM
I believe ti was built by Glasspar in Nashville, Tn. They went out of buisness in the 70's. Were a very fast boat in the 60's, before the V bottoms took over.

LaveyT
05-14-2001, 09:22 PM
We had one in the late 70's early 80's.It had a 70 Johnny on it.It was a nice little boat,Learned all about Porpusing(sept how to spell it).The one we had was fairly heavey for a 14 footer we broke 40 mph with an aluminum prop,We think,no GPS back then you know.High quality strong boat deck was walkable.This was the replacement for our first boat (1958 Thomson 1958 Evinrude)So we thought we were BIG TIME SPEED BOATERS!Brown metalflake with Gold Metalflake down the sides,Very little Freeboard,Thought I was Cool.
Caution:they are very Flammable!My father in law caught it on fire while burning weeds in his back yard!Thats Another story!
Sleekster,Please do more posts with your Quirky sense of humor,You crack me up.(the higher math thing,what a smart ass,I love it)

LaveyT
05-14-2001, 09:23 PM
Larson Glasspar G-3,I guess they were all Larsons?

Sleekster
05-15-2001, 07:17 AM
I think my friend had to put two bildge pumps in it to keep it afloat. Caught a lot of air. His dad was (is) crazy too and had it surfin' at Ocean City,MD until the Marine Police asked him what the hell he was doing....

I saw it years ater after it ended up back in their driveway. Had a 70 on it too, LT. Almost had another friend buy it.

What was the hull like? I can't remember.

DaveR
05-15-2001, 07:18 AM
Two guys on my lake bought them together - each with 100hp mercs. They ran over 55 mph with the motors just bolted on (we didn't know anything about set-ups)and had me waiting on the dock just in case one went by and I could get a look! One of them walked across the deck in the winter, including the solid deck cross-over between the front and back seats, and put 6" diameter spider cracks in the glass everywhere he stepped. I still them occationally and I believe it has a cult following and a club somewhere.

WillyT
05-15-2001, 08:02 AM
The Glasspar G3 skiboat was ahead of its time. My Dad bought us one in 1959 with a 35 Johnson. It was 13'7" long and had "wings" sticking out of the rear sides (Glasspar called them "flotation sponsons"). This made the boat "artificially" wider and more stable. These boats had a hollow double bottom (i.e., no foam in there) and a 15" transom (15" engines were standard back then; 20" were considered long shaft). I think the weight of the bare hull on the original boats was probably less than 400 pounds. These boats would run 50 mph or so with a 70 horsepower 6 cylinder inline Merc (or a later Johnrude 75 hp; in 1960-61, Johnson dealers were given a video of a G3 powered by a 75 Johnson V-4, and the camera showed the speedometer at 50). The original ones had a front bench seat with a full center deck behind it. Between the center deck and the splashwell was just an open space with a floor pad that that matched the seat material. Some people would mount the steering wheel to the center deck instead of the dashboard. Moving the weight of the driver back like that was good for several additional mph. The original ones were only available in white with the classic Glasspar black stripe down the side (this was to Glasspar what the "swosh" is today to Nike). The later models had back-to-back seats with no center deck (and a red stripe instead of a black one, typically anyway). The weak point of the boat was the transom (would crack at the corners and water would get in an rot things eventually). In the late 50s and early 60s, Glasspar was the number one manufacturer of fiberglass boats in the country. Glastron eventually took over that title. The G3 went through several design changes, and even disappeared from the line for a year or two before making a return. Later versions were a little bigger and heavier. There was even a larger version (16-17 feet, maybe?) called the "Super G". Larson eventually bought Glasspar, and later, the Glasspar name was dropped forever. I loved our old G3 so much that I bought one just like it (except with a 6 cylinder Merc) years later as an adult. There is a very active G3 club (they have a website) and the "fiberglastics" (spelling?) website also has a section on them, as well as the entire Glasspar line. One guy updated his G3 with a pad bottom and a 20" transom and put a Merc 150 V6 on it. He is running well into the 80s with that setup. Glasspar had a factory near me in Petersburg, Virginia (along with a few other locations), and many of the G3s were made at that factory. I once read an article about Reggie Fountain's life. One of his first "hot boats" was a G3. It is a real classic; wish I had one now to play with.

Dale
05-15-2001, 11:22 AM
everything you ever wanted to know about the G3
but were afraid to ask ;) http://members.aol.com/k2beisel/GlassparG3/

..Dale

Ron V
05-15-2001, 11:56 AM
Were not bad performers for what they were, but I'm afraid that an Allison or Switzer from the day would have blown them off the water. Great looking and fun little boats, they sold a lot of them. Some had trouble with transom rot, I think there is more about that on the web site that was mentioned. Saw one run a couple of years back with a healthy short shaft Merc 650 inline 4 and a 17" aluminum prop, ran about 42 on the Aqua Meter Speedo at 5700 or 5800 rpm. Did seem to porpoise a bit though.

Sleekster
05-15-2001, 08:11 PM
Willy, sure can see your fond memories and you can't hide that peaceful smile from them. My friend must have had one of the originals b/c it had the divider and the front bench. The next owner had put a splashwell in it. Bob, my friend, had installed allthread from the transom to in front of the divider at the gunnels. He is a machinist, so materials were cheap.

A pad would really help them I'm sure.

Dale thanks for the site. I'm going there now.

Dave did you say you still see them? On the lake somewhere? Very cool. To have a boat of that type last that long.

I'm really glad I asked. Any others?

Rickracer
05-15-2001, 08:56 PM
TalonT18 had one a few years ago, along with a Vector/Merc 115. Basically, he sold both the get the Talon 18 he has now. It was a sweet little boat. I don't really remember that much about it, but he had laid a nice maroon Imron job on it, and it had a Chrysler for power. Not the fastest boat around, but solid, and sharp lookin.

MtDoraGary
05-06-2009, 07:44 PM
135 G3 owners from around the world and over thirty five G3's attended a meet in Lake Wales last weekend. We had a blast! I was there with my two G3's. I never heard of an Allison back in '59. Doubt they were made yet. Switzers were around, but were outrun by FeatherCrafts, Yellow Jackets, and others. G3's were designed specifically as ski-boats, with the sponsons adding flotation and helping them get on plane with the low horsepower motors of the day. They take horsepower increases well and typically have twice the OBC certified horsepower that they were designed for. And they handle like sportscars, making racing through snaky rivers a real blast! With a pad, they can get good speeds, but the later Larson-bulit Catalina G3's hulls were unstable above fifty. Too much tunnel effect. I have one of each. I power them variously with Merc 650, Merc 800 and Yamaha 90.

delawarerick
05-06-2009, 07:57 PM
Any pictures of your G3s I remember seeing the first ones when I was 9 they were the corvettes of the water. Rick

buttwhat
05-06-2009, 08:15 PM
yes i had one very fast was a 14' with a 100hp mercury two blade brass speed prop avnaced the timeing a little and this boat stood up jumped and fly. i was 15 doing 45 with this boat in the 1970,s today the boat is collectble. i would even like to have one now for my son he has a 15' homemade fiberglass boat with a 115hp mercury looks like a clone hydrostream nice paint havent had in the water yet another story soon:cheers:

MtDoraGary
05-06-2009, 08:29 PM
Any pictures of your G3s I remember seeing the first ones when I was 9 they were the corvettes of the water. Rick
I can email them to you. Don't know how to post them.

jphii
05-06-2009, 08:40 PM
New record for the oldest thread pulled back up:thumbsup:

LaveyT
05-07-2009, 07:17 AM
New record for the oldest thread pulled back up:thumbsup:

I got an instant E-Mail notification!:p

TCinVA
05-07-2009, 08:14 AM
My first boat was a g3 with the center deck and a humongous 1964 evinrude V4 80 HP that pushed it just shy of 50. That boat turned amazingly well. The transom rotted and I bought my second boat, a 1976 bicentennial Viper project (also long gone).

Mark75H
05-07-2009, 11:15 AM
Fantastic!

MtDoraGary
05-07-2009, 11:32 AM
The Bill Tritt designed G3 is a fantastic boat and WAY ahead of its time. Sales suffered early on because of the lack of outboards big enough to make it perform. The later Larson-built G3's are the exception . They have horrible hulls.
Fantastic!

99fxst99
05-07-2009, 12:22 PM
Glasspar had plants in several locations around. The name came from the original business of building fiberglass sailboat mast parts. They also built the first Corvette bodies. They built a diverse line of boats from a small open skiff to a cabin cruiser with berth and galley. Most had names derived from the Pacific northwest area, where they originated (Tacoma, Seafair). Neat boats for their time. Try finding an 18' outboard powered boat with a stand-up helm, cabin, bunks, and galley now!

Mark75H
05-07-2009, 01:20 PM
They also built the first Corvette bodies.

Between November & December 1952:http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/vettehis/