OK, all you barn finders, no wheels today because suddenly it’s 1973, and we’re going to review a pristine 15′, open bow 1973 Glastron runabout. I’m no stranger to boats like this and finding one, in this condition, that’s just about a half-century old, is miraculous. Originally hailing from Minnesota, where clearly it wasn’t used as an ice breaker, this Glastron now calls Sarasota, Florida, its home. It’s available, here on eBay for a current bid of $3,250, reserve not yet met.
As I mentioned, I spent a lot of time on similar boats back in the ’70s and ’80s, generally open bow Silverlines or Grady-Whites, they’re all pretty similar. Of course, most of my experience was on boats that looked more like garbage scowls by the time they were five years old, problems caused by fishheads, fish guts, cigar butts, cigarette burns, beer cans, upholstery snagged by hooks, and dented hull bump strips (who put that dock there?). I even recall one that somehow lost its steering wheel on a late-night fishing run and we had to use vise grips as a steering tiller to get back to homeport. Sure, you could remove the dreck and detritus and give them a good hosing, but even on their best days, they would never be remotely mistaken for this Glastron.
Glastron was one of the first boat builders to use fiberglass for hull construction. They have been in business since the mid-’50s and their product line today isn’t that far removed from this 1973 model V-150. As with most things, the newer basic bow-riders are bigger, 19′ in length is their smallest, and have a higher rated transom, 150 HP; beyond that, they’re more evolutionary than revolutionary.
The story behind our subject boat is that it was a one-owner craft, having been purchased in 1973 and used on Lake Buffalo in Minnesota. The owner was meticulous and insistent on proper maintenance and appearance, it was always stored on its trailer, in a boat garage, and not allowed to remain on the water during times of non-use. As the years progressed, the boat was used less and less and when the original owner passed in 2021, it became available for sale.
Power is provided by a 65 HP, three-cylinder, two-stroke Johnson outboard that was recently tuned by the seller. He claims that his staff went through the boat to “make certain that everything was functioning perfectly“. Being a lake boat, the seller did not invoke a current physical operation because he doesn’t want to expose it, for the first time, to saltwater.
Appearance-wise, what’s not to like? The fiberglass looks pure and the upper green surrounding band is not faded in the least. The vinyl seats are perfect – it’s hard to believe that they are original. I question a blue carpet with green seats and trim – but I won’t question it too much. The condition of the stainless window frames and chrome plated bits like cleats provide evidence of this boat’s salt-free prior life. Additionally, the lack of anti-fouling paint is further evidence of non-water storage or salt-water immersion. The trailer appears to have been repainted – they take a beating with partial submerging during unloading/loading on a boat ramp, but it presents really well.
This boat should move out nicely but with just 65 HP on tap, it won’t be hydro-plane fast – more leisurely but it probably has enough oomph to get an experienced skier up on two skis – doubtful for a slalom pull. The outstanding condition of this Glastron begs the old “have your cake and eat it too” question. So, could you be the one to acquire this magnificent runabout and…actually use it? Subject it to the rigors of recreational boating? In saltwater?
These boats were great, for a time when people were slimmer, and three or four could go out on the water for a day’s fun and not tax the engine horribly. This would be perfect pulled behind a triple-green Monte.
I got a good chuckle at the last line. I too had this (almost) same boat in 1981. Mine was a 72 Glastron tri-hull with this same green color combo. Except mine had the Volvo-Pentax inboard on a 16’9” overall length. I did pull mine with a 78 Monte, but wasn’t color coordinated!
Nice boat for a lake or maybe the river. Sure is clean little craft, someone took great care of it
Wow incredible piece here. Guarantee that will pull a slalom skier especially a smaller adult or kid Jim. Maybe not out of the hole on 1ski and that’s what your implying.
But get them up on 2 skis drop one and enjoy a slalom.
restoring a 73 starcraft capri now. has same seats and color, 50hp evinrude.
Surprised on the move from Minnesota. Shipping must have cost a fortune! And a pretty big market there with all the lakes. A nice boat for sure. Load up the cooler, get a couple of bow bunnies and head across the lake to the Supper Club. Great times!
Weird to see a 50 year old fiberglass boat that isn’t parked in the farthest corner of the backyard, half covered by a disintegrating tarp, 1/3 full of putrid mosquito laced water, buried under blackberry bushes, covered in moss waiting for the owner to pass away and sold for cheap at an estate sale.
On another note, how wide is this boat? One pic looks like its 7 wide and another makes it look like it’s 16 feet across. Gotta love those camera lenses.
Very cool…makes be think of the “extra boats” from Live and Let Die. The whole boat chase scene is great…also interesting back story about the stunt men on the DVD.
I saw a used Glastron speedboat for sale at the Ducktail Run in Gas City Indiana three years ago. The colors, motor and features were close enough to pass for the James Bond speedboat in that movie. I wish I had purchased it…intact cushions, good fiberglass/stringers and the heavy metal flake carny ride paint job.
One of the bond boats was a 23 foot glastron Carlson scimitar. Power was courtesy of a Ford 460 and Berkeley Jet drive
Fraught with bogus bids, or fishing for the reserve, Jim Funny you mentiioned using the boat for an icebreaker. My Friend lived on a lake and he would use his tri hull thunderbird to break up the ice in front of his lakefront home. Nice little beauty, will need some work from sitting, but those old Johnsons/ Evinrudes were bullet proof! Good luck and happy motorboating!
Cheers
GPC
My first boat was one of these, identical. Right down to the motor. That Johnson had the “electric shift” feature… and it was completely unreliable.
I still have a spare shift solenoid for it, which ain’t an easy find these days.
I had a 73 off brand similar hull boat that I bought at a yard sale for $300! I fixed it up with new seats, floor and carpet. Found a lightly used 70 horse Evinrude to replace the 55 Chrysler. Fished and skied for years with that thing. That Evinrude would literally run all day full throttle and never ever gave a problem. Sometimes the best boats are the most simple!
Nice one, Jim! We had a tri-hull growing up in Duluth, MN and it was a rough rider compared to a regular v-bottom boat that my dad bought next. They do have a nice flat floor though and were a bit more steady when you were in rough waters.
65 is plenty for a 15′ boat, even a heavy Glastron. A lot of these had the 50HP 2 cylinder.
I think Jims description of boating could be summed up as “low tide at the pier”,,don’t forget old toilet seats and a shopping cart,,but boats were huge. Some remember, we had a lake cottage, on a fairly big lake, not far from Milwaukee. I remember, as a kid, the lake was so busy, constant attention was required. As the years went by, all these were replaced by pontoon boats, and the PWC’s that run into them, but at one time, the “walk-thru” was very popular. My old man had one, inboard, but I had one like this, got it cheap( $50,WITH A TRAILER,, they were going to scrap it) and had a 65 hp “anthead” Johnny, “electric shift”, like Craig mentions, repaired something, I forget, not the shift, that seemed kind of reliable, probably carbs, but I used that boat a lot and was a lot of fun. These got atrocious fuel economy, even the 3 cylinders. A 6 gallon tank, OR TWO, in an afternoon was not uncommon, the old man had a 3 cylinder Evinrude on his pontoon boat, and 2 tanks were always taken. PLUS, for many, the 10 mpg vehicle to get it to a lake, these quickly fell out of favor. This boat is WAY too clean to have been run much in the salt water. It corrodes the engine cooling, and scars the hull, so, probably all fresh water use. Great find
Let’s see…..with gas at $5 a gallon, probably won’t be much traffic on the water this summer.
$6.50 a gallon in Palm Springs. But the only bodies of water we have here are on the 160 or so golf courses.
i bought a 15 ft fabuglas in 1986, it is a 76 model, 85 hp johnson, garage kept, still has some original vinyl on her, still use her every summer
Growing up on a popular lake in MN these Glastrons like this were everywhere, generally outboards up to 75 HP was the norm decent boat in smooth water but in wave that tri hull was rough beyond belief, you slowed down immediately. There were so many of these over the years I remember seeing them sitting around for sale all over the place. Decent boat till the tri-hull design went away!
Interesting find. My dad had one (same year) but orange. This one……the seats have been recovered in white (all green was original). The carpet has been replaced as well (was green not grey when original). The family must have hit some rocks when it was used – as the skeg is damaged. Very clean though for the age.
I had a similar rig with a 75 Evintrude. At 170 pounds it got me up on a slalom no problem. We ran that boat all day long every weekend in season. Mostly went through two six gallon tanks. Great times. At 71 my slalom days are in the rear view but I’d love to have this little gem.But too far away from me.
Had a 15′ with a 70 Johnson and would snatch you out of the water but a solid good slalom skier would damn near stop the boat on a hard cut. We used our friends Tahiti with a 135 Evinrude and no problem with that.
Winch strap over the roller, wrong. Believe the winch bracket is not correct for
this boat & trailer combination.
Nice boat! Rare condition for its year.
A little primer on buying older fiberglass boats.
Has carpet has been replaced? Buyer should look under carpet and find splatter coated floor. If not, floor was replaced due to dry rot or water standing between floor and hull. If it’s the latter, gelcoat on bottom of hull will have light tan or little brown “zits” which is from partial delamination of gelcoat. Hand in hand with that is transom rotting from inside out that which will be evidenced by excessive motor bounce when pushing down on the cavitation plate on the motor with your foot. Decisive test is pushing a very thin ice pick into transom from inside, it should not sink in easily.
As motor does not feature hydraulic trim and tilt, dead weight 208 lb. motor will need to be lifted by hand, for assorted reasons while boating.
Happy boating!
In the 1970s went to the annual Spring Season Boat Shows in Winnipeg with my Dad. Always admired the Glastron boats, as did my Dad. He wanted one but Mom would have killed him if he had purchased one. The other thing I liked about the boat shows, as a 12 year old, were the girls modeling beside the boats. And collecting the brochures, which at the time had bikini models in all the boat photos.
This really is a blast from the past. Green and white boat with a Johnson outboard. I worked at a boat dealer in 1972-1973. Mounted many of these 3 cylinder Johnsons to very similar boats. Also had to run the wiring for lights, cigarette lighter and horn. Also I installed the windshield. Mounted the control box with the cable for the carburetor and connected it at the engine. I think the shift was electric. Had to put the boat on the trailer and adjust the rollers, etc to match the boat. Now I wonder why anyone in their right mind would allow a 16 year old to do all of the work to a boat that cost 2500-3000 dollars at the time. I also remember the Johnson had a limited edition “Stinger engine which was about identical to the 65 horse shown here but it was rated at 70 horse.
Jeff I forgot about the Stinger version after you mentioned it how could I ever forget that paint job on that engine!
Yes if I recall correctly, there was a lot of orange and black. Looked good
Once on plane this hull requires very little power. Sold our 1974 Trident two years ago for $800. Not as pretty as this, but ran strong. V4 2-stroke 85 HP. Great fun on a lake.
Like an older vehicle it needs a visual inspection before writing a check but it does look good. Reminds me one owned by a friend back in the 80’s that we skied behind. And that walk-thru? John hit the throttle pulling out of the marina one day and I fell into the aluminum frame slicing my abdomen open. Fortunately the bourbon on board helped ease the pain.
Ended:Mar 14, 2022 , 4:28PM
Current bid:
US $6,200.00
Reserve not met
[ 59 bids ]
Glad I don’t have a boat.
The last of the Hydroelectric shift lower units… dont ignore it ,they dont make parts anymore for them.