Did fiberglass runabouts get heavier between 1970's and 1990's?

[Big6ft6]

Did boats get heavier between the 1970's and 1990's or did they change how they weight them? I use the iBoats specs a lot when boat shopping.
My 1981 Glastron SSV176 (outboard) is listed as "17.1 feet long and weighs 955 (pounds dry)" but a 1991 Four Winns 17ft Freedom outboard is reported as "17.08 feet long and weighs approximately 1700 pounds with an empty fuel tank and without any gear or passengers." Is the Four Winns really that much heavier? Does one of these not include the motor?

In general did a similar size and spec'd boat from the 1970s get heavier or lighter by the 1990s?

 

[roscoe]

Neither should include the outboard weight.

Width, depth, style of boat, type of construction, all contribute.

As larger motors became more available and popular, manufacturers build heavier boats.

Just my opinion.

But . . . .


According to the Four Winns website and brochure, the weight of an outboard powered Freedom 170 with a 90 hp motor is 1700#.

http://www.fourwinns.com/uploads/2017/2/Four-Winns-SportBoats-Catalog-1991.pdf


So, I,m guessing the Glastron weight is a true dry weight, hull only; and the Winns weight is an actually wet weight, hull, motor, battery, etc.

As far as internet and boat spec info goes, well, it is all gathered from somewhere, scavenged from someone else's data base, using search algorithms. So, GI-GO.

 

[jbcurt00]

I'd bet the 4Winns is both deeper and wider......

 

[GA_Boater]

I bet the 4Wins came with a standard outboard and the older Glastron didn't.

 

[Blind Date]

Another factor is Glastron's of that era were laid up pretty light. That's one reason they perform the way they do.

 

[jimmbo]

Another factor is Glastron's of that era were laid up pretty light. That's one reason they perform the way they do.

They still are(lightly constructed) and fall apart quite readily.

 

[444]

I think boats have gotten larger and heavier, a lot like cars and trucks have. My 78 glastron cvx-20 lists a dry weight of 1000 or 1100lbs, don't remember which. Mine has had the floor and transom done on it and the old flotation foam removed so I theoretically don't have 40 years of water logging adding to my weight.

 

[jkust]

For sure they have. I see bowriders from the earlier generation you mention and they look like toys with narrow beams. Now a beam under 8 feet seems narrow.

 

[jimmbo]

In the late 60s and the 70s the average family boat was usually a 14, 15, 16, or 17 footer. Usually an outboard between 40 and 115 hp. These days a 16 foot is about the smallest, and it's probably going to be an I/O unfortunately, so of course a 130hp is now the lowest you can get. Any smaller and it would be laughed off the lake

 

[Stumpalump]

All fiberglass boats of that vintage get heavier with age. The hulls don't drain well and the wood core sponges up moisture. The floatation foam also gets saturated making a lot of those older boats one heavy sob. Even boats like Boston Whalers get waterlogged and you can't get the water out without drilling holes in it. A survey on purchase and a garage for storage will be your freind if you don't want a heavy old glass boat.

 

[MTboatguy]

There is simply no way to compare two separate generations of boats fairly or equally. Comparing a boat built in the 70's to a boat built in the 90's is never going to work out. Two many things have changed over the years.