Glastron GX 205 info wanted

We are thinking of purchasing this model Glastron. We are new to boating and have looked at many boats. Glastron has not been one of them. Can someone tell us how they compare to the Chapperrals,Sea Rays or Four Winns. We like the style of this boat but up till now we have been looking at all Mercruisers. This boat has a 5.0 Volvo/Volvo outdrive. Just looking for some helpfull info Thanks.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

Glastron makes a nice dry and fast hull. It's a Chevy, not a Cadillac but really, it's plenty of boat and with a 5.0 Volvo Penta, it'll probably move between 45-50MPH easily.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

Bone, Welcome to iboats. .

You're comparing apples to oranges. :facepalm: .

What year is it and how much are they asking for it ??.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

We owned a 2002 Glastron GX-205 for 10 seasons. It had the 5.0L carb'ed Mercruiser (220HP) with Alpha outdrive. I hit a little over 50mph a few times with 1 or 2 on board. If the VP is EFI you could see even better. With full boat (4-8 folks) I could hit low/mid 40's. When doing watersports, I never had any issues getting on plane with minimal bow rise and having power to swing tubes coming out of a turn, etc. I even pulled 7 adult-sized teenagers on 3 tubes with 2 adults in boat. Like mentioned above, it is more of a Chevy line than Cadillac line but other than some toggle switches going bad I never had any issues with boat. The only reason we traded was our kids are pretty much grown and boating style has changed (wanted to do some fishing and coastal salt water usage).

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

It's a 2001 with aprox 140 hrs orig owner. Asking 12000

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

2001 aprox 140 hrs. Original owner 12000

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

The price is way too high.
This is a 10 year old boat! The GX 205 was facelifted in late 2003, much improved. Look for a later one. There are lot of usesd ones around.

We had a GX205 from new with a 5.7mpi/280hp in 2004. Took 6 months to sell, got $12,500 last year.
These are well built boats, no issues in 5 years, would have bought another.
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Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

Price does seem very high although the hours seem very low for a 2001.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

You will do yourself a big favor if you go and check out each of the boats you mentioned above if you haven't done so. As for Chaparral, they did a hull and interior redesign on the Chaparrals in 2001 and another in 08/09. A pre 2001 Chaparral is old school Chap and while nice, just not as nice. My really simplistic rule of thumb that I have found to be remarkably accurate if a quality boat is what you are after. For each of the brands you are looking at, find the appropriate LOA comparison and list the dry weights with the same engine side by side. The heavier the boat, all else being equal, the higher up the quality scale it is where our run of the mill bowriders are concerned. I've noticed however that even the newest Bayliners have gotten heavier while the newest Chaparrals under 20 feet have gotten a little lighter and handle less power under their most recent redesign. It seems for so many brands there is a sweet spot in time where they put out nice designs after the 1990's and before the cost cutting. A decent (in my mind 20 foot boat) is going to be over 3000lbs. A Chaparral 196SSI (19 feet 6 inches) in 2001 with a v6 weighs in at 3221 lbs dry while your subject Glastron weighs in at 2510lbs. If I'm simply spreadsheeting, and I was forced to choose based on only the weight, I likely could, then if you look at it and water test one you will be hit in the face with the differences. The heavier boat will be slower with the same power as the lighter one as you'd expect.
Also, I've noticed the boat's that came standard early on with snap our carpet were ahead of their time as well. No snap out carpet or at least a diamond pattern fiberglass floor if the carpet is missing is a large benefit. My baseline comparison is my sig boat at 18 feet with a 2900lb dry weight with a v6 that took an optional 270hp v8 and has a 33 gallon gas tank and standard snap out carpet. Again these are just my observations of the inland lake bowriders that are available in MN.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

Love my 1996 Glastron Volvo/Penta 5.7 V8.

Does all I want and paid cash for her. Its a great Family Sports boat that has plenty of get up and go for all the water sports.

Glastron Boats has a long history. This is important to me is they still make them new.

This is a pict with the entire 5 members family on the back of the 3ft Swim platform I added. She is bow high with everyone standing on the Swim Platform. Yes it isn't the top of the line boats but I'm happy with mine.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

I like my 2005. Runs real well, and I haven't had any issues with it yet. Love the U-shape rear seating.

I will say that I think most would agree that Chaparral and Sea Ray do build a better overall quality boat. But as with most things, you have to pay more to get that. If your budget allows, go for one of those if it meets your needs and is in good shape. Otherwise, you'd still be getting a good boat with the Glastron.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

Can't say much about Glastron, but they are an attractive style boat. We have a 2005 Four Winns 190LE, and it has a great deep V hull that handles well. We have the Volvo 5.0L fuel-injected, which provides plenty of power for anything we'll ever need. I'm not convinced that $12K for a 2001 and 140 hours is that high. Maybe a little bit. True, it's 10 yrs old, but it depends on the condition. I'd use it as leverage for negotiating, though. If it was me, I'd take a second look at it myself.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

Thank you all for replying to my questions. We have purchased the boat for conciderably less than asking price and are very happy with it so far. I liked the Chevy vs Caddy comparison. It was very helpfull. I now try to follow the forums and try to help others as well as you have helped us. Again thank you all !!!

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

Congrats on the Purchase.

Any Picts you can post.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted

I'm glad you like the boat, price is always a very subjective issue, I sold my boat for less then it's worth and bought a 2000 Gx205 for a bit more then the blue book. I added in the tower, low hours (97) excellent shape of the gelcoat and seating, ez loader tandem trailer with local miles only, and a boat full of tools, supplies and toys. I offered $1500 over the standard price listed on NADA, and other then some lack of maintenance issues, I think this is a good purchase for us.

Re: Glastron GX 205 info wanted



Here's a pic of my new boat 2000 gx 205