New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Never have done a build,just had fun on the boats i owned.This would be a first for and its because of all the cool builds i have seen in here.
Anyone ever had any 'hands on' with this boat..?

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Check at the bottom of your thread. There's 3 GT160's listed in the similar threads, compliments of the iboats server..

Just scroll down the webpage.

What's pushing your 160? Mercury tower of power?

Nice boat. Hope the metal flake gelcoat is in great shape.

BTW: We love pix of boats, no matter their current condition. Open a photobucket acct, and use the IMG code to post pix. It will look something like this:
IMG]http://s1246.photobucket.com/media/Dashplaque.jpg.html[/IMG

And the pix will show up IN your thread instead of as an attachment that must be opened:


Welcome to iboats dry dock

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

A 115hp Johnson..all the stringers and floors are done..it has 90% of the original yellow finish.I want to make it fast,scary fast.
Thanks for the tip on the links,i like it here you have more older boats on one page than exist all together in any other site.
AND your not telling me if i dont have a lot of extra income i shouldn't be boating...whew nice change..I can sleep in the basement i wont make a lot noise promise...lol

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

stlbob said:

A 115hp Johnson..all the stringers and floors are done..it has 90% of the original yellow finish.I want to make it fast,scary fast.
Thanks for the tip on the links,i like it here you have more older boats on one page than exist all together in any other site.
AND your not telling me if i dont have a lot of extra income i shouldn't be boating...whew nice change..I can sleep in the basement i wont make a lot noise promise...lol

Click to expand...

We like to let you get all nice & comfortable before the stone throwing, name calling & all starts :cold:

Having the disposable income is a given, besides I'll let the fun governor/Admiral/warden/SWMBO* handle the money spent on a 40yr old boat discussion :watermelon:

Be careful w/ the GT-160, there's probable chine walking out there w/ the 115hp already. So yep, scary fast is an option.

Did you do the stringer & deck replacement? The thread title suggest that the boat is a pending purchase. If so MAKE sure to see & hear the motor fire (run would be even better, ON water muffs, in a water tank or on the water) and engage in both forward & reverse. Make sure the title/registration paperwork for the boat, motor & trailer is in order for your home state. Different states have different requirements. KNOW what it takes for your state.

Don't believe anything the seller claims about previous resto work, motor running, or all you need to do is XYZ to register an un-titled/un-registered boat. Even if you aren't taking the boat across statelines. KNOW you have legal title/registration & ownership before spending any money on the boat.

Boat & boat resto safely.


*She Who Must Be Obeyed**


**AKA: the wife

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Hi and welcome to the Iboats Dry Dock, "stlbob"...
"jbcurt00" has you headed in the right direction...
Sounds like a fun project.
We definitely love pics, so post as many as you can...
Best of luck and have fun!
GT1M

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

GT 160 can be a purty fast hull. With a prop rated 115 it should run upper 40's mebbe 50. With a 140 they'll run mid 50's. But beware the chine walk.

Check out ClassicGlastron.com or CGOAMN.com for links to GT 160 restos & performance tips. There's a vid @ Classic Glastron showing one chine walk at about 55. "Scary" indeed. Then again my V153 would sometimes walk purty bad at 55 too. But not always. Never really figgered out what set it off but it could come on quickly & violently.

Regardless, Glastrons are alotta fun. Good luck with the purchase.

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Chine walk..? The front end will get loose at speed..? I know where there is a fresh 4 stroke 200 hp ..is that to much..?

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

ah yeah, a 200hp is too much....... And as a 4stroke, it's signifacantly too heavy

He's jockeying the throttle to minimize the chine walking, you can hear the motor change pitch as it revs/cavitates (ventilates the prop) and drops rpms @ 20-28sec in:

Just as he's coming into frame at the beginning, you can see the bow 'porpoising' as he gets into the throttle, and he probably adjusts the trim to get on plane.

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

200HP is likely at least 50HP overpowering a very fast hull ( not knowing the exact hull rating, that's a guess ).. Boats steer with the rear, so the front end has nothing to do with control, and at speed 3/4 of the boat will be out of the water.. Chine walk is where the stern of the boat goes from side to side from the chines loosing their 'grip' in the water..

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

matt167 said:

at speed 3/4 of the boat will be out of the water.

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The real speed junky Gt 150/160 guys will be very disappointed to hear you say that...

I suspect they attempt to keep 95% or more of the boat out of the water at speed. There's a modified Glaspar G3 video around somewhere w/ a HUGELY overpower motor and it doesn't look like the last 1" of boat is touching the water, virtually just the bottom of the anti-cavitation plate, the prop & the lower skeg only. G3 is a 13' 9" boat that squats VERY low in the water anyway, before the weight of the overpower motor.

1973 Gt 160 is rated for a 120hp, which was a crank rated motor, so using 'modern' prop rating for motors that's about a 110hp +/- a few hp... So yeah, a 200 is hugely overpower. But the weight would like be a bigger problem sooner. Unless you do standing starts from the ramp :facepalm:

iboats boat specs

EDIT: got the crank vs prop rating backwards sorry, corrected above

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Here is the basic formula for calculating your boats' maximum safe HP...

For remote-steering boats, the formula is: (stern width in decimal feet x length in decimal feet x 2) ? 90 = max. horsepower.

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Okay after a search or two and that video im 'OK' with the 115hp motor for now.WOW that will sober you up quick.I rode in a boat doing 60mph once as per the gps and loved it,of course it was a lot bigger and newer than this boat.I will just have to have some seat time...

Still looks fast and with the chine walking the 'scary' part is taken care of as well.

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Yep ^^^

Lots of seat time.....

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

jbcurt00 said:

The real speed junky Gt 150/160 guys will be very disappointed to hear you say that...

I suspect they attempt to keep 95% or more of the boat out of the water at speed.

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Yep. I was thinking under normal conditions, 'adaquatly' powered. I think I have seen the vid of that G3 on Youtube

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

One of the safer performance tricks with that hull is to modify the bottom and add a pad. The pad will stabilize the high speed run. Actually on of the problems with that hull is really the blow over hazard. I have seen a few blow over.

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Bob_VT said:

One of the safer performance tricks with that hull is to modify the bottom and add a pad. The pad will stabilize the high speed run. Actually on of the problems with that hull is really the blow over hazard. I have seen a few blow over.

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Not sure adding a pad to that hull helps much. They're too short'n squat. GT 150 I mean in particular.

Rode in one a la pad way back when, once it got on plane all the hull did was search. Never really would settle down. It was very fast, run in the low 60s with a Evinrude 135 Silver Starflite.

Downright terrifying at speed. Puff of wind or ripple in the water might cause an unscheduled underwear change ...

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

The true James bond Boat was the GT150 (over powered by a 135)

Re: New here..have a possible project boat 73' Glastron GT160

Bob_VT said:

The true James bond Boat was the GT150 (over powered by a 135)

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Correct. It was a '72 GT150 with a 135. However the jump boat was center steer, and had 2x4 'stabilizers' screwed onto the bottom to keep it level on the ramp. That particular hull practiced the jump upwards of 100 times before the final money shot.

Fyi another notable GT150 Hollywood performance is in "Outlaw Blues" starring Peter Fonda and Susan St James. They use a blue metalflake GT to make their final getaway. Leading the cops on a chase through narrow canals under low bridges. Ultimately bailing out of the boat just before it ghost rides over a dam.

Not a terrible movie either, imo. Yours for $11 or $12 bucks @ Amazon. Every Glastron afficianado should own one.