First time classic speed boat!

[katemerrall]

Hi!
My name's Kate, I'm thinking of buying a Glastron v-153 Futura 1969 speed boat for approx £800. Could someone tell me if this is a good deal? It's just been re painted and it's in pretty good condition.

This is a link with all the details:

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/glas...

Tips and advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks, Kate

[fergywales]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

£
You must keep the name the same.....



HTH

If ever a boat was named for PHers!

[katemerrall]

Yeah, we weren't sure about the name!

We'd be using it for wakeboarding in the summer. Although we don't know of many places we can use our boat and wakeboard?

Is there any issue with it being so old? I.E electrics + water.....

Is it just a level 2 speedboat licence we need too?

Thanks, Kate

[Fittster]

What's a level 2 license?

Do you mean the RYA Powerboat level 2 course?

[katemerrall]

Yeah, that's the one. Is there anything else I should know before buying it? Anything I should know?

[tr7v8]

The trailer & engine will need a decent service. Technically you don't need training but I'd certainly get insurance & do Powerboat part 1 as a minimum. You may need to add some kit such as an anchor & warp & everyone on board will need life jackets.

[katemerrall]

So what are all the necessities on board the boat? Like I said....I'm a total novice. Do you know anywhere we can use it? In the Yorkshire area. Thanks

[MOTORVATOR]

Paddy_N_Murphy said:

I am no expert - and there are some wakeboarders around here, but I suspect that it would not have enough guts for Wakeboarding.

Mucking around on it would be a chuckle but like cars the "50hp" was when it was new - not now.

You won't do much wake boarding on it unless you are child sized. The 50hp Thunderbolt is not 50hp as you see today. This stems back from the time engines were rated at the crankshaft rather than the propellor.

Equivalent today would be around 40hp and that's assuming it's running sweet. Also as loverley as that old Glastron is it won't be lightest boat ever built.

That said what a great little boat for the money, just don't expect too much out of it.

[Simpo Two]

Presumaby if performance disappoints you could hang a bigger outboard on it?

[shirt]

katemerrall said:

So what are all the necessities on board the boat? Like I said....I'm a total novice. Do you know anywhere we can use it? In the Yorkshire area. Thanks

south or west yorks? bridlington has a very active speedboating area on the south cliff with a storage compound and a few tractors to put you in and out. once had several hours of schadenfreude (along with a large crowd of others) as a chap in a new rangerover ended up losing it to king Neptune.

south of the humber, I have no idea.

its also a good job I'm moving else i'd be writing a cheque for £800 rather than posting this.

[tr7v8]

shirt said:

south or west yorks? bridlington has a very active speedboating area on the south cliff with a storage compound and a few tractors to put you in and out. once had several hours of schadenfreude (along with a large crowd of others) as a chap in a new rangerover ended up losing it to king Neptune.

south of the humber, I have no idea.

its also a good job I'm moving else i'd be writing a cheque for £800 rather than posting this.

Yup I'm glad it is too far to go look at! Otherwise I'd be sniffing around it, looking at spending some of my years bonus.

[trickywoo]

How heavy would the pull start on one of those be?

I find a 10 horse pull a bit tiring if its being fussy.

[katemerrall]

I've had a lot of mixed opinions as to whether a 50hp will be enough. I'm needing to know for definite really. Some people have said it definitely will tow a wakeboarder and some people say it will struggle. I know the wake won't be very good, but as long as it can tow us then it should be fine.

[CraigVmax]

its all about the engine, make sure you see it running and pull start it yourself, the boat is worth very little if engine goes and a 50hp would be v costly to replace. 50 would be fine power wise I'm sure.

[Caulkhead]

katemerrall said:

Yeah, that's the one. Is there anything else I should know before buying it? Anything I should know?

You don't 'need' anything to use it but I would recommend a Powerboat level 2 as a minimum and if you're going to use it at sea you'll want a VHF radio for which you do need to do a course and get your licence. It might be worth budgeting for a new outboard though. . . . .

[MOTORVATOR]

Kate it will boil down to how heavy your boarders are and whether they can get up without putting too much strain on the boat or hold on long enough.

A deft wakeboarder will be able to get up where a learner can't but also will be able to apply enough resistance in a turn to pull the boat off the plane.

Remember that the propellor is your gear in the water. You don't need that much speed to board so you can downsize the prop and wakeboard behind it easy but it will not be very fast when not towing. It's about balance of where you use the power.

If you want a good wakeboard wake then you need plenty of weight in the back of the boat to hold it just in that place where it is not lifted out but going fast enough. That's why they use 350hp in a tournament boat, not to be able to tear the guys arms off but to be able to hold the boat in a very inefficient position without being affected by the boarder.

Either way for 800 quid what have you got lose? Just don't expect it to be an Air Nautique.

[ChunkyloverSV]

Kate me and few friends do this in a very similar boat. With a 40hp outboat. Now generally we get on fine. However when there are 2 in the boat one on the doughnut/skies/board someone has to get up and sit on the bow so the boat can build up enough speed to plane.

We only have to do this with the skies and the Wakeboard. We do fine with the doughnut. What i would ask is how many people will be in the boat when you go out? And are they larger people?

Me and my friends bought a boat for £700 complete with trailer a few years ago and its brilliant fun. We are ready now for a larger boat with a proper bar to connect to at the back.

Any questions feel free to ask. : )

[Simpo Two]

ChunkyloverSV said:

We are ready now for a larger boat with a proper bar

I think I misinterpreted your use of 'bar'!

[madazrx7]

Just bought my first boat too, although a bit of a project, needs some work before getting it in the water hopefully by Spring (Sept)


It's a FG Ski boat with a 100HP outboard, should be good fun for a season then will sell (hopefully make a small profit) and get something better.