TOPIC: Glasspar G3

So, whats the "3" in G3 stand for, if anything? Just sounds good , For one hull and two sponsons = 3 ? etc.......maybe they towed it behind the G2

Come on' your answer will be as good as anyones!

PS. I figured 3 days was enough silence

I'll wait 72 hours to post the answer but you guys should know this right off? To be clear, I need to say the answer is not the 3 by it self as the name came about in total as 'G3'. The g3 name was stolen/copied from .... for its shape.

It may be impossible to find out what the 3 alone came from by its self but the clue is the g3 name is not connected with boating.....

alright, I'll bite and venture a guess

as we know, Bill Tritt designed the G2 and the G3
From an artist / designer point of view,
perhaps, there was a G1, something he considered unique
something that may have launched his career as a product designer
We know what the G2 is
We know what the G3 is
Did he initially label new creations 4, 5, 6 respectively?
From a marketing standpoint, I would suggest, numeric designations beyond a certain point, don't sell: cool names do
for instance
marathon
sea fair sedan
sport lido
ventura
etc.
what if, on his drawing board, they were originally
4
5
6

or, did he reserve nomenclature for those times...
when he felt the magic?
when something truly unique sprang forth?

would have been a kick to have met him twenty or so years ago and asked him some of the ??'s I've got floating around


sometimes, we have the wrong answers....
because we ask the wrong questions


from the aforementioned point of view, I would suggest
the answer to some of the how's and why's might be different than originally suspected
furthermore, unless he took the time to pen his original motivations, only speculation and perhaps an educated guess can fill the vacuum.

lar

Tritt designed the G-3, backed off and looked at it, and said "Heck, that looks like the G-3 government missile, thus he named it after a U. S. missile!!!!

Jim I knew I should have emailed you to hold off ..... Its your turn to think of a trivia question on the g3 Most of the newer g3ers probably didn't know the answer? Here's a link to a short History and Answer...Thanks for your input Lar and Jim on this New and improved format, as Nut would want to say,...

www.zimbio.com/Glasspar+G3+Ski+Boat/articles/15/Glasspar+Boats+Company+History

(("The Glasspar G3 was named after the G3 missile, because the boat itself looks like a missile when on the water."))

Bye!

Hey JIM.: Nice picture of oval emblem ..Reminded me of what to look for today .. I got a set (farm fresh),,,,, with the rest of boat
pkg.. A 59 White / black with SHORT shaft Merc . Front grab rails , No windshield... Only 60 State Reg Numbers higher than Pats H 59 .!!! It must have been registered one day after his in 59.! Same white rub rail..

Your trivia question . What feature identifies a 1959.?

The 1959 (first year) Glasspar G-3 had a "Glasspar" decal on each sponson and DID NOT have the word Glasspar down the back of the centerdeck.

Since were talking trivia here...
how about this

Supposedly, Bill Tritt named the G-3 after a missile or rocket by the same name.
Has anyone, ever seen one, have a picture of one, or relevant information?

I've asked many a aviation affection ado, history buff, even full bird colonels who cut their flying teeth with engineering degrees and slide rules....
and not one, had ever heard of the G3.

It took us a long time to finally lay to rest the "59" debate.
It may take as long to find the missle?
someone, anyone?

I double dog dare

lar

The letter and number g3 were attached to many Government Munitions, if you search g3 you'll find out it was attached to asualt rifles and other items, well the rifle was German made so might not count . Not sure but think the missile was posted a few years ago, I must be dreaming, not sure, think the missile was from about 1946. All of this might be wrong as I have no record and with dial-up, you know

ps. I often wondered if the '59's had mostly white rub rails but some say theres had black? My '59 has white but not even sure of the ser. no. I'm missing pink slips cause DMV never sent them and back then didn't follow up?

The '59 bench seat material may have been different from '60?
'59's only mfg. in Santa Ana Ca.

Lar, wasn't it the very early '59's that had the stamped washer ser. no. under the CD???
This is Jim Savage's original seats before re upholstery, think its a '59?

MANUFACTURE DATE: This information (although not emphatically verified) holds true on 5 boats. Note that bills-of-sale, and state registrations are notorious for being incorrect on model year. If you still have the boat's Hull ID tag, you can easily tell. There are several versions of the tag. The first is a small chrome plate about two inches wide and one inch tall. It says "Glasspar" and indicates in tiny letters indicates the four or five factory locations (Santa Ana CA; Olympia WA; Nashville TN; Petersburg VA; and a Texas location added later… city unknown). It is attached to the inside of the left side-deck (the passenger's side). There's a slot in the plate and behind it a brass plate with numbers. Early boats (beginning in 1960) had numbers beginning with 13 X.... Numbers such as 13 XP 1253 indicate the 253rd boat in 1961. The first digit after the P (manufacture location: Petersburg VA) indicates model year. A second version of the tag was gold and black in the same location and began with 13 G..... Thus, G-3's with numbers such as 13 GT5 0401 are 1965 models. The first digit after the T indicates year. T (we believe) indicates Texas. Location designators for 1965 and later are T (Texas) V (Virginia) W (Washington) C (Calif.) N (Nashville TN) (P: Petersburg VA is used prior to 1965). Location designators changed from the 13 X numbering system in 1965. Another number system was used in 1959 and still another beginning in 1966. If your tags are missing, there are a few other tips. If you have a center deck model, and it has a hump-like footrest molded under the bow it's a 1961. If not, and you can see the contour of the hull's center-keel (under the bow) it's 1960. The Glasspar name was attached to the rear sponson in early 1960 model (made in late 1959) and shifted to the center deck supporting strut in 1960 and 61. If you have an open deck, and it has a sump-like fixture centered in the floor at the transom, it's a 1965 or later. Some models have metal trim pieces that follow the dash board edges. We believe this was a 1967-only feature. Carpet was used (we believe) only in 1968 which was its last year.

Ok now most of what i have read so far says Bill stated making boats in 49 are there any picture of any of these first boats. I would really like to see what he started out with.
Mike aka the pirate

Groettrup G-3 German aerodynamicist Albring designed the G-3 missile for the Russians in October 1949.

And I found it with Dial-up (Cool looking Missile!!!)

Check this link for full history and pic. Notice the Black Motor

Click Here:... www.astronautix.com/lvs/g3.htm

Great info sir!! And what else but a black motor!!!!!!!

My boat is a 1960. You can see the HIN (Hull Identification Number) plate on the left side of the boat above the seat. Mine was no 628, Petersburg, Va. 1960 and is still very easy to read. My boat had black rub rail.

Yeah Jim, wasn't thinking as usual Going to add that info to the pic...

later: ..... Jim, went to add the info to pic and I did have '60 on the name menu, just not paying attention

I don't have a 13 before the hull number. It just has XP2015. So is this the 15th hull built at Petersburg in 1962?

DANIEL : WELCOME,, I have a son just above you in Auburn , maine..
Usually there was a small Brass tag with the code.. It seems your is on the red glass.. May have been a shortage, that production day ... Yes, I would say 1962 for Virginia.. Around 65 they used a "V" , cause the new plant went to a different town.

Split-Just wanted to pass on some info to you and others that may get confused by the P and V in the Glasspar serial numbers. My dad and uncle worked in the Glasspar Virginia plant in the 50's & 60's. They also worked there when it became part of Larson Inds. The plant was always in Colonial Heights, Virginia. It was located on Roslyn Road and the building is still there.Most people wouldn't know it was there because there are no known pics of it as the Glasspar building. I practically grew up hanging around that building. They used Petersburg because it was a bigger city and was more well known. Even as a kid I always told my dad that he built boats in Colonial Heights, not Petersburg. Anyway, if memory serves me correctly, they changed from the P to the V after Larson started taking on more of the marketing and day to day operation of Glasspar. Hope this clarifies the P&V descrepencies.

My understanding is that the plant designation letter was changed to reflect the state rather than the city starting in 1964. Have a 1964 Avalon with a C (for California) rather than the earlier A for Santa Ana, for example. (P to V, O to W, N to T and so on).
Larson Industries bought Glasspar in late 1966 and had a management contract that started earlier that same year. Although the original owners of Glasspar all sold out in 1962(?) it was not to Larson Industries....Larson Industries didn't even own Larson Boat Works at that time. They had sold out to Brunswick in late 1960 and bought it back from them in late 1963...for quite a bit less than they had sold it to Brunswick for.

Rod-B, You may be right about the serial numbers. The Glasspar city-state designators went thru changes of their own, particularly the one for Colonial Heights-Petersburg. I agree with the timeline for the Larson take over of Glasspar. Howevere, by the time that Larson bought Glasspar, Glasspar was a publicly owned company and Larson had been bought back from Brunswick by Paul Larson and a group of investors. My aunt says that she only saw checks that were issued to my uncle by Glasspar and Larson. So I'm thinking that the p to V change was made while Glasspar was issuing stock and it could have been in '64 Documentation on Glasspar Boat Company is hard to come by and as you know you really have to search to find any info that is has not already been found. We know about the known plants that Glasspar and Larson had, Did you know about the one that was built in Sturgis Mich. in 1961 and closed in 1962. It was 45,000 sqf and employed 55 people. It was closed because the demand for boats around the Great Lakes had declined.

Knew of that one...may have a 1961 Del Mar that was built there. 16DM1 is the start of the serial number. Grumman bought both the Sturgis and Sherman plants from Glaspar in 1963. Pretty sure an S in the serial number is Sherman, Texas and the M is Sturgis, Michigan...but not positive. If correct that would make the Sturgis plant the first one to use a state rather than city initial for the plant designation. Lots of history still to uncover on Glasspar operations...keeps it fun.