TOPIC: New to G3 world - attempting to identify year

Hello all - I am new to the glassic world, with a recent purchase of a very nice G3. The fellow I bought it from claimed it is a 1960. The ID tag in fact states: 13XM20043, which to me would indicate boat #43 in 1960 from the Michigan plant.

The confusing part is that it is an OD model, with reversible spotters chair, driver's footrest and logo in front of the sponson on each side. It seems pretty original after inspecting the underside of the upper deck/hull fit. The transom was reworked at some point. It also has a stagger to the console, with the steering wheel portion raised partly. It also appears that I have fiberglass structure.

I have two questions: I get a good bit of water in from the sponson drain holes which someone thankfully added. How does one go about sealing the sponsons? How about snaking a tube inside and just fulling them with expandable foam (insulation) and be done with water ingress altogether?

Second question: I am considering adding a bilge pump. I had the boat out last night on Lake Elmo here in Minnesota to give my 17 year old some driving lessons. The lower hull drain had maybe a quart after an hour while the upper floor drain had around a gallon or more. Can I drill a hole above the hull drain and drop a pump suction line down there? Is there a common cavity that the hull structure feeds into?

Third question: the floor below the passenger feet seems to flex a heck of a lot more than the driver side. Is this normal? Can/should it be reinforced somehow? Note that this "floor" is actually the single layer of fiberglass hull, and not actually "floor".

Thank you!

Scott B

hi,the 2 after the M would indicate that it is a 62 model year. the 59,60,and 61 are referred to as centerdecks. the reverseable seat was not available on them. skipp

Well Hello Scott, and welcome to the site. A 1962 that still has the reversible seat is a rare find. The Last complete 62 I have seen was in 2008. It was in Chieftain Florida at a Glasspar Club event hosted by the Florida Glasspar Club.

Your floor should be a piece of 1/4 inch marine plywood covered with a fiberglass cloth skin.

I would not recommend filling the sponsons with foam. The sponson on your boat is a sealed air ballast chamber. Foam would add a lot of weight. Sponsons generally leak when the wooden rail which holds and seals the lower sponson half, upper sponson half, and sponson trim has rotted allowing water into the sponson. The sponson is sealed to the inside of the hull with 1/4 inch plywood and fiberglass skin. Lastly the sponson should be sealed to the transom. This last area is usually over looked when installing a new transom. I would look at sealing up the sponson trim and transom area if you aren't looking to restore the boat just yet. If you wish send me your e-mail and I will send pictures of the last g3 sponsons I did.

Being a 62 you probably have wood stringers. These if original attach to the transom. You might want to consider a central bilge like on newer boats. This is a lot of work and I would recommend doing it should you do a restore of your boat.

Please feel free to contact me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

alumin8:

Welcome to the website Sir and congratulations on getting that 1962
G-3! They are great boats.

It looks like Al and Skip have answered most of your questions.
I would add that the inside hull of your G-3 should not be getting any water in it. We have a 1960 G-3 and after a long day on the water we see no water at all in ours. I have posted a picture
for you of our G-3.

Anyway,....welcome aboard and good luck with your boat!