TOPIC: Glass Magic Boats

Hey all,

When did Glass Magic Boats of Fort Worth, Texas close up shop? Did they go belly up about 1961 or 1962??? Anyone know??? Did they have a liquidation auction??

Robert Hagelgantz recalls that his dad went to a boat company auction in Texas and brought back some molds. The WesCraft Boat firm's 1962 "Sport Aero" and "Fishn Aero" sure look like the 1961 Glass Magic "Nomad." William Raschke of Glass Magic was granted US patent #187,167 in 1960 for a boat. It is the Nomad model by Glass Magic. A copy of this patent was in WesCraft's archive.

Hagelgantz also recalls WesCraft Boats doing something with a Banshee model. Glass Magic had a Banshee winged boat circa 1961.

Inquiring minds want to know!

Andreas

There's a note in the 1963 Outboard/Inboard Boat Trade-In Guide's Glass Magic section that states "Reorganized under new management-1962" and no Glass Magic models are listed for 1962.

I added these pages to the Glass Magic page in the Glassic Library:

www.fiberglassics.com/library/Glass_Magic

Thanks!

I went by the old factory just off Beach street south of I 30 in Ft Worth awhile back and the factory is now a freight forwarding outfit. Went around back but there were no molds or equiptment laying around. The current owner of the building knows it used to be a boat factory and said that when he got the building it was completely empty. He mentioned that there were some of the original owners family were still alive in 2007.

Glass Magic was called Marine Plastics Inc. when formed circa 1955 by Bill Raschke. He was another employee of Lone Star Boats that jumped ship to start a competing boat building firm (Bob Hammond left Lone Star in 1956 to help start Standard Glass Products "Glastron" and R.C. McDonnell departed and formed Texas Boat Mfg. Co. "Texas Maid" about 1957 and Charlie McGill left and helped start Jayhawk in Parsons, KS circa 1958). Apparntly Lone Star Boats was ripe breeding ground for other boat firms!

The name Marine Plastics, Inc. was changed sometime after 1957 to Glass Magic Boats, Inc. Bill Raschke left Glass Magic about 1959 and established Swank Craft Boats at Three Rivers, TX. It appears as if this latter firm became TemCraft Boats about 1960. Rascke died 17 May 1984 in Nueces County, TX.

Andreas

It also seems - from the failure rate - that the lure of starting your own boat manufacturing company was in most cases a path to ruin. But, of course, that gives us all the unique designs and models we now seek.

Peter
in Denver

Peter, as a commercial loan officer, I can tell you that 8 to 9 out of 10 (depending on whose study you use) start-up businesses fail the first year. The rate is a bit better (7 out of 10) if the entrepreneur had owned another successful business first. I don't imagine fiberglass boat start-ups were any different from other businesses in this regard. But you are absolutely correct that whatever the cause, we sure ended up with a wide variety to choose from!

Enjoy your weekend sir.

Frank