TOPIC: New Member With a Larson

Hello fine boaters. I just recently picked up what I was told is a 1980 Larson. It's an 18ft tri-hull, with a 120hp stern drive. She's in pretty good shape for her age. However, I'm not sure I was given very accurate info by the seller. The only hull ID I can find is the little tag on the inside of the transom. There doesn't seem to be anything on the outside. I ran the numbers on the engine, and it seems to be from the mid '70s. I'm hoping to learn more about the boat as I continue to spruce it up while using it as much as possible.

Well, I've found out that my 1980 Larson is actually a 1977 Larson. I guess I'll head over to the disco era.

Looks nice. It did remind me of a friend’s 1972 outboard version with Johnson 125. Solid boat as I remember it. Enjoy!

I keep digging deeper, and keep finding more conflicting info. The tach is way off. It thinks I'm idling at 3k. I went under the dash to measure it, and found a date stamp on it of 9-11-1968. Very strange. I also looked into the throttle, since it doesn't do anything until I move it about 90 degrees. It's not broken. It's supposed to do that. It's designed that way so it goes completely into gear before it starts to bring up the RPMs. Very strange.

Good news! All the paperwork is done, and now the state agrees that I own my boat and trailer. The boat is registered as a 1977, and the trailer a 2017! Since the trailer didn't have a VIN when coming to this state, it was assigned one then. I wonder if I have the only 2017 Dilly trailer? Anywho, we're gonna take her out for her maiden voyage this evening. Really, the family and I need to practice launching and pulling the boat out. I figured the ramp should be dead at 5:00 on a Wednesday. We'll of course take a spin around the lake as well. Wish us luck. If you never hear from me again, we sank.

No sinking allowed lol. That in- dash trim button set looks like one I had on a 1967 110 Merc outboard. I know they looked different on our 1974. Your boat looks similar to an old friends 1972 outboard model. I have no idea how long they may have produced this model and shape of square nose tri hull? Maybe it is possible since dealers installed gauges on boats that perhaps the next gauge grabbed off the shelf could be a year or so different than the hull. I am just speculating on that possibility. Just curious if you purposely practiced launching without the drain plug just to practice the panic drill of where is the drain plug and where is the spare. I saved a large boat from sinking when I was boating up to the dock... I told my buddy to dock the boat as I dove in and swam over and just plugged the hole with my thumb until all the panic stopped. I was their first boat and first launch. I keep several spare plugs and make sure everyone knows where they are. I look forward to your sea trials report.

The hull serial number is from pre Nov 1972.
Boat is late 60s to early 70s.
The plastic trim control panel is late 60s.

Looks like an 18' Shark, 69 or 70. Not sure about 71, I don't have a copy of the 71 catalog, but by 72 the graphics on the side of Larsons had changed. The catalog doesn't show an 18' Shark in 68. I can't attach the pdf's of the catalogs becaue they're too big.

I would have to agree with Doug. That tag is definitely pre 1972. HINs have 12 characters and it would start with LAR. It's a nice looking boat and looks to be in good condition. Have fun with it.

Those tri-hulls were hugely popular in the 70's. Almost ever major manufacturer had them in their lineup. So it;s probably early 70's from the look of the dash and seats.

I did a quick google search for images using 1970s Larson trihull boat, and a lot of images that look just like your boat popped up. It's most likely a Shark. But as was said earlier, the 72's had a different logo on the side of the hull. I saw a 71 that has the same ser no tag yours does.