TOPIC: G3 Identification

I brought home a G3 last Monday 11-11-13. It is now taken apart for some repairs and painting. The floor is very solid and sounds very solid. There is a 2 inch long and 1/2 inch deep spot of dry rot in the port side corner of the transom engine step down. I found a disc stamped G3 A 9050. Does this indicate 1959 from California 50th produced? This is my first power boat, I have been l life long "blow boater" this is going to be a fun new project for me. I will try to get a photo posted with this. Thanks in advance for your replies and suggestions.

J : WELCOME & CONGRATS, YES, your # sounds like a very low documented 1959 G-3 . My prior post should be on this forum as also a DISC out of Nashville with a 9 code. Did you find the disc on the Transom Bolt ski ring .?? or was UP UNDER the center deck. ?? If the disc is stamped G3 this has to be early Calif , as the code is usually 13 X A . for a 13 foot model , X the main model of that length,, (Like a 17 would be Sedan) . Your condition sounds quite solid for 50 + years.. Also the 59 should have decal on the rear side sponson , Do you have .? Gold color.. Any seat cushions with your hull .?
Again CONGRATS, Pics can be posted inside thread with a COPY img from a Photobucket web album, etc. "J" here is a prior thread post of other 59 owners & pics of their serial #'s. Is your # a FLAT washer or bell shape small bowl .?? www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/home/g3-owners-association/new-1959-g3-owner#74318

Thank you for your information. The numbers are on a flat disc a little over 2 inch diameter. It was located under the center deck. My G3 has a good seat although it has been recovered a while ago. I will replace the plywood and recover it in a more original style.

Jim, if you are redoing the plywood on your seats... here is a drawing that I obtained from one of the senior G3 guys. I did the same thing, mine were recovered years ago, without the proper plywood, but with these drawings, I was able to replicate the stock seat:

I did add 2" of foam (5" total) to the seat bottom for more cush...

Dean

Dean
Thanks for the seat info. It seems to be about the same as my seat but when I get the upholstry off I will double check against the drawings. Was there any kind of seating for the rear? I don't see any signs of any previous mounting. Did the 59 model have a foot rest, there was a short piece of angle on the floor under the dash. Maybe it was for a gas tank? Finally, I have seen a few photos with steering on the port side. Was the steering installed by the dealer? Again thank you for your post
Jim

Another attempt at photo
Jim

J. You might read the thread of a RED 1960 G3 here that was always a family boat. I believe they had a rear cushion that came from the Glasspar dealer.. Back is kind of short & only a child space & back rest against the center deck...
PORT steering , etc..any old time dealers in the late 50's era will tell the reason for different side controls, is for the stronger hand owner to operate the shift / hand gas lever.. Just like handwriting, most people are RIGHT handled , thus shifter on Right.. Steering wheel just there to match .. LEFT handed people/ were more comfortable with the PORT levers... I had a good friend from N.J. who was handicap deformed guy only had partial stump for a right arm, thus he needed controls on the LEFT. ... Again early 60's had the big six cyl Merc's & try to teach your wife , pull back for reverse on her weaker left hand... Got the nick name Dock Buster motors.. !!

Jim,
I have read that a fiberglass foot rest was installed on some later models of the G3, but not in '59. I saw a pic in a post somewhere. Angle (aluminium?) probably installed by a previous owner.

Dealers installed steering, motor and other non-standard accessories (speedo etc) but the windscreen was standard. Purchaser chose motor and steering position. (My '59 still has steering on the port side as originally installed).
Prop-rotation can affect transverse level running of the boat as can having a driver with no passengers. Clockwise rotating prop (looking from aft) can tilt the hull a little to port.
Ken

Hi Jim,

The '59 and '60 didn't have the foot rest, the '61 did. It was formed with wood/fiberglass. The '61 also had a small well formed in the floor at the centerline where a centerline drain plug was installed. The '59 has its drain plug on the stbd side. I am not sure if the '60 had its in the same place. John (1960REDG3) could tell you.

Steering (engine & controls) were dealer installed. If you have a choice, stick with the stbd side. Propeller rotation causes stbd side to lift (list to port) as the prop tries to walk to stbd, so having the driver's weight on the stbd side counters this effect. In the old days, smaller props (with less diameter and pitch and faster rotation) had less affect than the larger, higher pitch props of later motors.

Ken is right about the windshield... it was a Glasspar factory option, though this implies that it may have been installed by the dealer?

If you are having problems with the photos... normally its because they are too large... seems like my 1200x900 photos are the biggest that the site will accept... just resize it with paint then edit your post and try to upload it again.

Dean

Hello Jim, And first off, Welcome to the site and congrats on finding a 1959 G-3. You are being coached by three of the best. Split, Ken and Dean. They have mentioned a fourth you may want to catch up with and that is 60REDG3 aka John. While I have seen center decks with two small jump seats added to the back of the center deck, I have never seen any information on them being factory. I am not saying that it isn't possible. There were other Glasspar models that had tuck-a-way jump seats. The 1959 and very early 1960 G3's had a factory kneeling pad that was available for behind the center deck. These are extremely rare to see today. Glasspar discontinued the kneeling pad during mid run of the 60 G3.
If you are not able to load the measurements that Dean has given you on the seat, I have it in PDF and would be glad to mail it to you.
I have attached a pic with John's 60REDG3 in it. John's boat is anchored behind my 67 G3. This shot was taken on the Inter Coastal Waterway near the southern tip of Topsail Island NC this last summer.
Please feel free to contact me at anytime.
Al Wilson aka morris
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Jim:

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

Jim, there were no back seats in the 1959, 1960 or 1961 Glasspar
G-3 Skiboats. As Al,Dean, Ken and Larry said, Glasspar did include a rear "sitting/kneeling pad" for a short time. Our one-family owned 1960 G-3 had one of these pads in it which my Dad ordered for the boat when it was new WAY back in 1959! I have included a photo for you of this pad and how it looks. Also, I have attached a photo of our seat and how it looks. I had it recovered but kept the padding etc. as close as I could to the OEM sizes. I agree with the other members that the starboard side is the best for the steering
UNLESS you are left handed. Dean brings up some good points on why that is the case.

Good luck with your restoration/refurbish and post some pictures of your work as you progress.

Jim:

I forgot to tell you about the drainplug.

Dean is right, our 1960 Glasspar G-3 has the drainplug for the inside of the boat on the RIGHT (STARBOARD) side of the rear transom. Our G-3 also has a drainplug for the "flotation airspace"
at the very bottom of the transom right near the middle.

Al
Thank you also for your post. Seems to be quite a following for the G3, hopefully some here in N. California. We traveled the ICW last year from Chesapeake to Brunswick GA. The name Topsail Island rang a bell for me, we really enjoyed your area. I did get the seat drawings downloaded and will try a smaller photo file. I am now doing some glass work to prep the hull and under deck for Zolatone. The main color seems to be a light tan and appears to be original. Next I will turn over and paint hull, deck and motor. I'm not sure of the proper top coat paint or color. I think the paint store can match color if I bring a piece.
Thanks again, Jim

Another photo try

Hey Al, would you mind sending me a copy of your PDF of the seat drawing? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Hey John... that pad is cool! I want one for the Bandit!

John, I would be interested to see the "...drainplug for the "flotation airspace" at the very bottom of the transom right near the middle". I haven't known about such a thing.

Dean

deanlofall wrote:

Hey Al, would you mind sending me a copy of your PDF of the seat drawing? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Hey John... that pad is cool! I want one for the Bandit!

John, I would be interested to see the "...drainplug for the "flotation airspace" at the very bottom of the transom right near the middle". I haven't known about such a thing.

Dean

---

Thanks Dean! I can send you a "tracing" of the "sitting/kneeling"
pad if you want. I will also get some pictures of the newly upholstered pad and get them to you by e-mail as we have done before. That pad was bought new by my Dad when he purchased our G-3 and you would not believe how many other Glasspar G-3 Owners have told me "those pads did not exist" or pretty much called me a liar that it came with the boat! LOL!

Also Dean, here is an attached picture of the drainplug for the
flotation "airsapce" between the inside floor and the bottom of the boat:

(Dean: That brass looking plug just below the jackplate/motor is what I was talking about.) It came with the boat.

Hello again
As I was cleaning up after working on my boat today I was looking at the G3 badges from the side of the boat, they are made of plastic. They are black plastic with traces of gold paint that looks original. Also as I was looking at the long rub rail pieces and thinking about the other posts I have read here of guys drilling out pop rivets. My pieces were held with sheet metal screws about every 6 inches. This also appeared to be original as there were no other holes and a rivet won't fit through the screw hole, also the old hard sealant seemed original. The screws were very troublesome to remove as they were galvanized and corroded to the aluminum channel, had to fiddle with them for about 4 hours. The screws were through both flanges but several had missed the glass in the hull.
Just thought I'd mention this as it seems unusual.
Jim

Jkerrigan7373 wrote:

Al
Thank you also for your post. Seems to be quite a following for the G3, hopefully some here in N. California. We traveled the ICW last year from Chesapeake to Brunswick GA. The name Topsail Island rang a bell for me, we really enjoyed your area. I did get the seat drawings downloaded and will try a smaller photo file. I am now doing some glass work to prep the hull and under deck for Zolatone. The main color seems to be a light tan and appears to be original. Next I will turn over and paint hull, deck and motor. I'm not sure of the proper top coat paint or color. I think the paint store can match color if I bring a piece.
Thanks again, Jim

---

Jim:

You mentioned in your post to Al that you were going to use "Zolatone" on the inside of your G-3. As you described it, the color that your G-3 has is most likely MEDUSA GRAY. The code on that color from Zolatone is: ZOL 20-45-1. I used the same color on our 1960 G-3 as well as our 1960 Glasspar Seafair Sedan.

I found that one of the best suppliers of "Zolatone" is this company located in San Diego, California:

TCP Global
6695 Rasha Street
San Diego, California 92121
(858) 909-2110

They are a great company to deal with, their prices were alot lower than what I could get it for locally here in eastern N.C. and they provide excellent customer support for using the product.
I have to add that it is tricky to apply, very thick stuff.
When you get to that point on your G-3 let me know and I will try to tell you what worked for me.

Jim:

Here is a photo of what the "Zolatone" MEDUSA GRAY Color looks like.
This was a photo of the coating under the splashwell on our 1960 Glasspar Seafair Sedan BEFORE we did the refurbish work.

See if that color isn't pretty close to what you see on your G-3??

WOW "J" , Did you also get that Six Cyl Merc with the G-3 .??
What model is the motor,,, & is it a SHORT mid section lower.?
That would be a rare piece. During the 50 years + it is possible
other owners worked on your hull, or it is again a early production piece with the serial # .

Mr. Split
The boat came with a 1962 Mercury 700 short shaft. I was told the engine runs great and the lower unit had just been overhauled. It also came with a prop that was not installed, but I'm not sure if it is proper DxP. It is 12-15 two blade by Quicksilver. I noticed the Ride Glide steering wheel also had a Quicksilver badge, is this an aftermarket distributor? The S/N G3 A 9050 is pretty early, I think. Maybe the builders had not yet started using rivets as it sure didn't appear to have ever been disturbed. It is a great project, but we are 30 miles from town so I need to plan ahead for supplies a little better.
Thank you for your post. Jim

WOW ,Jim did you really score. QUICK-Silver is the MERCURY name for all their accessories.. Even find the cans of oil as Quicksilver Name brand.. Ride Guide is also the Merc name for steering systems. This can be found on other boats early 60's'... Glasspar had their own steering wheel , as a white twisted ROPE design.. & another very rare
Mercury steering wheel is a light blue color KEIKHAEFER logo if you every see in a barn or flea market..
Other classic wheels are W / C for Wilcox Crittenden or a Volrath or Keiner. If it looks classic & cheap, buy it , can always ship to another member 45 - $50 range. Cracks can be patched, re=painted, etc. . I think that prop may be the right size to try, good to have anyway & not search market at retail price..

Mr. Split
Thanks for the Quicksilver information , I will keep an eye out got these things. Today I went to town and picked up enough supplies to carry on for quite a while. I think I will use epoxy primer before the Zolatone. A little glass work tomorrow and I will be ready to spray hull and under deck. I'll try another photo.
Thanks to all, Jim

Photo experiment ?

Hey Jim,

So your transom is solid? Nearly every boat that hasn't been garaged its whole life (like John's) has had rotted wood in the transom.

Very cool on the engine... I have a 1963 L6 850.

You mentioned that you had a Quicksilver Ride-Guide wheel. If you need the Quicksilver decal, I have some. Here is the wheel that came on my '59.

Hey John,

Now I see what you mean regarding the drain plug. My '59 didn't have one, and after I bought Bandit and found the below deck space was flooded with rainwater, I had to have one! I drained buckets of water through a hole I drilled...

Then I installed a plug like yours once the hull was painted:

Now I have no holes in the transom, except those needed to mount the motor and the drain plug holes. Even that speed pickup is mounted to the CMC unit.

I've also installed 4" access plates under the splash well, so I can fully vent the bilge while the boat is stored in the shop. You cant have enough ventilation when a boat is stored

Jim,
Another neat thing about that 700 inline-6 is that with the correct thrust washer, props from all the FGS (full gear shift) inline-6 Mercs up through 1988, and the 4 cyl 650, 4 cyl 800, & 4 cyl 850 Mercs will fit your prop shaft.
This will make experimenting with various diameters & pitch much more reasonable as there are a TON of those used props floating around.
Once you determine what diameter & pitch work the best you can buy a nice shiny new prop.
I have a pretty decent stash of used parts for that Merc if (when) you discover you need some NLA part, and I will coach you through any maintenance or repairs as questions pop up.
Doc Frankenmerc

Mr. Bandit
Thanks for the information. Here is a photo of the wheel I have it appears to be different from yours. There is only one badge in the center and it is very faded. This setup fits the only cut out in the dash but it hangs down a bit and the rack is visible. All of the steering is in good shape, but I'm not sure how it connects to the engine. I think a part is missing that the cable end fits to but I'm not that far along yet.
Thanks also to Dr. Frankenmerc for the propeller tips.
It's very cold here so I need to find some kind of shop heater before I can start painting.
Again, thanks to all, Jim
HAPPY THANKSGIVING

deanlofall wrote:

Hey John,

Now I see what you mean regarding the drain plug. My '59 didn't have one, and after I bought Bandit and found the below deck space was flooded with rainwater, I had to have one! I drained buckets of water through a hole I drilled...

Then I installed a plug like yours once the hull was painted:

Now I have no holes in the transom, except those needed to mount the motor and the drain plug holes. Even that speed pickup is mounted to the CMC unit.

I've also installed 4" access plates under the splash well, so I can fully vent the bilge while the boat is stored in the shop. You cant have enough ventilation when a boat is stored

---

Dean:

Thanks for your reply and photos!

Wow, I didn't realize that Glasspar made any of the G-3's WITHOUT that "air/flotation area" plug?? Ours has always had it, although I had to install a new brass plug (like yours) after a sorry thief STOLE my ORIGINAL plug from the inside of our G-3 at the 2009 "Sunnyland" Antique Boat Show in Mt. Dora, Fla.!! GRRRRR!
Unfortunately,...I could not find another one like the original
one that came with our G-3. BTW,.....I have never returned to that Mt.Dora Show with my G-3 and won't ever go again with a boat either.

I really like those "access plates" you installed under your splashwell! Good idea Dean. If I ever have to re-do our transom or floor I will definitely use that idea. Thanks buddy!

Good match with the 700. I have the chart of prop part numbers and specs for the early motors. I use a 15" for towing with the motor in a lower notch. A 18" bronze or 19" alum for general running around and have a 21" cupped for light weight trimmed up speed. Not much good for any thing else. I anyone is interested in the chart files of prop part numbers let me know. Oh! the chart is for mercury props.

drain plug - mine is a hole with brass Ferrell and Thermos type plug accessible only from outside and inside access for another one on the right side transom

keep'em floating

Howard long time no see, welcome back. Have you trailered the g3 across any mountains lately? If possible I would like a copy of your chart. I still have a few merc motors and props laying around. I certainly would not mind knowing what I have. Oh and did I ever thank you for towing my 67 g3 across that lagoon in Florida?
Float Happy - Al
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Hello, A fellow called today and offered me a G3 on a trailer with a 50
Hp Johnson engine. As I am just starting my first restoration is it a good idea to start filling the yard with old boats or is this just a rookie impulse? I am really excited about the first one, a 1959, are there years to be avoided? What are the differences other than the split deck and open deck? Thanks for your sage advice.
Jim

Jim, I am of the belief that even tho' you can only float one at a time that one g3 is not enough! I have 5, a 59, 60, 61, 66, and a 67. I picked them up because they were g3's. The 67 Sandy and I took to the International g3 rally where Howard towed me back to the ramp. The 59 I want to redo for myself, My son wants the 60, my grandson the 66, and the wife wants to bury the 61 in the front yard to use as a planter.

g3's come in different sizes. All original g3's like yours is 13'7", The Super g built by Glasspar was 16' approx.

the Catalina g3 aka Larson/Glasspar g3 started out @ 14'2" in 1969 and ended up around 15' in 1974.

All g3's have a following. If only to trade for emblems or resell to a friend or do over for a family member the second g3 is not a bad idea. Float Happy - Al

Jim:

As always,...Al has done a good job of covering the "span" of G-3's from 1959 to 1960!

I would add that the later years had FIBERGLASS stringers, not the wood stringers like your 1959 and my 1960 have. If the floor has to be replaced, (as Al's had to be) it is MUCH easier with the fiberglass stringers versus the wood. I don't recall what year Glasspar started putting the fiberglass stringers in, but I THINK it was around 1965. Al can probably give you the exact date.

Which G-3 years are the best is kind of "personal preference." I think they are all great looking boats, although personally I don't care for the Larson Model G-3's that were built without the sponsons. Like Al said,..."each of the years have a following."

Jim:

Here is a picture of what the fiberglass stringers look like in a
Glasspar Seafair Sedan. This is a boat our ECGOA Group is restoring at Al's house. The floor in this Seafair was badly rotted as well as the transom.

Hello
I took Al's advice and towed this home from our Thanksgiving visit. I got to tires from Tractor Supply, mounted them up with a couple of screwdrivers and off we went (200+) miles. It is a 1964 open deck with a 50hp Johnson that turns by hand. Owner had not seen it run as he got it abandoned off a job site. The transom sounds pretty soft but the floor didn't seem to move when he bounced on it. I will put it in a shed until I finish the 59.
I hope I'm not going down the wrong path but it seems there are quite a few classic boats out there just for the taking. Please intervene if you see signs of addiction. Thanks again to all for your input and advice.
Jim

Photo

Good evening
After some checking today the engine on the 64 G3 seems to be a75hp? The S/N V4SL-16A was on the engine base. The boat S/N is 13A4006. The foredeck is different as it has a raised edge and the dash top has a tray like area.
As for ongoing work I didn't know Zolatone was not locally available so I ordered it today. I am ready to spray when it arrives with recommended larger gun tip. I am having a struggle getting hull numbers off, any tips?
I guess I will use Awlgrip for hull painting, but I have not used it below the waterline. I hope it will be ok as the boat will not be kept in the water for a prolonged time. Any tips on my fishing exhibition here? Thanks
Jim

I did order the Zolatone today from TCP GLOBAL. They suggested a larger tip and needle for my gun. It should be here this week so I can carry on.
Jim

Jim:

I like your "new to you" 1964 G-3!! Those Johnson 75 H.P. Outboards are VERY good motors! We had one our 1960 G-3 for over fifteen years with no problems whatsoever. My Dad eventually had to let it go for a later model Merc 65. But I wish I still had that old motor. Fiberglassics Member Jim L. can give you some good advice on the motors as he has one on his antique boat.