Glastron GTS 187 Questions

[bjnacc]

Hi all- I have some specific questions for the Glastron jet owners on this forum and I'm hoping you can help me out. We are 99% sure we want to purchase a new GTS 187 next spring...but we are having a hard time finding any info on people's experience with these boats. The boat site/magazine/dealer info and reviews don't satisfy me because they are unwilling to say anything bad about a boat- I need some real-world feedback from the people who own these boats. I am coming from the stern-drive world so I know nothing about jets. The reason we are so excited about this boat is that we have 20 inches of water at the end of our dock and we are tired of prop issues- but we want to be sure that the boat can handle our tow-sport needs too. I realize that it's not a ski specific inboard and I don't expect it to perform as such...but I do like to slalom ski every weekend and my kids are curious about wakesurfing. So my questions are:

How loud is the Rotax 250hp; We do not have any weeds in our lake (clear and clean), but we do have a sandy bottom. Will the jet suck sand up?; What is the ski ride like behind this boat?; Is it possible to wakesurf? How does the boat handle big waves (we are on a large windy lake)? Is there anything that anyone doesn't like about the boat?

 

[Briwhy]

I have a GTS207 and I love it. I do wakeboarding behind it but I have never wake surfed. I think without ballast it would be tough. If you are coming from a stern drive it's going to take some time getting used to slow maneuvering at the docks. As far as chop goes I believe the boat handles it well. I suggest getting a wakeboarding tower if it doesn't have one. If you can get the 207 instead of the 187. Buy bigger first. 3 things I don't like about my boat is there is no built in cooler, no anchor locker and it's hard on fuel. I have the 250hp supercharged and can hit around 43mph on a smooth lake. You have to remember though there is no prop down in the water holding you steady so sometimes the boat can slide out on you. I came from a stern drive and now that I'm used to driving a jet boat I will never go back. There so fun to drive and once you learn the slow steering part you can walk it right up to the dock.

 

[genwrx]

I got the 207 also, the little extra room is nice, the lake i go to is also pretty choppy, it handles it pretty well but i still plan on putting trim tabs on sometime later which will help smooth the ride out even more. I wasn't able to do to much slalom skiing this year so can't report to much until next year, the one time i did get up on the ski, the boat did well for the whole 10 seconds i was up lol. I do recommend finding a calm marina for the first few times out, and if you go with a 207, a tandem axel trailer

 

[Scottintexas]

I agree with the above posts even though I don't own a glastron, the biggest thing I would stress is that you take a test ride in the actual boat you intend to buy to make sure it accelerates and rides to your satisfaction and doesn't pull to one side,

 

[bjnacc]

Hey thanks you guys, I really appreciate the tips. I'm so glad to hear that you love the boat...and they are such killer looking boats- but yes I will test drive. The dealer we are working with only sells them with the XL package w/ tower.

I was concerned about getting hit with jet-wash spray while skiing...but if you're (Briwhy) not dealing with that on a wakeboard rope (usually 65 feet) then a standard slalom rope (75 feet) should give plenty of clearance -right? Does the boat track ok when you dig in? Couple more questions: How was the noise level as compared to your old stern drives? -and any issues with the jet sucking random things up?

 

[Briwhy]

Hey thanks you guys, I really appreciate the tips. I'm so glad to hear that you love the boat...and they are such killer looking boats- but yes I will test drive. The dealer we are working with only sells them with the XL package w/ tower.

I was concerned about getting hit with jet-wash spray while skiing...but if you're (Briwhy) not dealing with that on a wakeboard rope (usually 65 feet) then a standard slalom rope (75 feet) should give plenty of clearance -right? Does the boat track ok when you dig in? Couple more questions: How was the noise level as compared to your old stern drives? -and any issues with the jet sucking random things up?

There is definitely more noise with the jet drive then the stern drive. I've never had any trouble with the boat tracking towing a wakeboarder. As far as sucking things up it definitely can happen. I've only sucked up sea weed once that caused cavitation but I was able to clear it. The rope I use for wakeboarding is a 75'

 

[d_coyne1984]

I'f you are a slalom skier you probably want to think about how hard core you are about it. In my experience with my Yamaha, you want to be a good 65-75 ft. behind the boat or you will be fighting Jet Spray. The Glastron might be better for that though because it is lighter and I don't believe it is as deep of a boat as my Yamaha 192. If you like to ski a shorter rope that will be something to think about. The 187 is a sexy boat and I almost went with one myself. I would definitely go with the 250hp engine if you can. There is (almost) no such thing as too much power on a recreational craft, especially if you want to do towing. As far as surfing goes, the 187 is far too light to produce a large enough wake to surf ropeless. Even with a bunch of ballast it will be tough. If your kids are still pretty young that might be just fine to start out on for a few years, but if they want to progress you really will want a heavier, larger, and torquier boat. For wakeboarding I have had no issue with my jet except it does not have much of a natural wake to do much for aerials, but adding ballast helps a lot and it's a blast.

 

[swatski]

Hey thanks you guys, I really appreciate the tips. I'm so glad to hear that you love the boat...and they are such killer looking boats- but yes I will test drive. The dealer we are working with only sells them with the XL package w/ tower.

I was concerned about getting hit with jet-wash spray while skiing...but if you're (Briwhy) not dealing with that on a wakeboard rope (usually 65 feet) then a standard slalom rope (75 feet) should give plenty of clearance -right? Does the boat track ok when you dig in? Couple more questions: How was the noise level as compared to your old stern drives? -and any issues with the jet sucking random things up?

To me the number one reason for a test ride would be to make sure you are okay with the noise level/ noise type. These boats are high revving and very loud, you may or may not be comfortable with that. I think that handling those boats (as different as it is) can be learned. But soundproofing is not so strait forward if you do not like the sound.

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[Colin W]

I bought a GT 187 last year, first boat for my wife and I and we absolutely love it. Fairly smooth ride and handles waves pretty well. It is a little loud but I don't think it's terrible.

 

[Terrance]

Hey there, we purchased a GT 187 Glastron last summer. We are very happy with it. The depth sounder works great in shallow water. The GT 187 v haul handles the big lake well and my son wake-boards easily behind her. Tubes and other water toys are no problem and we have the smallest engine...1.5 liter. Great on fuel for a boat. Bit noisy at top speed. Loads of fun however. Highly recommend this boat. We put over 100 hours on her last summer. needed to replace an oxygen sensor at 20 hours...warranty work though. Highly recommend this boat.

 

[Todd Chandler]

Bought the 2014 Glastron GTS187 last year tried multiple things on it works great in waves
Wanted to wake surf behind it so we first tried low speeds to see what kind of wake it made not to much went out and bought a 3 fat sacs one for the bow and two for the back now because it is jet drive and you need to keep the sacs as far back as you can we took and kept the 2 sacs on the back horizontally with the boat and tied them down hanging onto the tower and it makes pretty decent wake and works for wakesurfing tried a wake wedge the ronix 8.3 and it worked but you need something to keep the spray down it does make it harder to steer we found the best way is to keep the boat weight as even as possible from side to side and it makes a perfect wake to ride on. This boat is awesome

 

[NavyShooter]

Ahoy,

I'm driving a Glastron GT187 that we picked up last year. I've only got 20 hours on it (we kept VERY busy last year with baseball, soccer, etc, so boat-driving fell to the wayside.)

My notes on driving it for that time:

-150 Hp is just about right for my lake
-Towing 2 kids on a tube = good
-Towing 3 kids on a tube = very sluggish
-Trim is important, and must be managed by moving people around the boat. Make sure there's at least 1 adult in the bow area to counterbalance
-Speed, max attained with a clean boat/hull and just me onboard was about 43 Km/H on a smooth lake
-The built in electric horn is absolutely anemic. Get an air horn
-Gas. Hog. Goes through 100 liters in less than 2 hours.
-Loud. The amount of noise in the boat is fairly high. Going for 2 hours straight with multiple kids changing out on the tube gets kind of loud on the ears...I noted a bit of a head-ache after the longest day I had of driving the boat. Might also have been some dehydration though.

Would I buy the same boat again? Absolutely. We got it for $32K, including the trailer, drive-away cost from the boat show. The 2016 model was listed at $52K + tax/etc.

I'm planning on taking it down to Halifax Harbour this summer at some point, taking it for a spin around. Should be fun.

NS

 

[BobbyP]

I have the GTS187. 250 supercharged Absolutely love it.

Top speed is pretty noisy, just turn the stereo up!
Slow Steering drove me nuts at first, but good now.

Love having the ability to run shallow. I was in 2 ft of water today for a bit on the wolf river no problems...

 

[NavyShooter]

Shallow driving is VERY nice...14" draft is a good thing.