2003 Glastron GX 205 Incoming trade. V-8 Power and Trailer. The Glastron GX 205 puts more than enough power at your fingertips, and its excellent handling makes that power easy to wield. However, the 205 is more than just a powerhouse; it's also the archetype for getting every detail just right. Whenever a boat starts with Genmar's Virtual Engineered Composites (VEC) technology as its foundation, it already has a good leg up on comparable models. It's like being born into royalty. The Glastron GX 205 makes good use of the VEC technology, but it also crams a lot of great features into its just-under-20-foot hull. We were impressed by the boat's high-energy attitude and its spare-nothing fit and finish. Although a 190 hp 4.3L MerCruiser stern drive is standard power on the GX 205, our test boat had the more powerful 5.0L Volvo Penta (available in 220 or 270 hp). We were more than satisfied with the 5.0L, but we wouldn't recommend going any lower in power. If speed is an important factor to you, you can probably squeeze an extra 5 or 6 mph of top-end speed from the GX 205 if you further upgraded to one of the available 5.7L engines, but we were happy with the top speed of our test boat: 50.3 mph (at 4,800 rpm). We doubt that the more powerful engines would affect cruising speed as significantly, and that's the speed you'll probably be traveling most of the time, anyway. Cruising speed for us was around 30.5 mph (at 3,000 rpm). There was a light chop when we tested the boat out of Tampa Bay, Florida, and our test boat's fuel tank was 3/8 full when we clocked our speeds. We had two adults on board; however, the boat has a maximum capacity of 10 people (or 1,475 lbs.). The first word we thought of to describe the GX 205's ride was "spunky." The boat jumped to plane in just 4 seconds. The GX 205 has a low bow, so we always had good visibility, even when getting on plane. Moreover, the boat offered tight, flat turns at wide-open throttle. It has a tendency to wander at the 1,000 rpms, but that wasn't a big deal. - Incoming Trade
