Advanced Technology and Innovative Design in Glastron’s GXL 205 Bowrider

Sportboat fans, get ready for a totally new 20-footer that is bound to take you by surprise.

By Capt. Gary Joyce

Test Captain

Glastron’s GXL 205 is a member of the company’s GXL bowrider line and is representative of what a combination of high-tech and smart looking design can result in: form and function in one package.

Design and Layout

Glastron added contoured foam back seating covered in high grade, leatherette-looking and feeling vinyl, to produce a luxurious and comfortable interior. Bucket seats are SuspensionAire adjustable (fore and aft and swivel) seats and feature a flip-up bolster. Ample storage is located beneath all the seating, and the aft lounge has hinged flip-up cushions, while the forward cushions are pull-outs.

Handy Storage and Features

The GXL 205 has a wakeboard locker – big enough to stash a couple of dive tanks – is located between the bucket seats, and on each side is a design cutout under the gunwales that is fully carpeted and surprisingly deep. Speakers are also located in the aft as well as forward ends of this area.

Glastron’s designers appear to have a firm grip on ergonomics when it comes to, well, firm grips. Handgrips are located on either side of the aft lounge, at the passenger seat and in the bow cockpit, and all fall to hand when needed.

Glastron has opted to do away with those miniature ankle-high transom doors and cut outs. This results in beam-to-beam utilization of the sun pad and swim platform; with the GXL 205 having an eight-foot beam. The sun pad lifts with the assistance of two pistons and reveals a very large engine bay. There is storage on both sides of the engine and there is still complete access for maintenance. I’d venture to say that if you like working on your own boat, you’re going to love the work space in the GXL 205. The battery resides on the starboard side, and the port side is just a big empty space begging to be filled; a good place for PFDs among other things.

At the Helm

The helm is fully instrumented complete with speedo, tach, trim gauge, oil pressure, voltage and comprehensive layout, which also includes a depth gauge as well. (The hour meter is located in the engine compartment.) The dash is outfitted in a shiny burlwood composite, and there’s a small, flat vinyl pad atop the dash that provides some shade to the faces. This pad could also hold a small boat depth gauge or chartplotter if desired.

The passenger side has a strip of burlwood inlay and a very deep glove box in which the AM/FM/CD radio is mounted. An option is a remote control on the helm side (and you can have one at the swim platform).

The windshield is raked way back (if you sit in the bolster position be careful about bending to scratch an ankle). It has stainless steel window supports that look like part handrail and part support. The windshield frame is aluminum and the hardware stainless steel; the walkthrough panel has a large marshmallow-size bumper for when it’s open, and a snap strap to keep it back when running.

Did I mention there are plenty of cup holders, everything drains into the bilge, and the cleats are six-inchers? The list continues to grow.

Possible Changes

Nothing’s perfect however. I would like to have seen an extended swim platform as standard equipment; there is one available as an option, however. Reversing the hinge on the floor locker to allow passengers to rummage around while underway, and adding a means of holding it open, would help.

Test Results

Our test boat cruised most economically at 3000 rpm traveling 32.1 mph, with the standard Volvo-Penta 5.0 GL with a 1.6:1 Volvo SX drive spinning a 14 x 21 Solas propeller. We were on plane in only 2.8 seconds and hit 30 mph in 5.7 seconds. Our test boat attained a top speed of 54.7 mph turning 4800 rpm. This boat handles like a sportboat is supposed to handle. It runs on rails, hook-turns at near-full-power, and exhibits no slide. In addition, she cut through wakes and swells cleanly, and was relatively dry, with hardly any hull smack. Four well-satisfied, after dinner testers clambered aboard for a high speed run back, and the boat barely changed attitude, much less performance.

There’s a wakeboard version available for those of you who want it. If you’re looking for a bowrider that will provide you with plenty of fun, I can enthusiastically recommend you look at the GXL 205. This is a roomy, comfortable, and extremely eye-catching boat.

Speeds measured with Stalker ProSports radar gun. Fuel consumption (gallons per hour) measured with Floscan digital fuel-flow meter on gas inboards, sterndrives, and outboards, TechMate electronic scan tool on gas EFI inboards, Caterpillar digital fuel-flow meter on diesel engines, or permanently installed fuel-monitoring equipment. Range is based on 90% of published fuel capacity. Sound levels determined using Radio Shack digital decibel meter on A scale. 68 dBA is the level of normal conversation.

Performance Chart

Test Conditions