Design
Thunderbolt
Designed by Glen-L Marine
A 17 ft 3 in vee-drive high-performance ski boat from Glen-L Marine, built for one thing, speed; two Australian brothers held three gold cups with one powered by a big-block Chevy. A slanted transom is standard with a vertical option, and the stern-mounted engine is usually left exposed and chromed. Vee-bottomed sheet plywood, about 650 lb. Glen-L publish a beam of 6 ft 11 in and a hull depth of 25 in.
They put the usual load at 2 to 4 people. The hull is a vee bottom with flaring sides that act as anti-trip chines. Developed for sheet plywood planking. For power they specify inboard, stern mounted engine driving through a v-drive. They draw a matching trailer for her. Step-by-step photos of the prototype build come with the plans. Budget 450 to 750 hours. Real hours from logged builds are below.
What building a Thunderbolt actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Thunderbolt here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| L Capitan | Glen-L Marine | 17′ 3″ (5.26 m) | 0 |
| 17' Motorboot | Boatkits | 5.24 m (17′ 2″) | 0 |
| Gentry | Glen-L Marine | 17′ 4″ (5.28 m) | 0 |
| Classic 17 | Bateau | 17′ 2″ (5.23 m) | 0 |
| Open Classic 17 | Bateau | 17′ 2″ (5.23 m) | 0 |
| Cruise Control 5.2 | Bowdidge Marine Designs | 17′ 1″ (5.21 m) | 0 |