Gladiator reviews
 

Guys, im selling my Fastech and looking into the idea of a Gladiator, looking for your pro's and cons of a performance V bottom sit down, Kinda got used to the bolsters, but love the idea of a sports car feeling.Previouse and current owners, how do you like the boat overall?

Love the boat!! Sitting down is the only way to go. Mine is for sale. Lets make a deal!!!

I absolutly love my Gladiator. It is like driving a sports car. Sitting takes a little getting used to as far as reading the waves go, but once you get the feel, you will love it. the two man operation is the safest way to run hard. I have stock 500 efi's and the boat runs 88 mph all day long and have hit 91 with a light load !!

Mine is also going to be up for sale. I am going back to a Gun or Tiger for the purpose of the cabin. My wife, who never ever used the cabin in our previous boats now wants a cabin.

Bob
518 361-6521

$129,000.00 is my asking price

mine is for sale in the classifieds

doesnt get much nicer than this one

That boat is my favorite Gladiator out there, especially since it repainted the worst designed (paint) Gladiator built! :rolleyes:

Love mine. Ride is spectacular. Build quality is superb. It is extremely fast. Best lines on the water. My wife understands sacrifices need to be made:party-smiley-004: and it is not for sale, probably never will be:drink:.

I hear you on all issues. I am really torn as to getting rid of mine to get back into a cabin boat.

Its going to cost me between 50 and 100K to have a cabin instead of the Gladiator. I will never ever get the speed or that sports car feel that I do with similar power in a Tiger. But it is hard to entertain with the Glad.and the Tiger is more of a wave crusherin the rough stuff in the Atlantic.

If it sells..it sells. If not, not a wink of sleep lost.

Im not really activly shopping a new boat. I have one Tiger in mind that caught my eye and is in my range. We shall see how it plays out

Gladiator = Corvette
Tiger = Hummer

Would love to entertian that thought, but i just bought a cruiser this weekend and dont really need 3 boats, need to sale the Formula, just doing some research at this time.

You guys doing the poker run this weekend? O and welcome to the OTHER side!
Q

no I will just be a spectator, when will mike have the new docks in at Clearwater?

He said 30 days or so. And we need to get back on the subject, GLAD's.
Q

You will absolutely love the Gladiator. If you want a little more cockpit room, try to find a side by side setup. They are almost identical to the staggered Gladiators as far as performance is concerned.

There are also two different cockpit widths to choose from, one obviously being wider than the other. Sitting down rules. Long trips don't beat your knee's to death and the stepped hull smooths the landings out dramatically over a standard bottom boat.

I think you'll have a chitload of fun if you get one!!:drink:

is it hard to see over the bow for a small guy in the sitdown cockpit?

How is the rear seat visibility?

Great pleasure boat, fast sleek lines.....Just dont get crazy trying to turn one at high speeds....

Well put and my problem exactly. We love to bring people along and bail out at the lake. I know some Glads have swim platforms but I would think it would still be difficult to board with the painted engine hatch. I think I'll be in another Gun or Tiger.

So are the Gladiators more prone to roll overs than say a 35 or 38TS, im sure this will perk up some ears and start some shiot, but I haul kids around at times, of course putting around, and would really like to know the quirks of this ride, not to mention the congestion of Grand at times with the accasional idiot pulling out in front of you.Tres will def be on my calender.

Good question GrandTimes!

I always guessed the boat was since it didn't have a cabin that could contribute to a spin easier and maybe the lower eyeline since sitting attributed it more prone to to operator error.

(How's that for PC...)

No they are not more prone. Its moron behind the wheel as to why rolls and spins happen. Theres no reason to crank the wheel over at 60, 70 80 mph. Slow down and take your turn. I have about 250hr seat time in the boat and have never felt uneasy in any situation. All Gladiator, T/S, or any boat is prone to anything if not driven correctly.

Are you serious??? Really come on. Do think about what you say??

Very nice. Yu know, everybody has their own theory I guess, I would just like to know what's B.S and whats not, as far as sitting, you would think you would have a better feel of what the boat is doing.

[QUOTE=fountain40icbm;2645648]No they are not more prone. Its moron behind the wheel as to why rolls and spins happen. Theres no reason to crank the wheel over at 60, 70 80 mph. Slow down and take your turn. I have about 250hr seat time in the boat and have never felt uneasy in any situation. All Gladiator, T/S, or any boat is prone to anything if not driven correctly.[/QUOTE

I agree with you probably 75% is driver error, but the question is what causes the Gladiator to be in the spotlight, maybe just a coiencedence.

[QUOTE=GrandTimes;2645679]Just cause there's not alot of them out there. They've built 49 I think. There have been more incidents with TG's just there's alot of them out there same with Fountains ect......There is nothing wrong with the Gladiator. Like any TS respect the boat and you will be fine.

[QUOTE=GrandTimes;2645679]I am sure that any spin outs, flips and other accidents can be accounted for on this fourm.

If we count them we should also count other manufactures also.
I can possibly recall only one that was not race related and it may have been a Top Gun.

You are right on the money! I raced a twin step 38 TG a full season and never spun or even came close.

The issue with the Gladiator- and some other step boats- is there's a "technique" to turning them. Done properly, there's no reason you should ever experience a spin or a roll- or even the semi-roll where the occupants get tossed. The issue I'd have is using one at speed on any smaller body of water. On the ocean or the Great Lakes, you have all sorts of vision around you. I see some of these lakes that aren't anything more than congested rivers. That scares me enough, but the thought of having to execute an emergency evasive maneuver in a boat that is more sensitive to preparation, setup and turning technique would be a concern for me.

You can crash anything- but some are easier. Prudently used, you should never have a problem.

Like fountain40icbm said, no they are not. It is like Chris said, a different technique than a straight bottom. If you bring it to Grand Lake, I'll be happy to ride along with you and give you any help you ask for. I had a T/S Top Gun and have driven/ridden in many fast Gladiators. They are sweet boats. :cool:


Oh, and the 35T/S doens't have a notch in it's transom, making it able to turn the sharpest.

MM, I would think the issue of not having the weight of a cabin would actually help prevent a spin out/hook and not exacerbate it. With less weight up front, my thinking would be that the boat would more easily carry the bow and thereby have less of a tendency to stick the nose in the water if you did trim down. Of course, there are more factors involved than just drive trim angle. I've never owned or raced one so there are many more qualified people than me to comment on this. I'm just thinking out loud - which is usually a fairly dangerous proposition for me!!!

:drink:

Appreciate that Lee, however, a charity ride in the 368 sounds mo' better.
hopfully I'll get mine sold and get to do some #1 shopping soon.

We can do that too! :drink:

Who would be interested in sayyyy a 20'6" boat that is styled after a gladiator?single engine, 525 to 700 sci power?

Any stepped hull has to be driven differently than a straight hull. You do not want to "tuck" the drives in when turning a stepped hull like you might on a conventional V. When you are turning the stepped hulls at speed, you want to prevent the front of the boat from digging into the turn because the steps will allow the bottom to break contact with the water and cause the rear to loose bite and come around. It took me a while to learn the ins and outs of running my 29' Kryptonite (single step and notched transom) after running a 22' Donzi classic and racing a 29' Mirage.
Stepping up to my 38' Comp was easy compared to the Kryptonite.

By the way, I love running a sit down boat and for poker runs would not want anything else. For entertaining, it is not so good...that is why I have friends with cruisers and center consoles to raft up with.

Yes, as a matter of fact I am serious. It might just be me but it looks like you agree that it is driver err... well let me let you say it:

Look between this post and the one I quoted- sounds like a few more might point towards driver error as well...

:rolleyes:

As you see I said I have always "guessed"- look up what that word means, I don't have time.

~Less weight of not having a cabin- could make the boat a little more flightly than a heavier boat

~looks like there would be less visibility (again guess since I have driven one and never have claimed to have done so) than if it were a stand up boat (looking down at waves to me is easier to read how they are running and the size of them)

~sitting and bolstered in (sort of like a sports car feel is what I have heard but again- just a guess...)

So I was guessing all those things might give the driver a little bit more confidence which causes them to drive above their skill level when they normally wouldn't. Guess you don't agree- please feel free to edit your post accordingly..

Good points Croozin!

Are there any physical differences between the different years of the gladiator?

There was a rumored bottom tweak in 03-04' but I think it is mostly cockpit styles, air intakes etc.

Visibility is not a problem on plane, only getting on plane. In addition to knowing how to turn, you want to be careful crossing the disturbed water of someone else's wake. That is a stepped bottom trait and Tres will cover that in detail

Handles GREAT!!:drink::party-smiley-004:

With that said, I've ridden in a couple (including one of the ones pictured bellow) Both ran very well, no issues. They cornered like they were on rails!

For more info check this thread
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...ight=gladiator