I'm taking a stand, right here, right now: I think you should always be able to stand when driving a boat. That's why the Glastron 279 immediately took my fancy. It has plenty of room between the driver's seat and the helm, allowing me to stand and get a good view, not to mention a refreshing face full of wind.
But don't let the stand-up driving position fool you into thinking the GS 279 is another boring mid-cabin family barge. With a sharp-for-a-cruiser deadrise of 20 degrees at the transom, this boat likes to lean over and carve through turns like a sportboat, a refreshing change of pace in a world populated by clodhopper cruisers.
The GS 279 also doesn't cost much. The base price includes many standard items that are commonly options on other boats, including shorepower with a 15-amp battery charger, water heater, cockpit icebox, manual china head with pumpout, microwave in the galley and trim tabs.
For comparison you might consider the Crownline 262 CR, but you have to pay extra for trim tabs and the microwave, depthsounder, shorepower and waterheater. The Crownline is 25'10", but has a 2'-deep bolt-on transom platform that's not included in the LOA. The GS 279 has an integrated platform that extends about 2' from the boat's true transom. This leaves both boats with comparable cockpit space.
OPEN UP.
The GS 279 has a cockpit-to-cabin ratio skewed toward the cockpit because most owners spend more time entertaining than they do living aboard. The aft bench seat is easy to remove, which opens up space to store bulky gear such as inflatable tow toys or creates fish-fighting room. One downside: The seat is supported by a fiberglass strut that's molded as part of the cockpit sole. This may be easier than fumbling with folding legs, but the strut is still underfoot when the seat is gone. An entertainment console to port includes a cold-water sink over an icebox in the base. A cockpit refrigerator is not offered, though one is standard in the galley.
A lounge seat along the port inwale across from the helm is about 3'10" long and has an angled backrest at the cabin bulkhead that lets you stretch out. At the helm, the back-to-back double-wide seat folds down to create a sunlounge. There's stowage in this seat base, covered by a vinyl curtain.
The helm is basic, with typical engine instruments accompanied by a Lowrance depthsounder. The helm's circuit breakers and fuses are on a panel that's angled downward to keep water from collecting. Smart. A small Ritchie compass is placed on top of the console. There's room in the helm's center panel for mounting electronics, but there is no dedicated compartment for the VHF.
Steps molded into the sliding cabin hatch make it easy to get out to the foredeck, which is finished in grippy nonslip and surrounded by a stout rail.
SMART SPACE.
Despite the space advantage the cockpit boasts, the cabin of the GS 279 is still comfortably livable. There's more than 6' of headroom throughout, and the cabin footwell is 2' wide and more than 3' long. A U-shaped settee forward can be used as a dinette or converted to a V-berth. The galley is to port and includes a sink with a cutting board top and a single-burner alcohol/electric stove in the countertop. A microwave is above the sink and a refrigerator below.
All the cabinets below decks are constructed of rich cherrywood plastic-laminated plywood. Unfortunately, the plastic strips that cover the edges don't look particularly upscale. Even a little hardwood trim would dress up things and be more durable. In contrast, the headliner is nicely finished with stretched vinyl.
The head has 5' of headroom and includes a hand-pump porcelain commode, a stainless-steel sink and a nifty gasketed stowage box for toilet paper. There's no port, but a fan vents the compartment. The bottom of the compartment, however, is plastic-covered wood laminate with a thick bead of silicone at the seam. This makes me wonder if it will allow water seepage over time.
At 7'-by-4', the mid-cabin berth has plenty of space for a couple to sleep comfortably. There's even 2'10" of headroom in its entryway to port, enough for me to sit upright. A sliding port to the cockpit lets in breezes, and a light illuminates the area at night.
BOB AND WEAVE.
As mentioned, handling the GS 279 is a lot of fun. It heels over and carves neatly through a variety of maneuvers. However, the combination of a deep-V hull and narrow beam for this size boat also means the GS 279 feels rather tender in the crosswind. Even a moderate lake breeze was cause enough to lower the trim tabs to settle the ride. I didn't encounter more than a light chop, but through that the ride was nice.
The GS 279 is offered with a single small-block engine, which rests on stringers of treated plywood encapsulated in glass and resin. Base power is either a 270-hp model from Volvo Penta, with options up to 320 hp from Volvo and 320 from Merc. Our boat had the 315-hp Volvo Penta 5.7 GXi.
Mated to a DuoProp drive, the small block produced excellent acceleration with minimal bowrise in our lightly loaded test boat and raced to an average top speed of 44.7 mph. A small block is often more fuel efficient than a big block. Even at wide open throttle, we burned only 22.2 gph. A big block engine would almost always be more.
LAST WORD.
A mid-cabin cruiser that carves sharp turns and features a smart use of space.
TEST BOAT POWER.
Single 315-hp Volvo Penta GXi/DP V-8 gasoline 5.7 stern drive with 350 cid, 4.00" bore x 3.48" stroke, swinging an F4 propset through a 1.95:1 reduction.
CERTIFIED TEST RESULTS
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