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| Reprinted from Boating magazine |
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| By Charles Plueddeman |
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Did you ever notice that the first two guests to clamber aboard your boat always sit in the corner? Just like the end seats on your living room couch, the corner positions are the most comfortable spots on a runabout bench seat, which is why Glastron made sure that in its new 25’ GXL 255, those coveted corners are curved. The entire seat, in fact, wraps around the aft end of this bowrider’s spacious 9’-long cockpit.
Those corner seats are further preserved by a cockpit walkthrough positioned on the center, rather than outboard, of the sunpad. Flip up a padded hatch on the sunpad and there’s a textured fiberglass pathway underneath. The center seat cushion slips over to create a handy step-down to the sole. A head compartment in the port console offers 3’2" of headroom, enough for the kids who are most likely to use it. The main unit for a the CD stereo with Sirius satellite radio receiver is located on the aft bulkhead of this compartment, well out of the weather but a little hard to reach when you want to insert a CD. There’s a remote for all other stereo functions on the dash.
In terms of styling and features, Glastron has gone upscale with the GXL 255. The seats and inwale panels feature swoopy, molded curves covered in multicolored vinyl. SuspensionAire bucket seats are supported by high-quality, smooth-sliding Garelick pedestals. The bow seating area is as curvaceously comfortable as the aft seat. Filler cushions that convert the aft seat to a lounge are standard and stow in the engine bay.
The 320-hp MerCruiser MX 6.2 MPI Bravo Three powered my test boat with satisfying authority. The engine was smooth and quiet and pushed the GXL 255 on plane in an instant. Just touch the throttle and you go faster. The rev limiter kicks in at 5350 rpm, so this package can run smaller props for outstanding acceleration. In my opinion, there’s no reason to order more horsepower.
Test Power
Single 320-hp MerCruiser MX 6.2 MPI Bravo Three V-8 gasoline stern drive with 377 CID, 4.00" bore x 3.75" stroke, swinging a 28"-pitch ss propset through a 2.2:1 reduction.
CERTIFIED TEST RESULTS |
| SPEED |
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EFFICIENCY |
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OPERATION |
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| rpm |
knots |
mph |
gph |
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naut.
mpg |
stat.
mpg |
n. mi
range |
s. mi
range |
|
run
angle |
sound
level |
| 1000 |
5.3 |
6.1 |
1.9 |
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2.8 |
3.2 |
141 |
162 |
|
1 |
69 |
| 1500 |
7.1 |
8.2 |
3.3 |
|
2.2 |
2.5 |
109 |
125 |
|
3 |
77 |
| 2000 |
10.7 |
12.3 |
4.8 |
|
2.2 |
2.6 |
112 |
129 |
|
4 |
76 |
| 2500 |
18.7 |
21.5 |
6.2 |
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3.0 |
3.5 |
152 |
175 |
|
7 |
76 |
| 3000 |
24.6 |
28.3 |
8.3 |
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3.0 |
3.4 |
149 |
172 |
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2 |
77 |
| 3500 |
29.2 |
33.6 |
10.6 |
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2.8 |
3.2 |
139 |
160 |
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2 |
77 |
| 4000 |
34.6 |
39.8 |
14.3 |
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2.4 |
2.8 |
122 |
140 |
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1 |
82 |
| 4500 |
39.6 |
45.6 |
18.2 |
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2.2 |
2.5 |
110 |
126 |
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1 |
86 |
| 5000 |
44.8 |
51.6 |
22.8 |
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2.0 |
2.3 |
99 |
114 |
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1 |
87 |
| 5200 |
46.6 |
53.6 |
23.6 |
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2.0 |
2.3 |
99 |
114 |
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1 |
87 |
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| for GXL 255 photos, specifications, options, etc. |
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| © 2007 Glastron Boats |
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