1957 Glasspar Club Lido
Although at first glance it didn't look like much, Dick Mickelson's 1957 Glaspar Club Lido has proven to be one of his favorite treasures.
January 1, 2006
Growing up with an older brother isn't always easy. For Dick Mickelson, it became just a
little less painful when his brother bought a brand new 1956 Glasspar Club Lido. With it came a new
life centered around summer watersports.
Family time spent on the water in one of his boats was exactly what Bill Tritt, founder of Glasspar, had imagined when he started his company. His vision was shared by many families in the '50s, a decade that launched an era of outdoor recreation.
Tritt founded Glasspar in Costa Mesa, California. The company began building primarily fiberglass sailboats, masts, spars, and even automobile bodies. An early pioneer in reinforced plastics, he was quick to see the market shift to power boats, and so he tooled a complete line of nicely styled boats that performed as well as they looked. He was in the right place at the right time, and best of all, had the right product.
Glasspar boats became known for their intricate details, which made them labor intensive to build, but set them apart from the rest of the fiberglass market. The boats helped fill the wide gap between the sea of basic fiberglass runabouts that had inundated the market and deluxe wood boats. Tritt's Glasspar styling had the flowing, curved lines that reinforced plastics allowed, yet it still clung to classic shapes and traditional details.
It's those traditional lines that brought Dick Mickelson back into Glasspar ownership. While passing through a small town on his way home from a fishing adventure, he caught a glimpse of a familiar shape behind a bait shop. Stopping to look, he found himself in front of a beaten and tired Glasspar Club Lido. The design was exactly as he remembered it, but it took a lot of imagination to see any potential in this particular boat.
Fond memories of the great times spent with the old Glasspar, along with an incredibly low asking price, were about all that this old Club Lido had going for it. It was enough for Dick to take the leap.
It was 1979, and no one else was refinishing fiberglass boats. Dick decided to start the refurbishment on his own. 'I can hardly call it a restoration,' he admits. 'I was just putting a new finish on an old boat.' The windshield and hardware are all original. Dick was able to salvage the plywood from the seats to use for patterns. He used the original rubberized horsehair padding, added a little foam and reupholstered the seats himself, using his mother's sewing machine. Dick's upholstery job lasted from 1980 until he had it professionally done last year.
'I sanded the black gelcoat down and primed it with two coats of two-part duPont Imron primer,' says Dick. 'This is a really heavy primer that filled the small spider cracks. Then I sprayed the color on.' He did all of this himself with his Sears air sprayer and compressor out on his driveway on a cool Saturday morning. 'I did it early, in hopes that there wouldn't be any bugs out,' explains Dick. When it dried, he applied the white deck striping. Once the striping was on, he used Imron clear coat to seal in the tape. Today, after 25 years, it still looks like new.
The Glasspar has given Dick a new sense of adventure. He has trailered the boat down to Florida and tackled the seas of Cape Kennedy, launched it in the harbor of the grand Lake Superior, and traveled down the Mississippi from St. Paul, over to Des Moines, and back home.
'There are three things behind my involvement with this boat,' says Dick. 'The first is the remembrance of growing up with my brother's boat. It's like I'm saving a piece of my past. Second is the pride of ownership and the fact that I've done the work myself. The third is having a boat that's really different.'
'When I found this boat I was looking at junk,' admits Dick, 'but you have to look through the grime and recognize the jewel beneath.'
Family time spent on the water in one of his boats was exactly what Bill Tritt, founder of Glasspar, had imagined when he started his company. His vision was shared by many families in the '50s, a decade that launched an era of outdoor recreation.
Tritt founded Glasspar in Costa Mesa, California. The company began building primarily fiberglass sailboats, masts, spars, and even automobile bodies. An early pioneer in reinforced plastics, he was quick to see the market shift to power boats, and so he tooled a complete line of nicely styled boats that performed as well as they looked. He was in the right place at the right time, and best of all, had the right product.
Glasspar boats became known for their intricate details, which made them labor intensive to build, but set them apart from the rest of the fiberglass market. The boats helped fill the wide gap between the sea of basic fiberglass runabouts that had inundated the market and deluxe wood boats. Tritt's Glasspar styling had the flowing, curved lines that reinforced plastics allowed, yet it still clung to classic shapes and traditional details.
It's those traditional lines that brought Dick Mickelson back into Glasspar ownership. While passing through a small town on his way home from a fishing adventure, he caught a glimpse of a familiar shape behind a bait shop. Stopping to look, he found himself in front of a beaten and tired Glasspar Club Lido. The design was exactly as he remembered it, but it took a lot of imagination to see any potential in this particular boat.
Fond memories of the great times spent with the old Glasspar, along with an incredibly low asking price, were about all that this old Club Lido had going for it. It was enough for Dick to take the leap.
It was 1979, and no one else was refinishing fiberglass boats. Dick decided to start the refurbishment on his own. 'I can hardly call it a restoration,' he admits. 'I was just putting a new finish on an old boat.' The windshield and hardware are all original. Dick was able to salvage the plywood from the seats to use for patterns. He used the original rubberized horsehair padding, added a little foam and reupholstered the seats himself, using his mother's sewing machine. Dick's upholstery job lasted from 1980 until he had it professionally done last year.
'I sanded the black gelcoat down and primed it with two coats of two-part duPont Imron primer,' says Dick. 'This is a really heavy primer that filled the small spider cracks. Then I sprayed the color on.' He did all of this himself with his Sears air sprayer and compressor out on his driveway on a cool Saturday morning. 'I did it early, in hopes that there wouldn't be any bugs out,' explains Dick. When it dried, he applied the white deck striping. Once the striping was on, he used Imron clear coat to seal in the tape. Today, after 25 years, it still looks like new.
The Glasspar has given Dick a new sense of adventure. He has trailered the boat down to Florida and tackled the seas of Cape Kennedy, launched it in the harbor of the grand Lake Superior, and traveled down the Mississippi from St. Paul, over to Des Moines, and back home.
'There are three things behind my involvement with this boat,' says Dick. 'The first is the remembrance of growing up with my brother's boat. It's like I'm saving a piece of my past. Second is the pride of ownership and the fact that I've done the work myself. The third is having a boat that's really different.'
'When I found this boat I was looking at junk,' admits Dick, 'but you have to look through the grime and recognize the jewel beneath.'
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1957 Glasspar Club Lido: Although at first glance it didn't look like much, Dick Mickelson's 1957 Glaspar Club Lido has proven to be one of his favorite treasures.
