The Glasspar boat-building company was started in 1947 when Bill Tritt

Bill Tritt

Bill Tritt began working in Glass-reinforced plastic in 1948. He founded Glasspar Corporation in 1949 due to his keen interest in boats and cars and his belief in fiberglass as a material....

 began building small fiberglass boat hulls in his Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...

 fiberglass shop.

Origins

Bill Tritt

Bill Tritt

Bill Tritt began working in Glass-reinforced plastic in 1948. He founded Glasspar Corporation in 1949 due to his keen interest in boats and cars and his belief in fiberglass as a material....

 had a keen interest in boats and cars

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 before World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, when he studied marine architecture and boat-building at California State Teacher's College

California University of Pennsylvania

California University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in California, Pennsylvania, USA. Founded in 1852, it is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Cal U's enrollment is approximately 9,400.The main campus consists of about 38 buildings situated on 92 acres...

 in Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

. He worked for Douglas Aircraft's

Douglas Aircraft Company

The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer, based in Long Beach, California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas, Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas...

 Production Planning and Illustration Departments during WWII

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and by 1945 had built a number of catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

 sailboats. In 1947, John Green, a yachtsman friend, paid Tritt to design and build a racing sailboat in the 20 feet (6.1 m) range. Fiberglass seemed the logical construction material, and Otto Bayer of Wizard Boats was enlisted as laminator. The boat was named the Green Dolphin, and four were built in various lengths. This was Tritt's first effort in fiberglass-reinforced plastic

Fiberglass molding

Fiberglass molding is a process in which fiberglass reinforced resin plastics are formed into useful shapes.-Mold Making:The fiberglass mold process begins with an object known as the plug or buck. This is an exact representation of the object to be made, and can be made from a variety of different...

 (FRP). By 1948 he was building small fiberglass sailing dinghies, and built the first ever fiberglass masts and spars for sailboats. This company became the Glasspar Company and moved to larger quarters from Industrial Way in Costa Mesa to Harbor Blvd in Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...

, in 1950. By 1951, Glasspar moved again to larger quarters in Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....

. By the mid 1950s, Glasspar was producing 15 to 20 percent of all fiberglass boats sold in the U.S. By 1960, branch factories were operating in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

, Olympia, Washington

Olympia, Washington

Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...

, and Sherman, Texas

Sherman, Texas

Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

.

Products

Glasspar built boats in ranges from car toppers to 21 feet (6.4 m) models and everything in between. Just prior to 1969, when Glasspar was sold off, there were even 21 and 25 ft (6.4 and 7.6 m) oceangoing models. Boats were often given Mediterranean-sounding names, and the boat classes within the model were often indicated by a model type then model name, with a hyphen in between. For example, in the 14 feet (4.3 m) range there was a model called the Lido, which came in three configurations: the Sport-Lido, Club-Lido, and Lido (standard). Another line, called the Mariner, included the Sport-Mariner, Club-Mariner, or Mariner (standard) model. Some boat models were also named for areas in and around Southern California, such as Avalon

Avalon, California

Avalon, or Avalon Bay, is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island of the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. Besides Avalon, the only other center of population on the island is the small unincorporated town of Two Harbors...

 on the island of Catalina

Santa Catalina Island, California

Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...

 and Del Mar

Del Mar, California

Del Mar is an upscale beach town in San Diego County, California. The population was 4,161 at the 2010 census, down from 4,389 at the 2000 census. The San Diego County Fair is hosted on the Del Mar Fairgrounds every summer. Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "by the sea", because it is located...

, a coastal community north of San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

.

Models included, but were not limited to;

• Sea Lion, a 12' runabout
• Sears and Roebuck car-topper (developed and built for Sears)
• Wing boats for Mantz Aircraft - carried under the wings of converted Navy PBYs
• Dincat, a 12' sailing dinghy with FG mast
• Dinkitten, an 8' sailing dinghy and popular yacht tender with FG mast
• Privateer, a 20' cat-ketch rigged sailboat with unstayed fiberglass masts
• Balboa Boat - a 13 feet (4 m) car-topper
• Superlight Boat - a 10-foot car-topper
• Marathon Boat - an under-14 feet (4.3 m) runabout
  Runabout (boat)
  A runabout is any small motorboat holding between four and eight people, well suited to moving about on the water. Runabouts can be used for racing, for pleasure activities like fishing and water skiing, or as a ship's tender for larger vessels...
  
  
• Lido Series - a-14-foot runabout
• Citation Boat - a 16 feet (4.9 m) runabout
• Avalon Boat - a 16-foot runabout
• G3 Boat - a 14 feet (4.3 m) high-performance ski boat
• SuperG Boat - a 16 feet (4.9 m) high-performance ski boat
• Seafair Series - an 18 feet (5.5 m) cruising class
• Flying V-175 - a 17 feet (5.2 m) cruising class
• del Mar
  Del Mar
  - Places :In the United States* Del Mar, California* Del Mar, Texas* Del Mar High School, located in San Jose, California* Del Mar Racetrack, located in Del Mar, California* Del Mar Fairgrounds located in Del Mar, California- People :...
  
   - a 16 feet (4.9 m) cabin cruiser
• Tacoma - an under-14 feet (4.3 m) runabout
• Ventura
  Ventura
  -Places:*Ventura, California, US*Ventura, Iowa, US*Ventura County, California, US*Las Venturas, San Andreas, a fictional city in Grand Theft Auto series of video games...
  
   - a 21 feet (6.4 m) fishing cabin cruiser
• Meridian 21 - a 21-foot fishing cabin cruiser similar to the Ventura
• Meridian 25 - a 25 feet (7.6 m) ocean fishing boat. There was a limited quantity, and a restoration project is currently underway by the Official Glasspar Owners Association.
• 30 Footer - A 30-foot flying bridge cabin cruiser that never saw production. It was designed and built at the Glasspar R&D department by Bill Tritt prior to his leaving the company in 1960. The boards short-sighted decision to not build this model, along with aircraft parts and the entire automotive line, was the reason Tritt resigned from his own company.

Automotive Forays

Glasspar was also one of the first companies to build fiberglass-bodied cars, most notably the G2 (Glasspar)

G2 (Glasspar)

The Glasspar G2 was a sports car body first manufactured by Bill Tritt in 1949. It is no longer built today. It was the first production all-fiberglass sports car body built by an American fiberglass manufacturer...

, but including the Woodill Wildfire, the Studebaker-based

Studebaker

Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...

 Ascot and the Volvo Sport

Volvo P1900

The Volvo Sport is a Swedish fiberglass-bodied roadster of which sixty-eight units were built between 1956 and 1957 by Volvo Cars....

. The G2 was a prime influence on the decision for Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 to develop the Corvette

Chevrolet Corvette

The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...

.

End & Legacy

The company was eventually sold to Larson Boat Works.

Restoring and preserving Glasspar boats has become extremely popular in recent years. The official Glasspar Owners Association can be found at Classic Glasspars

Extensive information can be found at the Owners Association Website to include factory brochures, production data and even patents.