Interglass / Birchwood Thunderball / Thunderski

[Rapier]

I know was optimistic, but was no worse than £10-15K for a Healey 55 and Healey 75, or a lot more than that for a Ski Master, made by Aquacraft and in the US.

[rnb]

So to summarise , Healey sprite copy of the Glaspar G3 , but more expensive !
Also more expensive than an interglass/birchwood - thunderball/ski although produced from the same moulds and having the same equipment suppliers !

It appears the only "added value" of the sprite over the other variants appears to me to be in the healey name only ........ its the gucci handbag of the boating world.

[Rapier]

Early 60-61 G-3s in mint condition are expensive in the US, bearing in mind there were a lot made and the availability of other mint boats I see on ebay.

http://www.fiberglassics.com/glassified ... 0&expand=0

The name counts for a lot in the same way Fairey and Tremlett do, both trade at premiums to similar boats, but point taken. There's no difference in handling in the variants; except where the Thunderball has a rear bench seat, as it messes up the weight distribution. Also, Healey deck hardware and trim is not the same as the Thunderball and the Thunderskis deck kit differs to the Thunderball too. A new set of screen & uprights cleats, fairleads, bullet ends and rub rail specifically for the Healey is probably about £1200 and the quartic steering wheel is nigh impossible to find these days.

[Alacrity]

quartic steering wheel is nigh impossible to find these days

I know where one is on a Healey Sprite but do you think I can get anywhere with the owner? His nephew, whom I bumped into when poking around it, said he would probably not sell the boat even though it is just derelict but would 'probably end up putting a chainsaw through it'!!!

I must try again sometime soon.

Personally I much prefer the lines of the Sprite/Thunderthingy's. To me the G3 looks much more angular with the sponsons looking like add on's, whereas they are blended in with the hull & deck much better on ours. As Rapier rightly says, they are very very good bumpy water boats, much better than say any of the 60's early 70's Broom range, although you wouldn't think that comparing the hull shapes. A lot of G3's transoms have been converted to longshaft & run 100hp+ in the USA. If I ever get mine finished there is a s/shaft 1350 Merc stack looking for a home currently residing in my storeroom . . .

It is my understanding that the Chris B Sprite that got flattened & repaired by the person that bought it from the insurance co., was the one that went to the USA.

[petrolhead]

Well, for my twopenneth, mine is an Interglass Thunderball and I agree with Alacrity that the lines on all three UK vesrions are better than on the G3 where the sponsons do look glued on afterwards

I must say, I am also no badge snob when it comes to cars and/or boats and I believe the only reason for a higher price on the Sprite is that it came from Healey, it is the same boat and was in itself based on the G3. The Healey will always I feel carry a premium just because of the badge, but there are two camps...those who will pay more and those who won't/don't care

Liken it to a skoda 1.9tdi or a VW passat 1.9tdi if you like..........same cars really and the cabbys use skoda's knowing that because they are a lot less to buy

whether it be Healey, birchwood or Interglass they are all cracking boats and worth having.....I am totally bemused as to why it is so good on the rough stuff, looking at the hull shape it should be rubbish

To really stir things up I have wondered before whether the GRP may be better on later copies? GRP moulding was in its early years and 5 or 6 years from one to another model may have made a difference

[Rapier]

No idea whether that was the one that went stateside, it wasn't the best anyway. Just waiting for a garage kept Windermere-run one pitch up..maybe Popette? By the by, I found out that those strange decals for the Merc that was on it were taken off a very odd poster Merc dealers have to identify the range. Model year 72-79 is blue band on the poster, shown as the '72 actuals....

No, made no difference, grp and mouldings were always rubbish on these, mine had voids all the way down the raised mouldings on the deck, which is entirely common. Steve C had a tremendous problem with his gelcoat too that only he could sort out, but managed to fix it properly.

[Healey75]

Picture of the inside looking back to transom... that's what's under the floor...(or not) in a Sprite, as you can see we had a lot to do...the deck is not fitted at this stage

[rnb]

As discussed in another post - 1967 magazine practical boat owner .

Birchwood and Interglass operating from same address in Notts , even utilising the same telephone No .

Interglass offering both the centre deck and open cockpit style of the thunderball and thunderski .

[Rapier]

Long after the original post & funny how info pops up on the internet from time to time, but found this which may be of interest to fans.

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/2c36ec ... 0870692378