OPPOSITE—The man who started it all—Glen L. Witt. RIGHT TOP—Their fun and affordable Sabotina design. MIDDLE–Gayle with her husband, company VP John Brantuk. BOTTOM—Glen-L’s very popular 14-foot runabout, a design called Zip.
difficult to follow. So, that was the thought that stayed with my dad through the years. Aſter he was draſted into the Army Air Force during WWII, he was enlisted as a draftsman. In his free time, he completed the Westlawn course to become a naval architect. He designed his first boat for one of the officers and when
he got home and was working for a foundry, he continued designing boats in his spare time. He sold a few sets to some of the local marine dealers. He designed them specifically so that the “average Joe” could build his own boat. He worked his way up the ladder at the foundry and ended up getting 10% of the company profits as additional compensation. So, when he leſt that job, he still got paid a significant salary for about three years and that’s when he focused on designing, and eventually Glen-L Marine Designs was born.
It’s been said your dad got more people into boating than any manufacturer ever did. Was your dad consciously trying to make boating more accessible? I would say it was more about building a boat than it was boat- ing. Of course, the outcome is that it enabled more people to afford a boat because it was less expensive to build one than buy one.
Did he design all of the plans you offer or does the company sometimes work with other designers? Glen-L started in 1953, and in the mid-60s things got pretty busy. Tere was a local professional boat builder dad knew and he had a naval architect working for him, but his business was real slow. So, he asked if my dad needed some help. So, dad hired Ken Hankinson on a trial basis. Ken had only designed boats for professional boat builders, so my dad trained him to design for the amateur. Professional designs didn’t have pat- terns or instructions on how to build them. Ken ended up com- ing on board with our company and stayed for about 22 years. Dad had some help from a couple of draftsman over the
years, too, but he always oversaw all of the designs, even Ken’s. Many of the designs were a team effort with a lead designer.
It seems like your dad was exceptionally prolific—how many boats did he draw in total? Tat’s a good question but I don’t know the answer. We have over 300 designs and I can tell by looking at them who the designer was, but I’ve never counted them up. I’d guess well over 100.
Which boat or boats were his personal favorites? My dad was a water skier and his personal boat was the Ski King which is a 15-foot inboard runabout/utility. I really don’t know if that was his favorite, however. He wasn’t a particularly emotive man.
When did you get involved with the company and when did you take the reins? I would work a few hours a day when I was 10 or so and then
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