Conference vicki::boats

    I agree that Grady-White makes good fishing boats. But for a 1/3
    less I got a 25ft Pro-Line than a similarly equipped Grady. The
    hardtop is the only poor quality workmanship I've found. If you
    fish alone you'll find the Proline has a lot deeper walkaround.
    I call my Pro-Line a poor man's Grady.
    
    Steve 

    
    Baert Marine out of Plastow, N.H. had a used 23' +/- with twin Yamahas
    for $25-30K last year.
    
    
                                                    Guy

    Late model (1988+) 23's in good cond with twin Yamaha's are more likely
    to be in the $30-35K range.  This is still a lot of money for a 5 year old
    boat of this size.
    

re: .3
>>    Late model (1988+) 23's in good cond with twin Yamaha's are more likely
>>    to be in the $30-35K range.  This is still a lot of money for a 5 year old
>>    boat of this size.
  
On the bright side, apparently they hold their value very well if you decide
to invest in a new one.

I've been out fishing in Joe Amato's 23 Grady - a very nice and seaworthy 
boat.  His has a single Yamaha 200, and seems to have plenty of power. The
only reason I could see for going with twins might be the extra reliability,
but I'm not sure it'd be worth the extra expense.  A single large outboard
combined with a kicker bracket and 10hp motor will save you several thousand.
Trailer Boats recently did a test on a similar boat, comparing a single large 
outboard combined with a smaller kicker to two medium sized outboards.  The 
    consensus was that the single large outboard with the kicker was more 
    efficient in almost every way. 

One reason that twin medium to large sized outboards don't provide the extra
reliability that some people think, is that fuel system failure or contamin-
ation is one of the major causes of breakdowns, and will effect both motors.
A 10hp kicker with a seperate 6 gallon tank will almost always get you back, 
although admittedly a little slowly...

Whether a Grady is really worth the extra money over a ProLine or similar
boat, I don't know.  I know you will get at least SOME of the difference
back when you sell since Gradys seem to hold their value well.

Rick

    re .-1
    
    One small correction to Ricks comments on my Grady.  She's a 24, not
    the 23.  The 23 is a foot shorter, but also a foot wider.  My boat's
    nice and I like it, but are GW's worth the extra $$$?  I'm not so sure
    anymore.  If I were in the market for the same size boat, I'ld look
    real seriously at the hydrasports 25', the sea-ox, proline etc. 
    Steve's 25' proline rides real nice and has a much bigger/deeper
    walkaround.  And with prices going through the roof, I'ld probably 
    buy used.  I've seen older GW 24's with i/o for 17-22k (1986-1988).  
    I'ld also get the hardtop, and Rick's right, get the 10hp kicker as 
    a 'get-me-home' help. I'ld stay with the single yam.  Fuel consumption 
    is very good and reliability is excellent.  My only complaint with the
    boat is her butt's light so in a following sea she crawls around on
    you.  Otherwise no problems.  
    
    Joe

    	I have a 25' sailfish that I bought new in 88. After 5 seasons of
    use the boat is just as tight as when it was new. The hardware and
    Gellcoat still looks new. I boat out of Barnegate inlet in New Jersey
    which they say is one of the worst on the east coast. The Grady handles
    great in the inlet and the open sea. I got caught in a storm once with
    8 to 10 footers which scared me to death, but the boat did fine. 
    	I have twin 175 Merc's and get around 1.8 MPG at 4000 RPM, with a
    speed of around 32 MPG. I know the Grady's big bucks but you get what
    you pay for.
    
    A Very happy Grady owner,
    Rich 

    This is not intended for the Boats for sale note. But FYI cus I'm not
    selling it, I just saw it. At the Wareham marina there is a NEW never
    been used 1988 24ft Grady with a 260? mercruser I/O hardtop flybridge
    with (if my memory serves me) Trailer for $20K cash (no trades). The
    owner bought the boat wholsale for 32K. Its been sitting in the yard
    dsoing nothing. He said the economy is to blame, Anyway a beautiful
    boat. I'd be willing to bet he would even come down more.
    
    George Shaw
    
    DTN 297-3494

    Another satified Grady Owner. I bought my '87 25 foot sailfish
    1 year used a got a great end of the year deal. The hull and work
    manship are great. The boat can take much more than I can. At the
    time it was the only wide beam 25 with standup headroom in the
    cabin. Now lots of buidlers have compied the style. Yes they
    are pricey but they do hold their value. If you buy a late model
    used, you will be able to sell it for near the same price 3-4 years
    down the line.
    
    Joe, I have disagree on one point the Sea Ox are just as pricy as
    Grady. BTW...I could not believe Grady's were that good until I
    went on Joe's 24 when I owned my 21 foot Chris Craft. Big difference
    in quality.
    
    Bruce

	I am also a satisfied Grady owner, if somewhat inexperienced.  I
    	bought my 1976 Grady at a yard sale last summer.  It had no
    	seats, carpeting, steering, motor, etc.  After a month of work
    	and a dollar amount that I won't mention (no one here would be
    	surprised...) she was launched and provided a lot of pleasure 
    	throughout the season.

	I just received the 1993 Grady White catalog.  One of the boats,
	Tournament 19, closely resembles my 1976 179 Grady.  While 
	dreaming about getting SUMFUN back in the water (just mailed in my
	registration renewal to State O' N.H.) I started looking at the
	spec's on the Tournament and noticed that it had a built in 60
	gallon gas tank "underdeck".  

	My question is, how much trouble would it be to make this mod to my 
	own boat.  The tank is located amidships between the two "lounge"
	seats.  How can I find out what is actually under there before I
	get out the power tools?

	I have thought about built-ins before (looking through the supply
	catalogs), but opted to spend the season with 2 6gal plastics
	instead...BUT...it sure would be great to carry 30-45 gals under
	the deck.  I feel pretty comfortable about making the mod but I'm
    	not familiar with the construction/bracing.
    
    	Jim


	Jim

    
    	Call the builder and ask them what is under the deck.  They should
    also be able to tell you how advisable the modification you want to
    make is.
    
    Forrest

    
      If you cannot find out otherwise what is under that deck. You can get
    rather inexpensive 'access ports' in 6" and 8" from most boat
    suppliers. They are made to be walked on and are watertight. Probably
    in the $40 range. So you could make a hole, check it out and if it was
    ok, use the port to get at the tank after the installation. If not, at
    least you'd have access to the bilge under your deck.
    
    				Kenny

    
    
    Well, I took the advice and called Grady.  Spoke with Jeff in Cust.
    Svc.  He faxed the drawings to me and explained the below deck const.
    and layout.  The bad news is there isn't enough room to slide a tank
    in.  I was very impressed with their willingness to help me and
    knowledge of one of their "older" models, and I do feel better knowing
    what's down there.
    
    (incidentally, the drawing that they had on file and faxed was hand
    drawn...)
    
    
    Jim

    
    It feels so good when a manufacturer offers good support like that. It
    is a good reason in itself to support them by buying their products.
    
    				Kenny

    What with the catalogue browsing that I mentioned earlier, I'd like
    some opinions on a modification (other than the below deck tank) that 
    I've been considering.
    
    What I'm think of is replacing my two rear "jump" seats with the
    adjustable height pedestal type seats found on fishing boats.  The
    obvious drawback is cost, as they are not cheap (I tried Whitney's,
    no luck.)  It seams like it would be a more comfortable config for
    the type of use the boats sees.
    
    Does anyone have any experience with these?  Are they sturdy, would
    this hurt the resale value of the boat?  
    
    Jim

    re: .14
    
    You're right, pedestal seats ain't cheap.  I don't see how they'd 
    hurt resale value, unless they look really out of place and/or
    you do a "butch" job on the installation.
    
    The one caveat is to make sure the floor is strong enough, and 
    the seats are VERY securely anchored.  Pedestal seats have a fairly 
    small mounting point, and their height puts a lot of leverage and
    strain on the floor where they're mounted.  This will cause the 
    seat to sway like a rocking chair if not done right.
    
    Since the boat wasn't originally designed for those seats, you may
    have to first reinforce the floor, by screwing or glassing a good
    sized piece of plywood to the area(s) where the seats will be mounted.
    
    Rick

    
    
    Rick, that's exactly the mounting method I was thinking of.  Probably
    use a 1.5'X1.5' peice of 3/4'' glassed to the floor.  
    
    Any idea of what the typical vertical travel on these seats are?
    
    
    Jim