1999 232 with twins bracket question

Hello everyone,

I'm looking at a 1999 gulfstream with twin 200 hpdi's mounted on an Armstrong bracket. Does anyone know if the armstrong bracket was a factory option or was this added at a later date? For some reason I thought Grady used their own.

Thanks, Mark

artodea said:

I'll bet you could get that answered by the customer service folks at Grady - they are usually quite responsive.

For what it's worth, it is my understanding that Grady sourced their brackets from Gill in the 90's, which is now long gone. There is nothing wrong with an Armstrong bracket if it is configured properly, particularly if it adds floatation for the weight of those twins.

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Thanks Art, that a good idea. Im trying to educate myself a bit before I purchase. While combing thru 100's of ads I've seen both Gil and Armstrong brackets advertised on different vessels and google searches have revealed vague results. Myself I feel a bit more comfortable purchasing a vessel equipped with original equipment vs structural aftermarket modifications. In my mind i always question the quality of the refit/retrofit. Granted there are many shops and owners that do excellent work and have terrific attention to detail.

DennisG01 said:

It's pretty hard to mess up a bracket install - especially by anyone who does this type of thing on even a limited basis. How long has it been on there? Any signs of problems? How was the ride? I would absolutely NOT shy away from a boat because of an Armstrong bracket installed somewhere along the line of the boat's life. In fact, that would be a plus in my book. If you're not savvy to fully checking out the install yourself, which it sounds like you may not be (and that's perfectly fine), then hire a surveyor. It's a good idea to hire a surveyor, anyways.

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Dennis,

All good advice. I’m looking to purchase this spring and there is a high probability I will hire a surveyor when I find “the one”. I’m not new to boats but I’m new to saltwater vessels. I’m located in northern Michigan and Grady’s here are very scarce. I’ve been asking a lot of questions and reading the forum posts to get a feel and educate myself on the problem areas. I’m at a disadvantage for boat shopping in the regards that I have a difficult time inspecting each potential purchase in person (I’d go broke in plane tickets) so I’m left with asking a lot of questions and relying on pictures to guage each vessels condition. So far I sure have appreciated all of the feedback I have received from many of the forum members. I hope come spring more vessels will pop up on the for sale forum. I’d prefer purchasing a boat from a member vs rolling the dice on Craigslist. That being said I’m not insinuating Craigslist is a bad platform for a boat sale but generally those that belong and are active on a specific forum tend to be more attentive to the repair and overall condition of their vessels .

Merry Christmas everyone
Mark