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Your boat will be more reliable than 90% of the boats here given that it will be brand new. Fill it up with non-ethanol gas, additive of your choice, stay on top of maintenance, and you’ll be fine unless you run over a log or get a rope/net wrapped in the prop. A 9.9 kicker won’t get you up to...

Have always has luck with Standard Horizon. I believe new needs to have internal or external GPS capability for DSC. I’d go with a model with internal GPS to simplify installation. Something like this...

Do you run the boat light or heavy? If not too heavy you can try adding some weight to the bow/in the cuddy to offset the 4-stroke weight. My 2005 208 was stern heavy with the 250 so I added 200 lbs of sandbag in place of the porta potty and she’s a lot more level at drift and handles better...

I’ve heard of more than a few aluminum trailers floating when reversing in to retrieve; not good combined with a surge at the ramp. You can try backing the trailer in less but might have issues with loading the boat. I use the top of my trailer tire fenders as a reference as to how far to back...

Backup solenoids can fail. If you have surge brakes you can insert a bolt through the coupler to prevent it from compressing thereby locking out the brakes; not recommended for normal use but good to keep a nut and bolt handy for emergencies. Size of the bolt will depend on your particular surge...

Stripers aren’t bad but the Grady will handle our water better. We fish 3 normally and the cabin gets stuffed full of gear but there’s still enough space for someone to take a nap. Resale won’t be a problem but you won’t want to go bigger unless you have full time crew to fish a Yellowfin/etc...

Size the engine depending on what you actually need; a good sea trial will tell you more than all of the opinions you read on a forum. That said, even the 150 will be adequate for 80% of people if you don’t need top end and it’s propped correctly. I’d venture that very few people here with 250s...

My 208 is a 2005 and I have a 2013 Suzuki DF250AP. I believe it was 2006 that Grady starting adding weight (250 lbs?) to the hulls to compensate for the heavier 4-stroke engines. My 208 was stern heavy until I added 200 lbs of sand bags in place of the porta potty. It now sits level and handles...

Great work! Can you put a short tether on the locking pin or keep spares? I have those on my bimini and they like to disappear :rolleyes: By chance did you try hanging a removable boarding ladder in that area? We occasionally need to get off the bow but not often enough for a permanent install.

The used 228 sounds like the best value and fit. For the trailer (especially with saltwater use) go with all stainless disc electric over hydraulic disc brakes. Have the actuator mounted high on the winch post so it won’t get accidentally dunked. Get an aftermarket brake controller unless you...

Split the upper compartment if you’re going with the Simrad you mentioned and make storage on one side; not sure how the cabling on the flush mounted fishfinder will like being hinged up constantly. I’d reconfigure the bottom compartment as well to move the gauges to one side and give a little...

I have a 208 with a 250 and a ton of gear so it probably weighs as much as a 208 hardtop with a 200 :p My tow vehicle is a 2015 Tundra with the 5.7. You won’t have an issue at all towing but trailer brakes are never a bad idea. If you go with electric over hydraulic get an aftermarket brake...

Go on boat trader or Craigslist and try to find a similar Grady in that area. The engine might run well but don’t consider it a selling point; you’ll likely want to repower in a couple years so budget ~20k for that. More if you need to add hydraulic or electric steering/electronic throttle/etc...

If brand new/budget not a factor go with the 228 with a hardtop. You’re going to want a 250 or 300 on it as well. Also recommend getting a trailer with electric over hydraulic brakes. The half ton truck should have enough power to pull it but a loaded 228 will test its stopping ability...

The 4 blade prop will provide more stern lift. There has to be a thread somewhere on this forum with performance numbers from a 228 with that engine. Go with an electronic throttle if possible; it holds rpm better than a cable throttle and the responsiveness makes docking/low speed maneuvering...

I wish we could use a kicker for trolling here but even a 9.9 high thrust will barely make headway/keep the bow pointed upsea on normal tradewind days. I can only imagine your fuel burn using the kicker...

Some areas get bad as they get a mix of ground swells from multiple directions with short period windswell on top of it. It can go from relatively calm to victory at sea in a half hour or less; unfortunately that always seems to happen when the fish are biting... Ali’i Kai boats were made over...

https://www.greatgrady.com/threads/4-blade-props-on-208.23536/page-2 You can use Google to search the forum faster; type in the following in the search bar on the google site site:www.greatgrady.com “search term” Sometimes it’s faster to get information this way than to wait for people to...

We run 15-25 miles average from the head buoy and anywhere from 50-80 miles total for the entire day. The most we burn is about 40 gallons with a mix of 20% running and 80% trolling. I have a Suzuki 250 so I’m definitely on the higher end of the fuel burn range. The optimal 208 setup for me...

Think of the 2006+ models as having an extra person hanging out in the cuddy compared to the older/lighter models and it should give you a general idea of how the performance will be affected. My friend with the 1995 208 and a Suzuki 150 runs his boat with 3 other people and 200-300 lbs of ice...