218 Adventure vs. 232 Gulfstream

[Fishermanbb]

I don't think I'm the only one who wants to know what 14 Gradys you have had and what you run now. Talk about a learning experience.

Here you go: (In order)

1976 Hatteras 20’ CC with a Johnson 200 (Dad’s Boat)
1982 Tournament 22’ with OMC 235 Sea Drive (1st Gen oil injected outboard) (Dad’s Boat)
1980 20’ Weekender with Johnson 200 HP (Co-Owned with Dad)
1987 24’ Offshore w/ Johnson. 225 HP (Co-Owned with Dad)
1988 23’ Gulfstream with twin 150 HP Johnson (Co-owned with Dad)
1988 19’ Tournament with Johnson 200 HP
199? 24’ Voyager with Yamaha 250
1997 26’ Chase with 250 HP Yamaha
1998 26’ Chase with twin 200 HP Yamaha
2000 Marlin with twin 225 HP Yamaha
2003 330 Express with twin 225 Yamaha 4 Strokes
2006 360 Express with trip 250 Yamaha (had to buy it as they had me down to the factory to help design it…LOL)
1994 Spirit 17 with Evinrude 110 (Simultaneous with the 360 for my son to use)
2020 306 Canyon with twin 300 Yamaha

All bought from the same dealer(Port of Egypt - The oldest and absolute BEST). All new except the Voyager, the Spirit and the Canyon. Also, based on my relationship with the dealer and many “Grady“ friends I’ve had the good fortune to run almost every hull and power combo they make. Haters gonna hate but I love GW and wouldn’t own anything else and wouldn’t buy anywhere but POE.

 

[Ekea]

what was your favorite?

 

[Fishermanbb]

what was your favorite?

Tough call because they all served a purpose for different reasons and at different life stages. Pound for pound its hard not to love a twin engine Gulfstream. However, the 360 was an awesome boat and at the time we were doing a lot of cruising trips along with offshore fishing so the room was great. The 360 was a beast but it was a lot of work at the end of the trip and maintaining it was expensive. After the kids grew up it got to be wasteful so I sold it. I love the Canyon as all I do is fish now. Also, the 330 can do almost anything the 360 can do and most owners won’t take the 360 out if they wouldn’t take a 330 (I’m one of them). Hard to pick a top one but generally the 232, 330, and 360 were my favorites.

 

[luckydude]

How would you compare the Canyon 271 to the 306 Canyon? I ask because my buddy Jens has a 271, I fish on it all the time, it's an awesome boat. Great hull. Twin 300s. He keeps talking about bigger and 306, 330 are what he is looking at. I'm sort of opposed because he trailers that boat a lot. Santa Cruz is his home harbor but he goes up to Fort Bragg for albacore, down to southern Cal for bluefin, yellowtail and dorados. Can't do that with the bigger boats.

I suspect he will stay with the 271. There is a chance that he'll think, like I was thinking when I wanted to keep my 228 to trailer and get a Marlin for the harbor, he might go bigger in the harbor and keep his 271 as the trailer boat. I think that's a little nuts, his 271 is a fantastic boat, no matter how much bigger he goes, he's not gonna go have fun in conditions where the 271 wouldn't handle it.

 

[blynch]

1997 26’ Chase with 250 HP Yamaha
1998 26’ Chase with twin 200 HP Yamaha

Since this thread is already fully derailed- this seems like an interesting story!

 

[Fishermanbb]

How would you compare the Canyon 271 to the 306 Canyon? I ask because my buddy Jens has a 271, I fish on it all the time, it's an awesome boat. Great hull. Twin 300s. He keeps talking about bigger and 306, 330 are what he is looking at. I'm sort of opposed because he trailers that boat a lot. Santa Cruz is his home harbor but he goes up to Fort Bragg for albacore, down to southern Cal for bluefin, yellowtail and dorados. Can't do that with the bigger boats.

I suspect he will stay with the 271. There is a chance that he'll think, like I was thinking when I wanted to keep my 228 to trailer and get a Marlin for the harbor, he might go bigger in the harbor and keep his 271 as the trailer boat. I think that's a little nuts, his 271 is a fantastic boat, no matter how much bigger he goes, he's not gonna go have fun in conditions where the 271 wouldn't handle it.

I agree with you between the 271 and the 306. The big difference is beam. 306 is a tank. not very efficient or fast, but a tank. It’ll go out and back more comfortably and even maybe go out when the 271 won’t but in real world use you would take either one out in the same conditions and stay home in the same conditions. I would not trade up unless he needs just a little more room and comfort. The 330 is a whole different animal.

 

[Fishermanbb]

Since this thread is already fully derailed- this seems like an interesting story!

LOL…I wanted a larger CC and it was mid-season. ALl they has in stock was a 263 with the single screw. I took it but the boat was a little doggy and I was getting into offshore fishing. Plus, my dad was disabled and when I took him out I needed to be sure we could get back no matter what. Traded for twin screw the next spring becasue I loved the hull. With twin 200’s that thing really moved. Cruise was over 42 MPH.

 

[Ekea]

LOL…I wanted a larger CC and it was mid-season. ALl they has in stock was a 263 with the single screw. I took it but the boat was a little doggy and I was getting into offshore fishing. Plus, my dad was disabled and when I took him out I needed to be sure we could get back no matter what. Traded for twin screw the next spring becasue I loved the hull. With twin 200’s that thing really moved. Cruise was over 42 MPH.

what rpm were you running that you were cruising at 42? i have a chase with 250s and i cruise at 4000 rpm going 34 mph at 2.1 mpg.

also, i am glad you liked the hull. i only have 3 trips out on mine, but i have definitely been impressed with the hull. do you have any observations, tips, or tricks for that hull? i havent had it in rough stuff yet, but i have hit a couple big wakes and it gave me a lot of confidence in the hull.

 

[Fishermanbb]

It’s been awhile since I had that boat so IO don’t remember any tricks. However, I probably ran those motors at 3800-4000 RPM at cruise and it was fast. I think the top end was around 50 IIRC. Your numbers seem very low compared to what I got with less HP. Can’t say why but my memory isn’t that bad and I remember loving how fast I got to the fishing grounds. How old is the hull? Could it be water logged? Do you have canvas for it?

 

[Ekea]

i am almost spot on for the yamaha performance spec. this is for the 273 with 225s, but i have the same spec props (just not yamaha). i did hit 53 mph at wot, so a tad better than spec. my numbers are with me, wife, and two small kids. the numbers are about the same with a half tank or full tank.

 

[Ekea]

the boat is a 2000, so it has the full length running surface. only canvas is the t-top. it has the original 1/2 height windshield. a bit of moisture in the survey, but nothing significant.

it seems odd that you could hit 42 mph at 4k, and only get another 8 mph with another 1500-2000 rpm. i wonder if you had big pitch props on it