For the express owners out there how is the express at standstill, do you get excessive pitch and roll when at idle? We are considering this boat for a great lakes salmon boat and this would be an important aspect as we spend a lot of time at a 2 mph troll. I understand the CV2 hull is great in this aspect but I understand the express has a different hull. Thanks.
265 Express
- Thread starter Shakey Bones
- Start date
The hull will roll if it is rough out, but any boat will do this. The pre 2004 models were a degree steeper throughout the hull and were said to be more tender, but one degree change throughout will not make a huge change honestly. I've fished on both boats and own a 2004 which is the pre redesign and there is very little if any difference in ride/fuel economy. To have a boat roll less when trolling you would want a narrower boat, but that will take away fishing room and space which is nice when trolling. In 4ft or less the boat is fine, in over 4fters you may feel it rolls a little but it is not any more then other boats, but at the helm it will feel like it rolls more due to the helm bench seats being located more outboard then comparable boats. Also, the boat seems more tender because of the helm as well, when people onboard move around you may need to adjust the tabs from time to time to counter that since their position changce can be extreme. This is a side effect of having a large open helm, but the comfort outweighs that in my book anyday. The 265 is a big 26' boat and rides well for it's size. I've taken my 265 110nm offshore(1 way) in 3-4's with 6's mixed in, and I've ran it 120nm(1 way) in flat calm seas, the boat is very capable. The only real way to tell if the boat is too tender for you is to sea trial one, that may be hard if the boat is not located locally, but with a purchase that big you should be sea trialing the boat anyways. You need to determine what is most important to you, the layout, the open cockpit and space, how much it will roll, or having a narrower cramped boat with a smaller layout with maybe a hair less roll. The 265 will cut a 3-4ft chop running at 28mph without a problem, a smaller boat, even other Grady's may not fair as well, usually a narrower boat will not run as well in a chop, plus a sharper v will slice the chop rather then ride over it and pound down. I believe your waves in the great lakes is much tighter knit and is more of a chop then what most experience so it will perform differently, but a deeper v may give you a better ride to and from the fishing grounds.
Gradyfish22 is 100% accurate, again. I just got out of my 265, it was a 2001 with 200hpdi's. I loved the boat, it was extremely offshore capable, and very fast (cruise was 28-32mph, all day). My friends and I thought she was a little tender at times, but I have shark fished in 4-6's and it was not that bad. The boat can run decent in these seas as well. My biggest complaint was that when running in swells, she would lean to one side and stay there until my auto trim tabs corrected it, sometimes this would continue and became a little annoying. If I turned off the autotabs, I had to constantly adjust the tabs manually, however the boat never pounded. My buddy has a pre- seav2 sailfish (1990), his boat does not compare to any 265 in snotty seas, but was less "tender" on the roll. I would have to say that it is an absolute trade off, I do not think there is any boat in its class that compares to it- all things considered. I think a sea trial is wise, no matter what. Good luck.
Thanks for the input. I did get to sea trial one, but it is really hard to get a full feel in a 20 minute sea trial. We had lazy 3 foot swell. The marina wanted $59 K for it, fresh water, OX66 250s, full electronics, they ended up selling it, but I can't troll at 2mph all day with conventional 2 strokes.
And it is not me so much as my Dad and wife that worry about the pitch and roll, dang!
And it is not me so much as my Dad and wife that worry about the pitch and roll, dang!
I do quite a bit of shark fishing off of the north east -
The best boat - hands down for drifting in rough stuff - is Parker - they drift with the stern into the seas -
Other than that - I dont think my 265 is any worse than an Albermarl, Ocean Yatch, Hydra Sport, ect -
We fished a tourny this year and some of the other boats had TV's falling off of the walls, and we were fine -
The "Pitch-n-Roll" has never even been an issue -
Tim
The best boat - hands down for drifting in rough stuff - is Parker - they drift with the stern into the seas -
Other than that - I dont think my 265 is any worse than an Albermarl, Ocean Yatch, Hydra Sport, ect -
We fished a tourny this year and some of the other boats had TV's falling off of the walls, and we were fine -
The "Pitch-n-Roll" has never even been an issue -
Tim
fishingFINattic said:
I was also interested in the 265. Are you saying the 265 drifts beam to the wind? My Gulfstream drifts tail into the wind which is how I like it.
plymouthgrady
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The 2 most important variables which effect pitch & roll is beam and deadrise. A dramatic deadrise will roll vs. a flat boat which is stable.
Even a few degrees will make a difference. The third, obviously, is weight distribution.
Even a few degrees will make a difference. The third, obviously, is weight distribution.
Workdog said:
The 265 drifts beam to the seas/wind -
It is not a problem for me as mentioned and do quite a bite of shark fishing
Tim
The 265 is a great boat and drifts very well. The beam is 9.7 and is a lot of boat for and 26ft ride. Once you learn how to trim the engines the rest is easy. I don't even use the tabs much.