290 Chesapeake

[megabytes]

Dunno. I would guess they want to give it a chance as the economy improves. I agree it is too close to a 300 and really hate to see the long history of the Sailfish come to a close. It would not surprise me to see it reincarnated with a genny.

I believe GW has too many models but that is just my opinion. There must be a cost associated with the sheer numbers. Do we really need 18, 19, 20, 22 foot models?

Of course my main interest is and will in the future be the 300. It is THE perfect boat for me. I don't believe Joey would show up at the winter boat show if they dropped it. :lol:

...and I would hate to have to move to a Pursuit 315

 

[Coconut330]

My local dealer still has one (290) sitting in the showroom? They finally sold a left over 30 express that came from the previous dealer, I believe it was an 08. They could of just added a generator as a option to the Sailfish. That is what most people wished that it had anyway. If they want some thing bigger then they go to the 30 Marlin. I loved the Sailfish that I had just wanted something bigger so got a 33.

 

[Bill_N]

Saw a Chesapeake last year in Greenport. Older couple out for a cruise with the grandkids by the looks of it. No rocket launcher, no outriggers - nice boat but not for me

 

[DTT65]

I BOUGHT THE CHESAPEAKE IN THE BEGINNING OF 2009, AND HAVE HAD SMALL ISSUES UP TO NOW, BUT NOW I AM HAVING SOME MAJOR ELECT, PROBLEMS, PUT SOME HEAVY DUTY ELECTRONICS IN THE BOAT BIGGER FLAT SCREEN TV, FLIR, DIRECT TV, HEACY DUTY STEREO, NOW MY BATTERY CHARGER IS NOT CHARGING THE BATTERIES
GOING TO TRY (3) NEW BIGGER BATTS, WITH NEW HD CHARGER WILL KEEP YOU POSTED, ALSO STEERING IS ALOT SLOPPY/LOOSE THANX DTT65

 

[megabytes]

Check the steering fluid level.

 

[Gman25]

I BOUGHT THE CHESAPEAKE IN THE BEGINNING OF 2009, AND HAVE HAD SMALL ISSUES UP TO NOW, BUT NOW I AM HAVING SOME MAJOR ELECT, PROBLEMS, PUT SOME HEAVY DUTY ELECTRONICS IN THE BOAT BIGGER FLAT SCREEN TV, FLIR, DIRECT TV, HEACY DUTY STEREO, NOW MY BATTERY CHARGER IS NOT CHARGING THE BATTERIES
GOING TO TRY (3) NEW BIGGER BATTS, WITH NEW HD CHARGER WILL KEEP YOU POSTED, ALSO STEERING IS ALOT SLOPPY/LOOSE THANX DTT65

Lets see some pics...BTW before buying new batteries I would confirm that the charger is in fact working and its the proper charger for your battery config. Also check the battery water level..No water and it wont charge.

'05 300 Marlin F250's

 

[Frank]

Re:

Been three yrs now.

Grady has to discontinue the Marlin model, then it will sell.

Discontinuing the Marlin will either sell more Chesapeakes or more Pursuits. I am not sure I would want to bet on which.

I find it strange that they would discontinue two models (Sailfish and Marlin) that have been so popular.

 

[DTT65]

WILL POST PIX, NEW TO SITE HAVE TO LEARN HOW, THANX FOR REPLIES GUYS

 

[Grady678]

Re:

I had always heard that the Marlin was their best seller.

I had a 252 Sailfish which was really a 27, then they made it a 282 and now a 290........right on top of the 300 Marlin and the 305...Say what? :shock:

I'd LOVE it if they split the difference of the 330 and the 360 and make a bigger Marlin and call it the 346 Swordfish. Twin 350s, 350 in gas, 50 in water, genset, 11-6 on the beam, everything a bit bigger down below, starboard helm, etc.........

Otherwise I may have to go to the new Pursuit OS 345 in a few years...... GORGEOUS boat!

This could be the start of a great rumor that could take on a life of it's own.........THE SWORDFISH 346!!!

 

[BobP]

Finally, one Chesapeake owner !

Didn't believe it is until I saw it, think Grady HQ had him join here!

As far as the Marlin being the most popular model, only must have been in recent years otherwise why did the Sailfish go?

And if the Sailfish was around today (in today's economy which is not so fast in coming around), would it sell more than the Marlin ?

As far as having too many models, once a model is fully designed and its molds made, no big deal to have production line changeover to knock them out, same materials used to make all models. Same motors and rigging. Same color gelcoat!

What we are fogetting is what Grady said at boat shows, "had to make room for bigger models (33 footer came first) and if not for the economy today how big would Grady's largest be today, do you think just 36 ft ?

I don't think so.

NEM has to wait for economy back to near full employment, otherwise I don't see Grady laying out the millions to design and tool up the "planned" bigger and bigger models as the F350s were designed for, the F350 was not design for the Marlin.
And to eyes of competition, going back to production on so called "old" models doesn't work either. Nothing old about the SeaV2 hull Islander and Sailfish.

Who ever competed with the Sailfish near as successfully as Grady did ?
If so, name brand and model.

And as far as generators go, you have to see and hear the Honda 1kW and 2kW portables in action, you just would not believe how quiet they are.
The admirals's sewing machine is louder.

 

[BobP]

Megabytes, you are due for a new boat.

So what's a Marlin owner to do? Buy another Marlin ?

If so, why?

I can see doing a repowering with new (to be released when?) Yamaha V6 300s, for the "perfect boat", that's it. And maybe new canvas.

I'm sure Joey has been trying to sell you a 33 Express unelss you are holding out for a walkaround. You will be waiting longer than NEM for the 40+ footer!

 

[ocnslr]

Several posters above had said "... why doesn't Grady just add a generator option to the old Islander, or to the Sailfish".

Well, as one who has been in every nook and cranny of our Islander, I can tell you that there is no place for a permanently installed generator. We do use a Honda EU-2000i, to power up the airconditioning that I added to the boat (yes, there was room for that ).

As to adding a generator option to the Sailfish, I would venture so say the same thing. Where the h*ll would you put it? Not just the generator, but the 12-gal fuel tank, and the extra plumbing and wiring..

And remember how many folks with generators on Marlins, etc complain about sufficient room for access, so we don't need a generator on a Sailfish that was put in place before the deck was dropped on, and can only be accessed by lifting the deck.. :wink:

Cathy and I have always wanted a Marlin, but we would be happy with a move up to a Chesapeake. But we would not have moved up to a Sailfish.

Brian

 

[Fishtales]

Hi,

After having the 282 and the 300 and being all over a 290, I just don't get it. The 282 was too tight in the helm area for me and the 290 while somewhat better still suffers from the same problem to a degree while sitting too close to the Marlin. After owning a 300 for a couple of years the 290 just seemed small - maybe it feels much better from a 282 to the 290.
Too bad they didn't trim down the Sailfish as stated and re-do the Marlin to stay current with Pursuit. I also investigate 2nd a bigger WA based on the 33' hull.

We will have to wait and see. I think they have locked in on the express design for the larger boats. Eliminating the 300 is a big mistake IMHO that leaves folks nowhere else to go except to another brand. Hope they re-do it before dumping it.

 

[megabytes]

I am with Danny 100%. After owning a 272 and a 300, the 290 doesn't work for me. It is either a scaled up Sailfish or a scaled down Marlin depending on your point of view.

No Bob, not ready for a new boat yet. I guess I just like my 300 too much. In three years she will be 10 so at that time I may start seriously looking. By then there should be some compelling new features plus the 300s which must be the perfect package. I also want helm air which GW has said they will help me with if not a standard option. I have been told the 305 has outsold the 300 this year but that was not the case in past few years. One reason my be presence - I have not seen a 300 in several years.

And as Danny said, dropping the 300 may send owners to the alternatives including Pursuit, Scout, and Robalo who all have nice 30' cabin models. Time will tell.

 

[BobP]

I have not seen 305s around, however if so - what it means is not good for the Marlin. Then again not seeing brand new boats at all around.

No reason Grady can't raise the walkaround deck and keep a lip there from slippling over and get the more cabin space the admirals prefer.
I call it a raised deck walkaround. Pursuit has the curb and so does BW, both as a walkaround. And it's a wide foot surface too.

One can hold onto the hardtop frame for the walk forward - don't see what the big deal is for a full drop walkaround. And raise the rail higher proportionatly. Then no safety issues at all.

That's why the Marlin (layout) is outdated. The hull is not outdated. If one prefers a center helm or side helm, and bench or non-bench, that's all there is to it that's left. Remember what the Marlin was orginally in 1989, a scaled up Sailfish with a euro transom, everything else was the same, even the same window style and cabin layout, and bridge layout.

If I was euro-transom inclinded, the 305 is more boat than the 300, to me.
More cabin, and more helm seating too. No sense left to the Marlin. For the very big guys who can't manage by the center helm, go up to the 33X.

The 290 has to have been meant to replace both Marlin and Sailfish as I've said before, before the Sailfish said goodbye.

Then the Marlin is only wider by not much, so go up to the 33X.
You can run the same motors (HP).

And more room for a separate helm A/C unit to custom fit for MegaB !

 

[Gary M]

Haven't read this thread in awhile! It's ironic for me in that we just came home today from a long weekend in Bimini where we stayed, showered, slept aboard for two nights in our 2001 Marlin! Last year we did an 18 consecutive night trip in the Abacos area of the Bahamas and that was a REAL test!

She's nearly 10 years old and just this year we've had the following problems:

1) $2,650 in genset repairs
2) New transducer ($750)
3) New A/C control panel ($300)
4) New battery charger ($500 and my second one in 26 months!)
5) Four bew batteries
6) New toilet flush motor ($400)
And the normal, $2,000+ boat yard bill for bottom paint, water pumps, servicing, etc.

So, we have been talking pretty seriously about moving on to something newer and if so, what do we buy? Neither of us are big fans of the 330, but my wife even more so than me. We don't like the helm seating....I don't like the center seat, nor do I like my co-pilot sitting a bit lower and more aft than me....I prefer an extra set of eyes looking ahead......

As I sit at the helm with the electronics panel fully UP, it blocks my view of the engine gauges. I just scratch my head at that one! I asked a G-W guy about that he explained, "Just drop the thing down low enough until you can see the gauges". :huh

But, a 330 would give us 4-strokes and a bigger cabin and that's important since we enjoy sleeping aboard so much. We'd have to fully understand the "compromises" that we'd have to make in order to have a nicer cabin. It may be that we'll upgrade to a 330 for a few years as just an "interim" upgrade until the price of used Pursuit 345's come down.......... We've crawled all over the 345 and it truly is a gorgeous, yacht-quality boat.