A decade on my 228

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Come April I will have owned my 228 for a decade! Long gone is that new boat smell of illustrious VOCs and freaking out about the first scratch. I do miss that new boat smell though.

I have caught hundreds of pounds of dolphin if not close to thousand in her. I have fished the OBX,the IBX, out of Charleston, Hilton Head, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Port Canaveral ( sort of my home port) , Sebastian Inlet, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, The Abacos, Bimini, the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Cape San Blas and Panama City Beach.

I have navigated mountain lakes, parts of the Tennessee River and the entire navigable length of the mighty St. John's River. I have seen the Blue Angles fly over her deck and taken my kids snorkeling over every reef in the Keys.

I have been in weather I shouldn't have been in and gone to places many wouldn't try with a small boat. The past decade has been great and the boat has been good to me. I try to be good to her. I don't know what the next ten years holds for my boat, but she has 18 month old 4.2 liter F250 and this spring I will update the electronics. She gets waxed twice a year and is largely garaged kept.

Thank you Grady for building a wonderful capable craft. The best moments of my life have often been aboard my 228. Now, if I just could get some of that new boat smell...;-) Here is to my nameless boat and another decade of adventure!

 

[Greyduk]

Smokey, I hope the next 10 years are the best ones yet. Enjoy!!

 

[Halfhitch]

You can buy "New Car Smell" in an aerosol can. Maybe that would work for you till they start making "New Boat Smell".

 

[wahoo33417]

Bob: Congrats on a well broken-in boat! She still has many more memories to collect.

Rob

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Bob: Congrats on a well broken-in boat! She still has many more memories to collect.

Rob

One day Rob we will meet up in the Keys and have a boat drink together.

 

[Ky Grady]

Hope to check out his old boat on Sunday on my way through to Grady factory on Monday.

 

[Fishtales]

Just finished my 13th season. A few minor things but I agree the boats are very solid and GW stands behind them. Hope you have 10 more!

 

[wrxhoon]

Not quite a decade but I enjoyed mine for 7 years now . The boat suits my needs exactly, small enough to trailer up and down the coast from Sydney and big enough for fishing over the continental shelf up to 35 knots offshore in the sometimes very rough Pacific chasing marlin. I love the boat so much so I bought another 228 . She is on the way to Sydney now.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I've got nine years on my 226. Everything is still solid on the boat. But the Yamaha makes too much oil when I troll and my electronics are getting old.

I plan to mount a Honda BH250 on a manual jack plate that will set the engine far enough back to clear the side scan transducer with a Humminbird Solix or Simrad Evo3.

Every Grady I've had held up well except for a bad transom on the '75 Overnighter.

Just got back from the Miami Boat Show. There is no way that I can justify the cost of a new boat at my age. BTW, Trump could build his wall all the way to the moon if he sold the boats I saw there.

 

[Parthery]

Kinda neat to see these milestones...I remember when you got that boat.

 

[Parthery]

Hope to check out his old boat on Sunday on my way through to Grady factory on Monday.

You finally taking the tour?

 

[Ky Grady]

You finally taking the tour?

I am!! Looking forward to it.

Picking up fuel tank Monday morning from FMT, hour and a half from Greenville, so I'm too close not to go. Stopping in to see Smokey on the way through on Sunday since I'm in no hurry to get to motel in Henderson.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Kinda neat to see these milestones...I remember when you got that boat.

You know Brian part of my gig is the vacation rental thing and all that real estate costs money to keep up. Crap fails even in soft times and I have long wanted a 30 footer, but priorities between kids and business dictate my boating life. She is paid off now. I own it 100% , no bank. That's why I decided to repower.

I am impressed with the gelcoat and how well it's held up for us. I polish the topside parts of the cabin and it helps keep the oxidation at an acceptable level for me. Lol. I do have the urge to explore big time. That's why a Marlin would be great. I have been to the Exumas by plane a few times. I so badly want to go back on my own boat. Rob here did the Great Loop in his Journey. That would be an epic adventure. I suppose I could one day do it in a 228?

For all the 2 foot itis or 8 foot itis I suffer with I have to say it's been a great boat. I am looking forward to spring.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I've got nine years on my 226. Everything is still solid on the boat. But the Yamaha makes too much oil when I troll and my electronics are getting old.

I plan to mount a Honda BH250 on a manual jack plate that will set the engine far enough back to clear the side scan transducer with a Humminbird Solix or Simrad Evo3.

Every Grady I've had held up well except for a bad transom on the '75 Overnighter.

Just got back from the Miami Boat Show. There is no way that I can justify the cost of a new boat at my age. BTW, Trump could build his wall all the way to the moon if he sold the boats I saw there.

Doc, it's always a pleasure visiting with you when you wander our way. Your 226 has been good to you. Those new Hondas as nice. You should get in some skinny water off of Homasassa now with that jack plate.

I got my boat in 09 and it's an 08 leftover. I saved some money but I recall buying it thinking this boat costs me as much my first house I bought in Deltona, Florida back in 1995. I love boats but more and more they are ever increasingly becoming a rich man's game. Lol.

 

[UCPA111]

The Seafarer is an amazing boat. The amount of usable space on them is crazy. I troll on Lake Erie....planer boards, down riggers, dipsy divers. 10-14 rods. 4-6 guys. Plenty of room in the cockpit. Can be fighting 3 fish at a time and it's all manageable and fun. I love the economy....ease of trailering...and ability to instill confidence if I get stuck in some sloppy weather. Mine is a 1984 model. Repowered with Verado. Most expensive $2800 I've ever spent (cost of the boat in 2017 LOL...and then I restored)....but yes....go to a boat show and it's hard to believe how much you'd spend.

The season for me is rather short. Lake Erie - Erie, PA. Summer can be iffy if the wind blows a lot. One day I'd like to tow the boat down south and run out of Murrels Inlet (we vacation down there).

For me...this "little" 22 footer is like a 30 footer. She's tucked in for the winter in a garage and doesn't spend time outside now unless she's being used on the water.

 

[journeyman]

?

 

[SirGrady226]

Glad your Grady has treated you so well! My 226 is a bit over 3 decades old, and a testament to how well these were built since its whole life has been spent in South Florida. I can only imagine all the fish stories this boat could tell, if it were possible. This boat outlasted the two previous owners who are no longer with us, and this wonderful boat just might outlast me too, who knows?

 

[Finest Kind]

Come April I will have owned my 228 for a decade! Long gone is that new boat smell of illustrious VOCs and freaking out about the first scratch. I do miss that new boat smell though.

I have caught hundreds of pounds of dolphin if not close to thousand in her. I have fished the OBX,the IBX, out of Charleston, Hilton Head, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Port Canaveral ( sort of my home port) , Sebastian Inlet, Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, The Abacos, Bimini, the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Cape San Blas and Panama City Beach.

I have navigated mountain lakes, parts of the Tennessee River and the entire navigable length of the mighty St. John's River. I have seen the Blue Angles fly over her deck and taken my kids snorkeling over every reef in the Keys.

I have been in weather I shouldn't have been in and gone to places many wouldn't try with a small boat. The past decade has been great and the boat has been good to me. I try to be good to her. I don't know what the next ten years holds for my boat, but she has 18 month old 4.2 liter F250 and this spring I will update the electronics. She gets waxed twice a year and is largely garaged kept.

Thank you Grady for building a wonderful capable craft. The best moments of my life have often been aboard my 228. Now, if I just could get some of that new boat smell...;-) Here is to my nameless boat and another decade of adventure!

Well said!
I feel exactly the same about my 1988 TrophyPro, which I have owned since 1991, and already re-powered three times.

Some of the best days of my life spent on this boat, including this one just the other day with my Wife, my Son and his Wife and my 2 1/2 year old Grandson anchored up on the Haulover Inlet sandbar....

http://rs976.p

 

[mmiela]

My 03 226 is still going strong. Bought it in 14 and have used it every year. Love the boat and can’t wait till April.