Best hull/year/model WAC to re-power?

ELMO

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Since it is clear to me that gas prices will never return to where they once were and will only go higher, I am thinking I will be much better off cost wise and down the road with an older hull that could use re-powering as opposed to a 5-10 year old boat with a carbed 2 stroke.

So, I am looking for feedback on what would be some of the best year GW hull's ,(10 - 20 years), to re-power with a fuel efficient outboard? It needs to fit into the category of being a 22-24 walkaround for family and fishing use, it will also be trailered. Another feature that would be nice is a full transom for safety with small kids, (ie the GW 228G). So let me know of any Grady's or other makes for that time period that are still going strong today and will continue to with regular care and maintenance.

I am sure I am leaving some key information out so hopefully someone points that out to me as this post gets read. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
 

Grog

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You have to put some serious hours on the boat to pay for new motor(s) and will probably never reach the break point if you trailer it. If you plan to trailer, fill up at a gas station and save your $ there. How much money do you want to spend and where do you want to boat? Bigger boats open up your options but cost more.
 

ELMO

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Hi Grog,

I know what you are saying but my experience in going on some of my buddy's boats (with new 4 strokes), is that I will not be using about 20-30 gallons in additional fuel (that my former 2 stroke used) on our average trip. At 4.00 a gallon, (more in the years to come), that can add up fast. Plus the fact that the engine would be new, under warrentee, and has some other nice features. I must say I really have no experience with the HPDI's but from some fuel numbers I see posted from time to time, it does not seem as dramatic.

Not totally sure what I will spend, 30ish I would guess depending on what I find. I can't really go any bigger with trailering it and even 24 might be pushing it on some models. It just seems smarter in the long run to make economy of the engine a priority since who knows how high fuel prices will go. Criss-crossing cape cod bay we are sometimes shocked at the miles we have traveled in search of fish!

Any other comments out there? Thanks
 

TBone

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Not an expert but there are alot of Explorer 24's around and they
look to have a nice fishing area.

Thoughts on a rig as old as you are looking for:

-you need to investigate if the added weight of the 4stroke
you want is compatible with that hull.

-are you willing to have the transom rebuilt? 15-20 years
you might be asking for something you re not prepared
for, escp. for the added weight.

-fuel cells....and lines at 20 years? may be needing replacement
in the near future.

If you are careful you might be able to find a 20 year old gem that
will not need as much, but you need to be very careful and definately
have someone with a lot of experience help you look at the one you find.

Heres a crazy thought:
How about finding and older GW hull with an I/O and repowering with
a Diesel 8)
 

Grog

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20-30 gallons a trip! On a smallish boat that doesn't seem right. For a similar version of my boat with 4 strokes to use that much less gas, it would have to be over a 100 mile run. Mileage wise I take a beating compared to a 4 stroke when trolling but at cruise it's not a huge deal (but there is a diffrence) and flat out there is no difference. When you dump $15K for a decent HP 4 stroke, it takes A LOT of gas to break even. HPDI variants (HPDI, ETEC, Opti) are better on gas than the carb versions and on some hulls get the same MPG as 4 strokes but also weigh a lot less. Most older hulls were not designed for the 4 stroke weight. Like T-Bone pointed out older boats are not always cheaper.


If you want to trailer the boat every time you go out stay under 25' and have something to pull it. I'm not sure where you launch from but it was a mad-house at the ramps at Cape Cod on the weekends. Ever go out by Monomoy?
 

jimmy's marine service

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Grog said:
20-30 gallons a trip! On a smallish boat that doesn't seem right. For a similar version of my boat with 4 strokes to use that much less gas, it would have to be over a 100 mile run. Mileage wise I take a beating compared to a 4 stroke when trolling but at cruise it's not a huge deal (but there is a diffrence) and flat out there is no difference. When you dump $15K for a decent HP 4 stroke, it takes A LOT of gas to break even. HPDI variants (HPDI, ETEC, Opti) are better on gas than the carb versions and on some hulls get the same MPG as 4 strokes but also weigh a lot less. Most older hulls were not designed for the 4 stroke weight. Like T-Bone pointed out older boats are not always cheaper.


If you want to trailer the boat every time you go out stay under 25' and have something to pull it. I'm not sure where you launch from but it was a mad-house at the ramps at Cape Cod on the weekends. Ever go out by Monomoy?


grog here has some excellent advice...the older gw hulls are not designed for the new super heavy 4 stroke engines,ask g/w customer service if you doubt me...as for the new fuel injected engines,it's true they burn less fuel,and it's true and in some cases,the 2 stroke engines are actually better on fuel than the 4 strokes...but...you really gotta look at it like this...the older 2 stroke carb's engines,these will burn approx 10% of their hp in fuel per hr...think about this for a second...if a new bombardier e-tec is $16,000 installed,and your older 2 stroke carb'd engine runs great,turns up full rpm and has good compression,how many hours are you gonna have to run that new e ngine to save the money you spent in fuel ??? it's gona take longer than you're gonna live...
if you're gonna trailer,than 24 gradys are the max for that,the 25's have a beam that exceeds the 8'6" limit,which means you're gonna need a wide load permit,to be legal...
keep all this in mind...my advice would be to look for something in that size range,with decent power,then run it till it dies... :wink:
 

chrisA.

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Jimmy and Elmo,Don't overlook the 26 Islander,totally trailerable with a beam of 8'-6" and all the goodies of the bigger 272&282 sailfish,first year was 1995 until 2005
 

gradyfish22

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Chris, I agree that the Islander is the most boat size wise, but most single engine islanders go through engines quicker then they should, and most owner's agree they really should have opted for twins. There are some happy single engine owner's of islanders, but many wish they got twins or even repower with twins. there were two in my marina, one got repowered with twin F150's, the other put a 300 HPDI on the back because he felt 250 was underpowered, both were repowered after 5-6 years of use and neither had enough hours where a repower should have been needed, but both boats were continuosly out for engine repairs and the owners got tired of it.
 

chrisA.

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Gradyfish,I agree with you,now I know there are many Islanders with singles,seems to be mostly up north and I'm sure they do ok but in my opinion,that boat needs a minimum of 300 horses at the least,the early ones such as mine were rated at 400 and mine was rigged with 175 Johnsons which pound for pound were fantastic and 350hp on that boat was (and is) more than enough.Whenever a discussion comes up about trailerable boats,the Islander seems to get lost in the shuffle,its a great boat for its size and I have a friend who owns a 282 sailfish and he loves the way the Islander handles.
 

ELMO

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Excellent food for thought guys and I will consider all of it. Ultimately I am targeting the, Seafearer 228G, Explorer 246G and the HS 23 WAC (1999 and newer since it has bracket with full transom as well). Would the same transom rot/weight issues exist with the bracket models? Planning to go see the 246G being advertised on this site with F225 since I spend a fair amt of time in MD for business. I will check with local Grady dealer on weight concerns for this model/engine though. I would also not commit to anything without a prof survey done on both hull and engine of any potential purchase.

And Grog, you are correct that sometime when we leave that doc at 4am and get back at 4pm, we have run 100 miles or more! It does not seem to matter where we leave from, (plymouth, marshfield, sandwich), when we fish CCB we are putting on some miles. Of couse it is because we want to fish the sw corner, race, billings gate, fisherman's ledge etc....
I agree that the ramps in and around the cape are busy but not usually at the time we head out. Have fished Monomoy on occasion but usually stick with CCB or BB since they do not require trailering across the cape.

I certainly would not repower a boat that had a perfectly good 2 stroke. I would get the years out of it I could while saving for a new engine. I would only re-power with a 4 stroke if I found the right older hull that absolutely needed new power, (no engine, or an engine that was clearly on its last legs).

I am curious to know your thoughts, pro or con on the 3 targeted boats above as well as the one I may go see? Again, I appreciate all the insight.
thanks again.

ps I would love to own an Islander Chris but I think it is 2 steps ahead for me right now.
 

gradyfish22

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Yes they do exist since the transom is built the same way, but there are less methods for the water to get into the transom. That does not eliminate scuppers and thru-hulls, as well as water that may get into and sit in the bilge after washes or rainfall, these still exist and can still do plenty of damage. There are usually less with full transoms that do have problems, but they do exist, you also need to check the bracket itself. If it is chipped or rusting, it will need to be protected and painted to protect it, do not use regular bottom paint, it can cause galvanic action and deteriorate the bracket. Do not know the specifics, but special paint does need to be used, hopefully Jimmy can help you out with that. Also, if there is pitting in the bracket, stay away it may need to be replaced over time.