Considering a 1991 Overnighter?

[yukonpete]

I just sold my 1995 GW Spirit 175, which I had repowered with a 115 ETec, which I loved, but which was just a little too small for my needs here in Puget Sound where hunt and fish. I would loved to have kept it, but right now I can't afford more than one boat. I am now looking at a 1991 Overnighter, which has a factory hardtop, and is in excellent shape. It looks pretty sweet to me and I think I can get it for a fair price (for the Pacific NW), with its original (but low hr) two -stroke power and kicker and I can re-power when I can save up for it. I was told by a couple of folks (at a dealer) I should look for something post-1994 with the SeaV2 hull. I would love to do that, but the newer boats are beyond my price range right now, and I don't want to do a boat loan. That said, I feel like the older hull on this 1991 Overnighter 204C boat might do me just fine, especially since I thought my Spirit 175 (which had no tabs -- didn't need em) ran sweet. The same folks that told me get the newer hull told me the 175 Spirit "wasn't a real Grady" anyway, so I wanted to cast a broader net out here and see what folks can tell me about their experience with pre-1994 Overnighters for decent size waters like Puget Sound or LI Sound, etc.

I have read alot of posts on here that tell me the pre1994 Overnighter are still great boats, even if they not have all the state of the art benefits of the post-1994 boats (Adventure)(?) with the SeaV2 hull. What say you guys?

Thanks much

Peter

 

[BigI]

I have an 87 206G. I love the boat for what it is. I had to work through a lot of manageable issues, but now all is well. I had All the issues they're known for. I replaced the through hull fittings, fixed a leak in the steering, and replace the cabin bulkhead. My gas tank needs to be watched. My boat spent its first 15 or so years in fresh water, which I think is a blessing. I have an original 150 yamaha on it. The shift shaft appears to be in good condition for its age.

If yours has an original yamaha on it and spent all it's years in the salt I'd be concerned. Have it looked at.

Make sure your transom is in good shape. The 204C is known to have issues w/ water getting in under the cap.

If I had to do it again I'd have the boat surveyed before buying.

Good luck!

 

[LUNDINROOF]

My first Grady was a 1985 overnighter. I loved the boat and kept it 12 years. I sold it because I needed a boat with a little more room. Have the engine and hull checked out.

You didn't mention the size of type of motor it has. You will need at least a 175,

 

[Doc Stressor]

My first Grady was an original 1975 204C. I traded it after 11 years, in part because it had developed a wet transom. The fuel cell had also developed stalactites of rust and need to be replaced.

The older design is a very stable but wet running hull. I had the boat on eastern Long Island Sound for 3 years before bringing it to Tarpon Springs on the Gulf of Mexico. The boat was great for fishing the Race area and I would run as far as Montauk and Block Island on good days. I would run 25-30 miles out in the GOM in the typical 2 ft chop. When the fishing was good, the boat could handle 2-4 ft seas. It also survived several violent thunderstorms where I could not make headway and needed to head into the seas for several hours.

My point is that this was a very tough hull. I always had the feeling that it could take a lot more of a beating than I could. It hit big waves like an old time fullback hitting the line. It would spray sheets of water and pounded quite a bit. But you could slow down, bring the bow up, and buck through just about anything.

Be sure to have the boat hull and fuel tank checked by a competent surveyor. And be sure that the boat comes with full curtains.

 

[bone collector]

i have a 88 as well its great ran 12 miles to block island last summer in some nasty stuff that i probably shouldnt have been in but boat handled well although i did blow out a through hole fitting wich i didnt find out till i got back but it will push through all chop at low speeds and im gona repower mine this spring with a 175 suzuki myself

 

[sfc2113]

I have an 86, perfect boat for me. trailers easy and can launch by myself. Put tabs on it last year and cant say enough about the ride. Conf fishing for 3. Turned out I have a wet/rot transom and am ripping it apart and replacing it over the winter/spring, Better check yours out before you buy it, they did a bad job of sealing the transoms. I had mine surveyed and they told me it was wet but ...without opening a hole in it you just dont know how bad. If it is original and was garage kept all its life should be fine. Otherwise I would assume there is water in there.

 

[derx2]

I like my 1989 204 Overnighter, I bought it about 2 years ago.
I have run it in South Sound Washington State, the Columbia River in some nasty wind driven waves, the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria ,Lake Pendorille Idaho (2000' above sea level ) and in the Sea of Cortez Mexico in the last 2 years.

Its a great all around boat, I have brought yellowtail jacks, tuna, ,bottom fish, salmon, +crab, over the side and I even wake board and slalom ski behind it at the lake.

I was in the same spot you are 2 years ago. When I was shopping the 1993 and up hulls were more money that I wanted to spend so for me this boat meets my needs and fit my budget for my first "real" boat.

good luck
David E.

 

[Keithp]

I’m looking at a 1991 Grady 204c overnighter. It currently has a Yamaha 150hp HDPI (2 stroke)on it. Looking also at a 1990 F150 (4stroke). My local Yamaha dealer thinks that boat needs a 175/200hp on it. Question is? Does it? Or will it perform as it should w that 150HP. Imagine the 2stroke will do better on hole shot? Anyhow, what ye fellas say? I’m in PNW waters - somewhat protected. But it gets big and ugly at times and I don’t want to be underpowered! Thanks for info

 

[CJ7Rob]

All good info up above. I believe the base motors on these boats were 150s. Max is 230hp, so you can put a 225 on there. With a 150, you'll be fine, just won't top out as fast. Might still get 35-38mph though.

 

[Lt.Mike]

I have an ‘87 204C Overnighter with a 2 stroke Suzuki DT225. The boat hits 48mph at WOT and cruises easy at 35mph. I fish mainly inshore as you can only take stripers within 3 miles out. In the sloppy stuff you can’t fly but it does fine and you don’t feel unsafe at all. I’ve been on friends boats that were bigger that didn’t ride as well. It can be a wet ride but you can adjust your heading to minimize the spray.
Over the years I’ve recored the deck hatch and replaced the tank. With a boat this age it’s to be expected. I also just put a new trailer under it so you see I’ve got no intention of parting with it. When the day comes to repower I’ll go with the Yamaha F200. It’s a 4 stroke 4 cylinder that has the same bolt pattern and only weighs 15 lbs more than the DT225. With a 19 pitch prop the F200 will still hit 43mph. Plenty fast enough.
There’s been so many of these boats built and with so many still on the water everyone knows them and what works for them.
I asked the fellow setting up my new trailer for my boat how many Overnighters he’s done this for? He said must be something around 50.

 

[Lt.Mike]

All good info up above. I believe the base motors on these boats were 150s. Max is 230hp, so you can put a 225 on there. With a 150, you'll be fine, just won't top out as fast. Might still get 35-38mph though.

Remember it’s not just about HP as it is weight. A 2 stroke 225 built 30 years ago weighed some 100 lbs less than the same 225 HP rated 4stroke motor built today.
Even the 2 Stroke DT225 on my boat weighs 470lbs.
Look into the Yamaha F200, a lot of Overnighter Owner’s have repowered with that motor and have been very happy with it.

 

[Doc Stressor]

The thing about the pre-SV2 hulls is that they are not designed to be fast. They will knock your teeth out if you try to run over 25 mph in any kind of big sea or shop. I ran my old Overnighter in Long Island Sound for 3 years and then another 8 years in the Gulf of Mexico. If you didn't fish in 3-5 ft seas at the east end of LIS, you didn't fish much. The hull is great for slogging in big seas at 15-18 mph. It is very stable but very wet. You can get around the wet ride by running with full canvas/vinyl. But you don't want to run at 30+ mph unless it is close to flat calm. The point is that you don't need a lot of hp. I ran with a 135 hp 2 stroke and a 15" prop and a 140 hp 2 stroke with a 17" prop. The overall performance was better with the 135 hp.

I fished with a guy that had the same hull with a 150 hp 2 stroke. The boat ran drier (relatively) with the heavier engine on the transom. The hull tends to be bow heavy even though the reverse chines and long strakes produce a bow high attitude. But the design causes the bow to try to push through waves and launch rather than ride on top of them. So you really don't want to run fast unless it is flat.

I like the stability of the old hull design. I never felt insecure even when caught in thunderstorms where I could only face into the waves and had to forget about making headway toward shore. It is also very stable when drifting. It tends to drift sideways instead of bow forward. We used to drift sideways into 12' tide rip seas when fishing the Race off of Orient Point without a problem.

All of the old hulls will need transom work before you repower. My transom only lasted 7 or 8 years. The cap corrodes and lets rainwater into the wood. I agree that the 200 hp inline 4 cylinder Yamaha would be a good match for that hull.

 

[Fishtales]

all comes down to condition and price. you know what you have, just don't buy someone else's problem and you will be fine. get s survey and check all wood for rot.

 

[Lt.Mike]

The thing about the pre-SV2 hulls is that they are not designed to be fast. They will knock your teeth out if you try to run over 25 mph in any kind of big sea or shop. I ran my old Overnighter in Long Island Sound for 3 years and then another 8 years in the Gulf of Mexico. If you didn't fish in 3-5 ft seas at the east end of LIS, you didn't fish much. The hull is great for slogging in big seas at 15-18 mph. It is very stable but very wet. You can get around the wet ride by running with full canvas/vinyl. But you don't want to run at 30+ mph unless it is close to flat calm.
.

There’s a lot of truth to this but I wouldn’t run less than 200hp on the boat. My 225 doesn’t have a problem holding that heavy bow up when it’s called for, which usually when running an inlet during a heavy swell. Also 3,500-4,000 rpm is an easy pace at about 35mph without beating up the motor. Getting on plane is almost instant even with a full boat full of guests aboard.doubt itd be that easy with s 150 pushing.
The new version is rated to 250hp but I don’t see them running any faster in the rough stuff than the older models.
Might be drier though.

 

[Topjimmy]

Welcome from the Seattle area myself ever thought about stepping up a little and get a 192? have a 1994 192 Tournament with a 150 Yamaha salt water and it chews up anything out in Puget sound now I live on the Coast and take it out to Westport and it does great there as well as long as the swells are not too bad,they ride great with the SV2 hull and it tops out about 40 Knots and it you need more room on the deck just rip the Lounge seat up and replace with a another helm chair Just a thought as they can be had for a decent price