considering an atlantic

[gwgirl]

Hi,
Newbie here, but, i love grady whites! We owned an overnighter 206g and sadly had to sell it. We are considering buying an atlantic that has come up for sale. It has twin 175 e tec motors(need work), needs a trailer, but has new radar. I was wondering if anyone has ridden or driven these boats and what your exp was. Does it give you the cadillac ride grady is known for? Is it tipsy because of the fly bridge? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[wahoo33417]

GWGirl: First, welcome to the forum! As you may have guessed, not many Atlantic owners out there. I remember when they came out. I also recall that they did not stay in production for more than a couple of years, I believe.

Still, I believe there is an Atlantic owner or two on the forum and, hopefully, one will come along and see your post.

Rob

 

[Fishtales]

As I recall one of the reasons they stopped making them was it took a lot of time and wasn't as profitable as other simpler models. I don't recall negative press on them.

 

[GRANITE HAMMER]

I just bought an atlantic, havent splashed it yet, but as soon as the snow melts i will be splashing the Atlantic in the Atlantic, and i will let you know how it rides.
Im coming from a 1996 247 center console pursuit with twin 130’s, so im hoping this 26 Atlantic with twin 225’s lives up to my expectations.
Im sure it will, i called Grady and spoke to the engineering department, and they said this was only the second hull model to receive the SeaV2 hull design, with the 1989 28 Marlin being the first ever SeaV2 hull. GW Engineering deprtment said all of the Atlantics ever produced, were the new SeaV2 design. so at least it hs that going for it.
I dont generally care for the stepped transom design, as the bottom pf the Transom can not be supported by the trailer bunks, as most boats are supposed to be supported, but hey if its been around this long, im sure it will be fine.
So i will give full ride report with fuel consumptions and speeds this spring,
Cheers

Ps does anyone know if Grady published test reports of year models like Pursuit. Where pursuit you can pull up test reports of any year and model of boat, and all the results are provided on a test sheet with a graph of speed vs fuel consumption, then you can conpare your baot and engines to the test model, anyone know if Grady has this to offer on old legacy models like the Atlantic?

Thanks

 

[wahoo33417]

Both Grady and Yamaha would make those available for a few years after they were done. You might find it on the web somewhere. Or, I suspect that same Grady engineer can email their test data to you. Yamaha has an archive section on their website, but this boat may even go further back than that.

 

[GRANITE HAMMER]

Yea, im going to give that engineer a call if i cant find it on the site, just thought if someone knew already.
Thanks

 

[wahoo33417]

Well, the short and somewhat lazy answer I gave apparently is no longer valid. The link I had to the archived Yamaha Performance Bulletins no longer works and I could not find another link. It may be that they are gone, sorry to say. Hopefully Grady still has.

They gave me their test data of my boat and motor, including the two props they tested, but that was when I was repowering ten years ago.

Rob

 

[GRANITE HAMMER]

Wahoo,
Thanks for the response, no worries, wasnt lazy.
I called the engineering department at Grady, and they sent me the spec's, close to what others provide for there boats.
Unfortunately my boat was re-powered with 1997 Yamaha 225's and the boat was originally powered with twin Yamaha 200's, so what they sent me will be off a bit, but it should be close to give me what to expect on fuel consumption vs speed. I have attached the test sheet to this thread in case there are any other Grady Atlantic owners who want this as well.

I emailed it to the guy in Florida with the Atlantic web site, but havnt heard back from him, so I dont know if he is keeping up with that site anymore or not.

Anyway, here it is.

PS did GWGirl who started this thread, ever purchase her Atlantic she was looking at, just curious how many of these things are still floating around out there, and how people like them, as I cant wait to splash mine when the ice thaws.

Cheers,

 

[Fishtales]

always liked that boat. gw indicates that people wanted to be near the fishing action, thus the low sell rate. they also said it was higher cost to produce. i'm thinking it was more opportunity cost. they could make more smaller or less complicated boats and went that way instead. post some pics when you can.

 

[GRANITE HAMMER]

Fishtales,

I hear ya it is a really cool boat, I believe they said it was just bad timing, and the sales were not there at the time.
You have to remember the economy wasnt that great at the time of 1990 and 1991, so it was probably not a good time to try to introduce a new concept.
I believe there are enough people out there now that if they tried it again or if another manufacturer tried it, the sales would be there, but it would need to be on a bigger platform, more like a 32 or 33, and keep the 9'6 beam, that way its trailerable, but yet the cabin is big enough to have a small couch and table, kind of like the Bert 28, but narrower.

I have to wait for the snow to melt before I can get started on mine, but I have a list started that I will be working on to get it all the way I want it.

I just found out from the guy who owns the Grady Atlantic site, that I'm boat 51 and he believes there are about 30 left still floating, and about 30 dead ones. Its a decent size boat with the 9'6 beam, makes it larger than the standard 8ft beam boat, it definitely needs a triple axle trailer to pull it donw the road comfortably. I will keep the group posted as I revamp it.

The former owner has been awesome, giving me all the info and extra gear he had for it, really awesome guy.

I'm stoked.

Cheers,

 

[Fishtales]

Awesome. Check into trailering. Up here the legal max is 8'6". Prob not a big deal if you are not going far. That boat is going to look big out of the water and likely will attract some attention.

 

[GRANITE HAMMER]

You are correct, technically it should have a permit, as it is over by 6”.
With that said, I think if you have a good trailer, are able to haul the boat with a truck that is made to haul it, not too many law enforcemnt are going to bother you. I just pulled the Atalntic from eastern Virginia to New Hampshire, pulling it with a duramax dually, on a triple axle trailer that was adequatley rated to carry the boat. Trailer has brakes and all lights functioning, I passed at least 6 troopers, and had another three or four pass me, and not one lifted there head or gave me a second look.
Its the jokers that are pulling a 10klb boat with a 1/2 ton truck, with the boat sitting incorrectly on the trailer, either causing the vehicle to sag(too much tongue weight), or tongue weight too light, causing the trailer to sway, in either case, they almost have to stop someone like that, as i would if i were them.
I guess i try to put myself in the shoes of the trooper, and try to keep my tow vehicle and trailer matched and both in good legal condition.
It actually tows really nice on the triple acle trailer.

 

[GRANITE HAMMER]

Question for all Grady experts.
I just pulled the rear smaller deck panel, just in front of the livewell, so i could look down in there and inspect condition.
So other than looking like the bilge was bathed in oil, there is the center compartment where you can see my bilge pump, but there is also a compartment in the starboard side, and the water seems to be stuck there.
I’m hoping someone can tell me there is a drain for that compartment, and that Grady did not design that starboard compartment with no drain.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, as i clean this thing up, so i can repalce the pump seals on the 2 stroke oil tanks and then paint the bilge.
I have attached a couple pictures for reference.
Thanks