Express Style GW That Can Trailer

[PSW]

I have been wondering for some time why GW does not make a boat that is an Express Style or even a WA that is conducive to family boating but can still be trailered. I love my 180 GW and currently have a bigger 40 Ocean as our primary boat. Having a big convertible with diesel power is great but at some point I plan on going back to a trailer boat that can still sleep the family overnight and do longer fishing trips with my old man.

I had a 3070 Pursuit prior to the Ocean and it was ordered new by us and fully outfitted. We trailered that boat and it was a bit much to trailer and more specifically launch at our local ramps. Our ramps our steep and it was always a pain. When we decided to go moorage we had the opportunity to sell our boat at a great price and move up. Very happy with the decision.

But sometimes I like to daydream about what my next boat would be and while most people go bigger I am sure at this point I will be going back to a trailer boat and want to have as much cabin as possible still in a fishing package.

I would like to stay Grady White and while I love the Pursuit family they have lost the fishing focus and have more a Tiara cruising mentality in boat design today. So I ask you diehard GW boys. How in thier model lineup has GW left the 28 foot 9'6" market. The Chesapeake is close but all loaded up it is a bit big. Also for my performance expectations it needs the bigger power.

Let me list my ideal expectations for a Trailerable Express and let me know if you think GW should consider such a boat. I would assume so seeing all the positive discussion over the 265. Great site BTW. I have bee reading for some time but finally decided to post today.

Here is the Dream Boat:

28 feet
9'6" beam
Center Helm Seating
Mid Berth
Big Cabin
50 sq ft cockpit
200+ gallon fuel
F250's with 50mph top end
Loaded test weight of 10,500

I would like to see atleast one GW with a little smaller cockpit and give that room back in the cabin. I litterally pitched a 4 man tent in a Voyager back in high school on vacation with family.

The Chesapeake is close but it is in between with the Yamaha power. I think there is a big jump between the Journey 258 and the 290 Chesapeake. You would think there would be a market for the family fishing style boat that can trailer. Otherwise you have to big boy and go with the 305 in my opinion and that would be like my last Pursuit when it comes ramp time.

A 285 Express would be the ticket.

Any thoughts? :?:

 

[jekyl]

I see where you are coming from and concur. As we live in the tropics midberths would rarely get used unless you had aircon/genset etc.
I would like to see more of an attempt to make the 2 bench seats at the helm into fold out berths.I have had a small mate sleep in the starboard one as is but with a small fold out to increase the width or even fold the helm seat forwards or remove entirely could improve the usability of this space. It could be an optional extra.
As skipper i prefer to be up on deck when we are overnighting anyway, so i can keep the occasional eye on where we are.(hopefully still where we were when i went to bed)
My understanding is Grady ceased making the 265 because it cost so much to produce that it lifted it into a different pricepoint, that made it difficult to sell.
However I have no desire to have any more size (like you because it makes trailering difficult) and wouldn't want anything smaller in beam, cockpit or head space. And the centre helm is a huge plus.

 

[Grog]

That sounds like a lot of the items many listed when the Sailfish was being re-done.

Express style
windshield that went up to the hard-top
a little more deadrise (just a tad)
...

One problem is the Sailfish with the aft berth doesn't have the extra room the Express has for the extra gas. Roughly 200 gallons and the aft berth vs. 250 gallons and no aft berth. Anything above the 258 isn't trailer friendly with the 9'6" beam (unless you have a permit), you can squeak by but a stickler can give you a hastle. A 285 would be a nice addition but in this market I don't see GW making any big plans. I'm not a big fan of the 290, they tried to do too many things so it can't do any of them well. The generator option is nice but with the new Honda 2KW generator, you no longer need to have a generator built into the boat.

 

[PSW]

The 30 Pursuit we had weighed in at the truck scales right at 15,400 LBS fully loaded with trailer. The truck handled the load fine but it was a lot of weight and like I said earlier loading on the trailer was the bigger hassle. Front bunks took a lot of pressure. At 15k+ you are just getting to a world where trailering for a weekend trip is questionable. I remember the thought process. At 12,500 LBS of loaded boat I think you could do it with 3/4 diesel and a foot less beam pretty easy.

Brother in law has the 258 (older model, same specs) and it trailers easy. The gap between the 258 and now the 290 Chesapeake is huge considering a company with so many models in their lineup. The pursuit 285 Offshore is a pretty sick boat other than the transom seat.

Maybe in a few years, hopefully quite a few with all the upgrades we have done to the Ocean, there will be a boat to fit the bill. The 305 just seems to be so much better boat than the 290 and it I don't think is that much more money than the 305. Of course from the numbers GW builds of the 305 many bump to the 330. Makes you scratch your head. I just think a WA guy is going Marlin all day over the 290. Eveyone loved the 265 so there should be market for some type of Express 285 in their.

 

[BobP]

Grady doesn't make any boats like this, primarily in the the narrower beam you ask for at the length. What would be a narrow beam 305. The Islander (was) the king of the trailerable-w/o- permit cabin boats.

Why center helm ? Center helm is standard on big beam inboards where there is plenty of beam to go adult bench seating on both sides as well as clear access to cabin.
Narrow beam makes for restricted space if that's what you are after.

 

[Z4J]

windshield that goes up to the hard-top

It always amazes me that naval designers will trade off a serious functioning windshield for the racing style itty-bitty windshield, as my wife describes it

 

[BobP]

Hardtops on cabin boats were most times an "option", with the guys down south preferring open air cooling, nothwitstanding the need for a sun shield - other ways than hardtop to accomplish it.

Todays hardtops & T tips no longer serve as electronics cabinets, all that has been moved to bridge console.

I never take down front and forward side canvas on the water, and rarely at the dock.

 

[PSW]

Good ideas and thoughts guys. Bob, I agree that maybe center seating is not a option on a 9'6" boat. I do think with the Express style you create more space inside and it could be done. Maybe to the stbd of the helm seat it has a forward facing bench type seat that is next to the helm seat and when the arm rest is up they are like the seating on the bigger center consoles. Then the port seating would be a small seat that is set back from the helm seat a foot or so to creat the space needed to get down into the cabin. The windshield being taller is a no brainer. My convertible is going to 80 mil Barrett on the fronts with mesh vents above.

How crucial do you guys feel a enclosed head is on a 28 foot boat. I think they end up being so small that if they went to the head set up on the gulfstream or islander and located in the same stbd location you could have much more berth space and open feel when covered with cabinet above for storage of the goods kept in the head normally. Then the dinette can be enlarge and when made into a berth it would be much larger. This could also increase the mid berth size. I do like the kidney shaped talbes or circle table instead of the tradtl triangle table.

Also tighten up the transom euro curve to allow just enough for the F250's to tip up and that would allow things to move back a bit more.

Lots of options.

 

[georgemjr]

Agree with the transom, disagree with the bathroom. An enclosed head was a huge reason for my upgrade. I haven't reached the level of comfort in my relationship where I am OK with my "first mate" dropping a steamer while I am trying to sleep without a door to seperate us. On the larger topic, I have often wondered why we haven't seen more express styles offering more cabin space and sacrificing very little. Can you really walk-around while fighting a tuna or mako?

 

[Grog]

I've fought bluefish and stripers up the walk-around. A real tuna or mako will pull you in the drink if you try it. You can get to the bow in 3' seas (real 3' seas not the ones on THT) with a pole in one hand with relative ease. My daughter was also able to get to the bow on her own when she was 4 (not underway), with an Express there would be now way. The downside is the seats are relatively close for a 9 1/2' beam. The center helm isn't that bad on a 265 (only been on one at a show) and you get more seating under the top, just don't expect a spacious livingroom.