First Grady - finished purchase today...!

[onoahimahi]

I just competed the purchase of a 1994 Sailfish 252 with twin 200HO Etecs. Boat needs some TLC but the engines are great...! The whole search and purchase process has been a bit painful but I had lots of help from folks on this site, the Etec Owners forum, and Hull Truth. That part was great...!

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[Finatic]

Looks nice. Enjoy your "new to you" Grady.

 

[christo15]

Looks great!! Congratulations! We just bought a "new to us" Grady in April of last year and looked at this model. Solid purchase.

 

[ocnslr]

Looks great.

Congratulations on the "new" Grady.

May she always bring you home safely, with full fishboxes.

 

[onoahimahi]

My boat hunt started when my wife said my current outboard, a 1990 225 HP Yamaha is too loud and too smelly and that she wanted an I/O like one we owned previously. She also missed the big swim platform we had on the I/O. I found a really nice 93 Sailfish 254 I/O and almost made an offer. If anyone is looking for one, this one is a beauty:

http://www.olsonbrosmarine.com/pre_owne ... eh=2764227

It's got 329 original fresh water hours on it and was stored indoors over the winters. I checked it over with a moisture meter and the transom is solid and bone dry. The hull is in much better condition than the one I just bought but I just didn't want to go back to an another I/O. I was able to convince my wife that the Etecs are quieter and cleaner than my old outboard and that the Sailfish euro-transom makes for a nice swim platform.

Cheers,
-Scott

 

[frfly172]

Congrats on your Grady , just picked up a 2001 282 sailfish in Florida love it already goodluck with your boat.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Congrats and enjoy her.

 

[Gary M]

I had the exact boat/year for 4 years and she took us to the Bahamas and back many, many times!

One thing that I easilly did was to make a bait/fish board for the aft bench seat area, using the cushion as a template then getting a shop to cut a piece of starboard to custom fit that area. Use some of that rubbery, non-slip matting to keep it in place. On my Marlin, I did that again but only used 1/4" thick and now I can still snap the cushion over the bait board while running. :mrgreen:

Here's the Marlin bait board, but it was the same on the Sailfish.

Also, mine came with a custom made "box" that was down in the bilge area and it was awesome for all sorts of oils, bottle, cans, jars, etc. A previous owner had made it and we got a LOT of use out of it!

You'll love the boat and congrats!!

 

[onoahimahi]

Gary - thanks for those tips. I'll make that cutting board and build a box for the bilge area. It is nice to keep things like oil and other fluids out of the cabin. I'll be replacing the mahamahi with striped bass and bluefish, however...

Thanks,
-Scott

 

[onoahimahi]

Gary - thanks for those tips. I'll make that cutting board ... I'll be replacing the mahamahi with striped bass and bluefish, however...

Thanks,
-Scott

I finally turned that Mahi into a Stripped Bass... 8)
(Haven't made Gary's cool custom cutting board yet but it's on my list...)

 

[onoahimahi]

onoahimahi wrote:
Gary - thanks for those tips. I'll make that cutting board ... I'll be replacing the mahamahi with striped bass and bluefish, however...

Thanks,
-Scott


I finally turned that Mahi into a Stripped Bass... 8)
(Haven't made Gary's cool custom cutting board yet but it's on my list...)

I finally got around to cloning Gary's cool custom cutting board for my Sailfish last night. I used 1/4" Starboard (Sea Foam color) that I picked up on Ebay for around $35. Now I just need to get some blood on it...

 

[65aircooled]

Congrats, great looking boat. I just bought a 1994 Seafarer under 500 hrs in great condition (for her age) I will be picking her up this coming weekend. i am actually new to boating, this being my first one, unless my kayak counts. Tomorrow I should have my license and be ready to catch the tail of the season :dance

 

[HMBJack]

Yay! Congratulations. I think you are gonna love those ETECs. Good luck!