First Seafarer Question

[msobie64]

I'm pretty set on a Seafarer as my next boat. My question would be is the Seav2 hull necessary? Looking to fish the Raritan Bay, LI Sound, Hudson and CT Rivers for stripers and some seabass/tog fishing.....not looking to go too far offshore. Can I get away with a pre SeaV2 hull? I'm pretty mechanical and don't mind a fixer upper as long as transom/stringers are all solid. I have 2001 HPDI now and don't mind working on 2-strokes. Thoughts? Budget is 10-20k, I'd like to stay in that range so I can cover any add-ons.

 

[leeccoll]

This question comes up fairly frequently. I owned a pre SeaV2 hull, and have also been on the newer hull as well. Sounds like for your kind of fishing it will be fine, and in certain conditions even better for trolling and drifting.

Where the SeaV2 hull really shines is getting you from point A to B comfortably.

There are trade offs on every hull.

Good luck finding a solid hull.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Is it needed? No. Is it nice to have? I think so. While I’ve not been on a pre sv2 hull, I’ve heard that the ride isn’t as comfortable as the sv2 hull and that it can be on the wetter side. I did just purchase a 2004 GW 228 Seafarer back on the east coast in Maryland a couple of weeks ago for $26.5k, which included the boat/motor/trailer. The boat has the hardtop, the motor is a 2004 Yamaha 225 hp 4 stroke with under 1k hours and has been checked for the dry exhaust corrosion issue, which it isn’t showing any signs of, and the trailer is a 2009 aluminum I-beam trailer with bunks on it. I try to buy as new as my budget will allow as I would rather be actually out on the water enjoying my boat as opposed to constantly working on it, fixing it or worrying that something will break and leave me stranded. Just the thought of having a boat that’s less than 20 years old makes for a bit more peace of mind as opposed to something that’s say 30-35+ years old. At least in my opinion.

I think if you were to look around a bit, you’d probably find a boat with an sv2 hull for less than your max budget of $20k. And I think for slightly more than your $20k budget, you could probably get a 1998 and newer body style, which I find more appealing looking. I think if you bought the newer body style that would also help you retain a lot more resale value if/when you went to re-sell the boat as a ton of people want the 1998 and newer body style. As stated above, for your fishing needs you likely don’t need the sv2 hull but I think it’s worth the investment, even if you had to increase your budget some. Whatever boat you decide on buying, I always recommend having a competent marine surveyor look over everything first to make sure you’re getting the boat in the condition it’s advertised as being in. If you really want to pay less for something considerably older and do the work fixing it up on your own, then that’s completely up to you. I have a 1965 mustang fastback that I restored mostly by myself, that being said, everything on the car is less than 10 years old besides the shell of the car itself. And it took over a year to restore her, which is also time that could’ve been spent enjoying her. Just comes down to how you want to spend your time off, and how you want to spend your money. Oftentimes unless you get a steal of a deal, you’ll just put the money you saved on the purchase price of the older boat right back into it at some point later on down the road.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Here’s a couple of 228’s on BT for sale with the sv2 hull for around $20k….

Grady-White 228 Seafarer boats for sale - Boat Trader

Find Grady-White 228 Seafarer boats for sale near you, including boat prices, photos, and more. Locate Grady-White boat dealers and find your boat at Boat Trader!

www.boattrader.com

Grady-White 228 Seafarer boats for sale - Boat Trader

Find Grady-White 228 Seafarer boats for sale near you, including boat prices, photos, and more. Locate Grady-White boat dealers and find your boat at Boat Trader!

www.boattrader.com

 

[SirGrady226]

I'm pretty set on a Seafarer as my next boat. My question would be is the Seav2 hull necessary? Looking to fish the Raritan Bay, LI Sound, Hudson and CT Rivers for stripers and some seabass/tog fishing.....not looking to go too far offshore. Can I get away with a pre SeaV2 hull? I'm pretty mechanical and don't mind a fixer upper as long as transom/stringers are all solid. I have 2001 HPDI now and don't mind working on 2-strokes. Thoughts? Budget is 10-20k, I'd like to stay in that range so I can cover any add-ons.

I have an 87 226, it rides like poo in 2' chop but is a very stable fishing platform and handles very well in somewhat heavy seas here in South Florida..

 

[msobie64]

Are you saying it pounds or slaps in 2ft chop Which I’m assuming is 2fters pretty close together? Bow doesn’t stay down? I’m going to have kids 6-9yrs with me some times, hate for the ride to be too rough.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Try taking one of each for a ride? Maybe see if a forum member lives locally to you that has one that you can go for a ride with? Or if someone has one of each for sale locally? Ride quality/comfort is very subjective to each individual person. I had a 21' Arima that would slap and pound horribly in the 1-2' chop but with my Grady it's a day and night difference and a much more comfortable ride.

 

[luckydude]

I have no idea how the previous hull did. I have the new hull and it beats the shit out of me in the Pacific but I think it is a good hull. I didn't buy into the marketing but I've been on other boats and the seavee2 is a nice hull. It is not as forgiving as a Triumph hull but it is a 10x safer hull.

 

[Chris275]

Having owned a 228 for some years, with an F225 engine, I'd probably stick with a newer boat unless you could find a truly cherry older one. It would hold resale value a bit better if you sell it or trade it in. I got a decent trade in value for mine from a dealer on my 275, even accounting for having lost the engine due to mechanical issues. Used our 228 in Key Largo, in addition to the Chesapeake Bay, and liked its performance in choppy seas. That's why we opted to stick with Grady White when buying a new boat.

I think you can locate some fairly decent 228s or 226s on the East coast, and the prices in this area seem to be a bit more competitive that further west. In fact, my old 228 (re-engined) was purchased by Mustang65, who made an epic trip hauling her home to Seattle (which he documented in this forum not long ago) and he seems pretty pleased with the deal he got from our local Grady dealer, and with the boat's performance so far. Wish they still made the 228, as I'd have bought that in a minute from the dealer.

You won't go wrong sinking a few more dollars into a Grady of that age. You'll get your money back on it some day. Good hunting!

 

[seasalt]

I have a 1991hull, last year before the SeaV2 hull. I have not been in a SeaV hull but I think mine overall rides awesome and quite dry . Again, I cannot compare it, I would love to, but very happy with the older style hull. I am on the West Coast BC and am sometimes in nasty stuff. It is an great fishing platform and I also have a few kids. You probably don't want to take them out on days where it is too choppy in any case ( at least to start) , unless they happen to like it!

 

[magicalbill]

Are you saying it pounds or slaps in 2ft chop Which I’m assuming is 2fters pretty close together? Bow doesn’t stay down? I’m going to have kids 6-9yrs with me some times, hate for the ride to be too rough.

I had a Seafarer for 10 years..'92 SeaV2 hull. It and any boat in the 20 ft range is going to slap and sometimes pound in 2 footers if you're on plane. A tight 2 ft sea state slaps my 30 ft Marlin around somewhat.

We get into a whole other subject here regarding people's over-estimation of wave heights. If it is a widspaced swell, then a Seafarer can take much higher seas, given reasonable wave periods.

Bottom line, before you buy this boat and take kids out, run it or a similar hull in close-spaced, wind-driven 2 ft seas, properly estimated. It isn't dangerous, but it isn't smooth, and depending on your age and tolerance level, it isn't fun, either.

 

[Doc Stressor]

You will be fine fishing the areas you describe with an older style hull. I fished Raritan Bay in a 14 ft wooden skiff when I was a kid. I fished the Hudson and Connecticut Rivers with a 14 ft aluminum boat when I was in college. Also did a lot of Tog fishing out of Niantic with that aluminum skiff. I bought my first 20' Grady in 1975 in Port Washington, NY, and ran it about 100 miles down LI Sound to Niantic the first day. I would regularly run that old-style hull across the Sound to fish The Race, Fisher's Island, and Orient Point. Even ran it out to Montauk and Block Island a few times. It was wet and would pound in anything over 2' depending on the wave period. Most of the bad spots are tide rips, so I would just slow down. The older hull runs very well just off plane at a bow-up attitude the locals used to call "slogging". And if I wasn't willing to fish a 3-5' forecast, I wouldn't have done much fishing in eastern LI Sound. The runs were pretty short compared to what I do now.

I ran my old-style 22' Grady mostly in the Gulf, but I ran it down to the Keys a couple of times from Tarpon Springs. It actually handled the swells in the Atlantic better than the Gulf chop. It would also pound in a 2' chop, but it was very smooth in anything smaller regardless of the period. It was much drier than the Overnighter and a very stable fishing platform. When I had to make long runs in the Gulf chop, I would run the autopilot and stand behind the helm seat. That would avoid getting my knees worn out from the pounding. I would put passengers in bean bags at the stern and they had the best ride of the trip.

The SV2 hull I have now definitely rides smoother in a bigger sea. But it is a very quirky hull that takes a while to figure out. You need to tweak the engine trim, speed, and trim tab settings to adjust for different seas. The older hull didn't respond as well to trim adjustments, so I would pretty much depend on speed changes to adapt to the seas.

I kind of miss the older hull whenever I do any docking maneuvers. It did what it was supposed to do when I reversed the engine to tuck in the stern. The newer hull is very unpredictable around a dock with any wind or current. Overall, I like the newer hull better for the ride, but I wouldn't rule out an older Seafarer if it was in good condition.

 

[msobie64]

I fish the Hudson and Raritan now in an 18ft aluminum walleye boat. Just looking to get something a bit bigger to not have to be so picky about my days. Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Having owned a 228 for some years, with an F225 engine, I'd probably stick with a newer boat unless you could find a truly cherry older one. It would hold resale value a bit better if you sell it or trade it in. I got a decent trade in value for mine from a dealer on my 275, even accounting for having lost the engine due to mechanical issues. Used our 228 in Key Largo, in addition to the Chesapeake Bay, and liked its performance in choppy seas. That's why we opted to stick with Grady White when buying a new boat.

I think you can locate some fairly decent 228s or 226s on the East coast, and the prices in this area seem to be a bit more competitive that further west. In fact, my old 228 (re-engined) was purchased by Mustang65, who made an epic trip hauling her home to Seattle (which he documented in this forum not long ago) and he seems pretty pleased with the deal he got from our local Grady dealer, and with the boat's performance so far. Wish they still made the 228, as I'd have bought that in a minute from the dealer.

You won't go wrong sinking a few more dollars into a Grady of that age. You'll get your money back on it some day. Good hunting!

Agree completely with this. I think I told you on the phone when we talked, but a guy just listed and sold his 2004 GW 228 Seafarer on the Seattle Craigslist site for $55k. The boat had a kicker motor, which mine doesn't, as well as nicer, newer GPS/radio/electronics and whatnot but it's the same year/model/condition of boat as well as the same year/model/hours for the motor. It's crazy to me the price difference of boats between the East Coast and the West Coast. I'd been looking for a 1998 and newer 228 Seafarer off and on for several years and especially in the last year after selling my previous boat. Yet even on the East Coast, they don't seem to have gone down hardly at all in pricing, even over the last 5 years or so. I think buying as new as possible will definitely increase the resale value, especially after the last two summers, which seems to have been huge "seller's markets".

I also just actually had the boat in at my local GW dealer for a winterization and I guess their idea of a "winterization" is to also go through the motor at the same time. I paid them an extra hour's worth of labor to drop the lower unit and inspect for the potential dry exhaust corrosion issue of which they said it "looked perfect." I figured Tri-State was being honest and giving it to me straight but I had no way of really proving they'd checked the motor at the time as most surveyor's were a couple of weeks out. Always good peace of mind after a purchase though

 

[blindmullet]

They call it the Tampa chop in my area. In the summer when the west and east coast winds collide it gets a little snotty. Usually just that quick 2ft chop. I have been on plenty of boats over the years and haven't been impressed by my 244 SV2.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

They call it the Tampa chop in my area. In the summer when the west and east coast winds collide it gets a little snotty. Usually just that quick 2ft chop. I have been on plenty of boats over the years and haven't been impressed by my 244 SV2.

My previous boat was a 21' Arima. It's a very light weight fiberglass fishing boat made out here in Seattle with a modified vee, very little weight in the bow, heavy in the stern with the outboard, fuel tanks, batteries and so on. Having been out in the 1-2' chop in that thing compared to my 04' 228 Seafarer isn't even hardly a comparison, but it's the only one I've got. Being in the Arima for miles in 1-2' chop was exhausting and quite painful on the back, knees and so on after just a couple of jolts. It was so bad to where I decided to sell that boat and look for a Grady White. I'd try going out on a similar boat, see how it is and then go back out on yours and then compare the two. I don't think any boat will be absolutely perfect in snotty conditions, that being said there's definitely boats out there that handle it much better than others. I know my Seafarer is immensely better than the Arima and I've only been out in it twice since I bought it. The last time it was in 4-5' swells with wind, rain and other less than ideal conditions. After getting back in 3 hours later, I didn't have any pain or discomfort or feel like I was still rocking back and forth, like I would've had I been in the Arima for 3 hours in those same conditions.

 

[magicalbill]

BlindMullet is spot on. I lived in Ft Myers for 9 years and experienced the same short, Gulf Chop that he is describing.

Grady's may well be better than other models given the same conditions, but it's still bad if you try to run on plane above 25 mph.

 

[SirGrady226]

Are you saying it pounds or slaps in 2ft chop Which I’m assuming is 2fters pretty close together? Bow doesn’t stay down? I’m going to have kids 6-9yrs with me some times, hate for the ride to be too rough.

It's a pound right where the helm seats are when heading straight into 2 foot chop, not a problem towards the rear of the boat though. Change the angle slightly heading into it, and it rides pretty decent. The one thing that really stands out is how dry a ride it is, I seldom ever have gotten spray from the bow on us.

 

[blindmullet]

It's a pound right where the helm seats are when heading straight into 2 foot chop, not a problem towards the rear of the boat though. Change the angle slightly heading into it, and it rides pretty decent. The one thing that really stands out is how dry a ride it is, I seldom ever have gotten spray from the bow on us.

Yes! The cuddies move the captain forward a bit. I agree that the SV2 is very dry. The spray seems to hit towards the stern when you really crush a wave. Whoever is in our beanbag chair will wear it now and again, but not the captain.

 

[msobie64]

@SirGrady226 you have a pre-SV2 hull?