Well as some of us have put away the fishing gear for the year and on to more warm things... like dreaming. (I'm still fishing...sorry guys). With Yamaha out with the 350's and with talks of 400's on the horizon are we out of line thinking about a 40 ft grady express or CC? I know grady will never come out and give us inside info as I'm sure their competitors would love to know what their plans are also.....so, I'm asking what do you think the near future holds. Most of us face 2footitis.....so do think we will see 40 footers in the next 3yrs from Grady? how about 5yrs? how about a 40 ft (blue) marlin? how about a 40 fter with 14 ft beam with a 282 cabin ... you would still have the walk around of a center console and fishability but also lots of comforts. What do you think......its getting close to christmas its ok to dream
future grady models...40 ft express
- Thread starter TunaT
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I believe it is well know there will be a GW 40 in a few years. I've heard about it from several folks but no confirmation from GW.
Unless gasoline prices come down, I do not see how GW can justify the tooling costs.
Seems to me, the boating industry will be downsizing just as cars and trucks in interest of fuel economy. Who needs a 40 foot or even 30 foot CC anyway? Makes zero sense to me...
Seems to me, the boating industry will be downsizing just as cars and trucks in interest of fuel economy. Who needs a 40 foot or even 30 foot CC anyway? Makes zero sense to me...
Downsizing?....must be a poorly run company then. There are many boat builders expanding now and doing very well. Plus...bigger is better for the company....more mark up. Boat builders make very little off their smaller models, they just build them to keep a hold in that size range hoping owner's will move up. If a boat builder is managed well, building bigger boats should benefit them.
HMBJack said:
with more efficient motors on the way and better planning hulls, they will go big 8)
And at 40', there will be plenty of room to stuff some iron under the floor and maintain a spacious aft cabin. C'mon Grady, jackshaft or straight inboard diesel is the smart move on a boat that size. Maybe even Volvo IPS.
I can see a straight inboard but will an I/O survive the torque of a large diesel?
What's wrong with a 30' CC? There's A LOT of money to be made from tournament types who want large CC's. When they're pulling in close to or over 7 figures do you think the gas cost is cramping their style? These aren't large bass boats they're ocean going fishing machines.
What's wrong with a 30' CC? There's A LOT of money to be made from tournament types who want large CC's. When they're pulling in close to or over 7 figures do you think the gas cost is cramping their style? These aren't large bass boats they're ocean going fishing machines.
Grog said:
Absolutely. Volvo has a duoprop sterndrive capable of handling in excess of 800 ft/lbs. :shock: :shock: :shock:
500HP at 2800 RPM is over 900ft/lb. Diesels make serious torque!
The IPS units can be da bomb. They can interafce to the GPS and hold you over a wreck or make docking simple even for novices.
The IPS units can be da bomb. They can interafce to the GPS and hold you over a wreck or make docking simple even for novices.
Grog....Volvo has not released that feature yet...it will be part of a "Sportfish" package due out very soon. I work for a large boat builder and have met with Volvo and discussed their products in person. They will also have a fine tuned speed option for trolling, no need for trolling valves that inboards have. They also are lighter and more fuel efficient, roughly 15% over comparable inboards. This means less fuel burn and more space inside the boat!!! Maybe this will mean another berth/stateroom or a HUGE fishbox!!! lol Grady had been very conservative lately making design decisions so who knows if they are ready for this move but I hope they are...I think it is the right one
gw204 said:
I would guess that Grady, being the ultra-conservative company that they are, has learned from their recent experiments outside of their true comfort zone and will just keep doing what they know how to do best and that is to build a bigger boat with outboards.
They tried to crack the catamaran market with the 26 TigerCat and then they tried a diesel I/O with that Sailfish model 6-7 years ago. Both bombed and what have we seen for new models from Grady since then? The 330, 360, 33 CC & the 305. All are outboard Gradys.
Why do they "have" to build a 40 with inboards? A 40 with a combination of twin or triple 350s or 400s would probably be fine. To redesign almost everything from the keel up would be a MAJOR risk for Grady. Are they ready to compete with Cabo, Bertram, Riviera, etc, etc, etc in the sportfish market?
You all have heard my dream of Grady building bigger Walkaround to eventually replace my Marlin in a few years. I call it the "346 Swordfish" to fit right in the middle of the 330 and the 360. Twin 350s, 350 in gas, a 330 cabin, etc would be an awesome boat for both fishing as well as overnights. Three guys could sleep aboard, all with their own berths.
So what if Yeloowfin makes a walkaround in the 40' range. It's not easy messing with the current manufactures. If the newest generation outdrives can handle the torque of decent sized diesels, I'd love to see iron down low in a Grady. 4 outboards would lood odd on the back of a 40' that isn't a CC.
Grady had failures with CATS and with the diesel I/o because they did not do their homework well. The I/O boat was just an altered outboard style boat. It should have been designed from the ground up and could have been an awesome boat. The transom style was not conducive to what grady's are known for and the boat did not handle as well as predicted since the I/O and hull were not designed for each other. As for the cat, they entered the market at the wrong time in a highly competitive catamaran market and did not do their research well. The boat was laid out well, but the hull stunk. It slapped and sneezed which are not good for a catamaran to do. It was also priced above most competitors which hurt sales. I believe both of these products could have been very successful if the decision making from the beginning was good. They should have took more time and designed each boat from the ground up and they could have been very successful models. Since then, Grady has been very conservative in adding new models so that they do not bomb again and hurt both their rep and their pockets. IPS is a new animal in itself and is a totally new type of hull design. Grady can not have it's running strakes and the keel would need to be rethought out, Volvo has strict criteria for hull designs and will not approve usage of their products on hulls that do not do so. If Grady invests the time and money, they would be very successful with an IPS boat. I think they would be foolish not to move into this part of the market, just at a conservative pace where they think into every aspect of the design and do not rush it out the door.
Fishtales
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While I love my GW, I don't think they should make a larger boat than the 36 with outboards. I'd really like to see a walk in the 33 or as stated earlier on the 36. A walk with a 33 like cabin would be great.
Once you get in the 40' range you are in a different market with very stiff competition. I don't see the hard core fishing guys dealing with anything but a clean transom. There are express models and models with salons that are very nice. I'd fill out the size boat market they are in 18-36 and then go larger with a design with inboards. We shall see.....
Once you get in the 40' range you are in a different market with very stiff competition. I don't see the hard core fishing guys dealing with anything but a clean transom. There are express models and models with salons that are very nice. I'd fill out the size boat market they are in 18-36 and then go larger with a design with inboards. We shall see.....
I agree with all of those who wish for a large w/a. My Marlin has THE perfect layout for me, even more usable then the 33 Express. I prefer two helm seats as my crew almost always prefer to sit in the cockpit or stand. Extra seating at the helm is great for families with kids but a waste of space on my boat. I think it is great that GW offers both.
Based on the continued success of the 300 even with the 305, there appears to be a market for a larger w/a. The 300 still outsells the newer express so a 33 w/a should have a strong following.
The tradeoffs for a w/a vs. express are:
o bow access
o larger cockpit
o more helm space
I cannot imagine how large a cockpit a 33' w/a would have if it was a scaled up Marlin. Wow.
Based on the continued success of the 300 even with the 305, there appears to be a market for a larger w/a. The 300 still outsells the newer express so a 33 w/a should have a strong following.
The tradeoffs for a w/a vs. express are:
o bow access
o larger cockpit
o more helm space
I cannot imagine how large a cockpit a 33' w/a would have if it was a scaled up Marlin. Wow.
Fishtales said:
How much stiffer can the competition be than the current competition of Intrepid, Contender, Pursuit, etc? Pursuit is debuting a new 375 at the Miami Boat Show soon! It's gorgeous! I've fished a few times on an Intrepid 377 and it's an awesome machine with a tower and trips 250s!
By moving into the diesel inboard market, Grady would be stepping into an arena that it really has no experience in. Do they want to take on Intrepid, Contender and Pursuit in the outboard market and THEN take on Bertram & Cabo in the inboard market? :shock:
I remember years ago when a 30 foot outboard was considered to be the end of the line for outboards! Twin 250s on a 30 footer was as big as manufacturers were going to EVER go! Everyone said that to go beyond 30 feet back then was going to require inboards. But now, how big of a boat can triple 400s power? What if the 400 can be tweaked out to 450 HP?
I love the simplicity of outboards, the low noise level, the no diesel fumes (cough, cough!) and now the relatively decent fuel economy. By the way, I've been fishing on twin diesel inboards since 1983.......
A bigger W/A? Yeah, baby yeah!