Bought my first Grady a couple years ago and have been learning from this awesome group since. During that time I've done a full blown refit / re-power on every darn thing I could. What I thought would be a fast process has been slowed down by jobs, kids and life which is all good but I'm finally on the home stretch of the major mechanical items and can't wait to get her in the water.
Will posting updates here by category in hopes that someone can learn something from the many mistakes I made along the way. I've found a ton of great information on this site but also some very helpful docs shared from grady who's customer service is second to none.
History:
1998 Gulf-stream purchased new from the east coast and brought to SoCal, then moved to the Bay area(SF) since 2005 and has been in dry storage.
What was initially viewed as a turn key bought had gremlins, much like any 20 year old boat. The previous owner did not have the attention to detail good boat owners should and let the 2 stroke 300hp yamaha HDPI oil leak into the bilge and damage some of the surface fiberglass and just make a mess. However as it was always stored on a trailer the transom and overall bones were in excellent shape(no rot). So I sold the motor / electronics and began to gut her.
Goals:
More to come!
Will posting updates here by category in hopes that someone can learn something from the many mistakes I made along the way. I've found a ton of great information on this site but also some very helpful docs shared from grady who's customer service is second to none.
History:
1998 Gulf-stream purchased new from the east coast and brought to SoCal, then moved to the Bay area(SF) since 2005 and has been in dry storage.
What was initially viewed as a turn key bought had gremlins, much like any 20 year old boat. The previous owner did not have the attention to detail good boat owners should and let the 2 stroke 300hp yamaha HDPI oil leak into the bilge and damage some of the surface fiberglass and just make a mess. However as it was always stored on a trailer the transom and overall bones were in excellent shape(no rot). So I sold the motor / electronics and began to gut her.
Goals:
- Make it better than new, improve safety(water mgmt and electronics), improve the weight distribution, remove weight where possible to increase power / weight ratio and at the end use the heck out of it.
- Full new power and increased flotation bracket: Suzuki 300 DFAP with 9.9 HT kicker(I like the low end torque range of suz. vs. yamaha). Custom ordered a stainless marine bracket with extra flotation for the heavier 4 stroke + built in mount for kicker.
- New fuel tanks(main and aux) including fuel tank support system between hull and stringers. The way grady does this from the factory is not ideal so I wanted to improve the water mgmt(flow under tanks) and secure them better.
- Remove, grind and replace any bilge fiberglass that was soaked in 2 stroke oil.
- Replace all thru hulls including adjusting height of stern exits(to account for extra weight in power)
- All new electronics(simrad), 1k ducer, radar, mfs etc.
- All new wiring, better battery locations, new agm batteries etc.
- New cockpit to cabin bulkheads, factory ones are not sealed well(doh)
- Minor under deck bulkhead work to reinforce or remove any signs of water or oil
- All new cabin carpet, also removed the head for weight and no more stink.
- Plug a bunch of holes where previous owner either put water pick ups in the wrong place or areas where I didn't need a thru hull at or under the water line.
- Once all that is done will make it pretty and improve color match of gel coat work.
More to come!
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