In the market

[njrobert]

I'm in the market for a late model, pre owned 27 Chase. I have been looking at other brands in the 26-28ft range, but with beam widths of a minimum of 9ft. I have always been under the impression that a wider beam width will offer more "stability" and less "rocking", when either drifting or anchored.

I have always heard about the ride of a Grady and how she handles, but was wondering how well she does when not in motion? Others that I have been contemplating are Mako and Sailfish, possibly Edgewater 26ft as well. Would love to hear feedback on this topic.

Thanks

Rob

 

[Gary M]

Two things will help a boat to have a good ride and be stable at rest.....beam and weight and Gradys usually have both. My buddy has a 27 Contender with a 24 degree deadrise. When he hits the throttles, the bow heads for the sky and at drift, it's rock 'n roll. Another buddy has a 37 Intrepid with a very deep V hull. The helm area is very far aft and when he throttles up, the bow goes WAY up and stays there for 6-8 seconds. From the helm, all that can be seen is white fiberglass when he shoves the throttles up!! Generally, the more deadrise a boat has, the more that it will roll, be unstable at rest and the more that the bow will rise when you throttle up......

With their SeaV2 hull, Grady has found a sweet-spot that compromises the really deep-V with a hull design that provides very little bow lift when powering up, yet can still slice through the sloppy seas when it has to. I have had several buddies compliment the boat (I've had three models of Gradys) on being very stable at rest, when drifting and while making sloppy trips over to the Bahamas.

Mako is "good quality" as is Edgewater. The Sailfish line is "okay quality". Luckily Gradys are mostly equipped with Yamahas. Pursuit, to me, would be slightly ahead of Grady in quality of construction, yet I have a buddy who just bought a used one and he hates the sloppy ride. He's sorry that he didn't buy a Grady......

Another nice benefit to buying a Grady is when you go to sell that Grady! Great re-sale value!

 

[gw204]

If you're serious about a Mako, look at model years '95 and newer. That is when the company was privately owned by the Schwebke family and produced the best quality rigs.

There are several really nice 261s for sale on www.classicmako.com.

 

[DB]

Check out www.taylormarinecenter.com I saw a 273 and a 283 there.