I purchased a new freedom 215 Grady white with a 200 hp engine. we took possession in the June this year I wanted to give you an overall experience thus far. I have used the boat approximately 40 engine hours thru Aug. 20. I do not fish and use the boat primarily with my wife to go to. Small places to relax on the boat drop in anchor and swim off the back platform. The boat is really good for this. I previously had a voyager 24, 1997 GW with an OX 66, 250 engine. We have taken one trip this summer with the yacht club cruise. We went from Marblehead to Rockport to Portsmith New Hampshire in Rockport and Portsmith. We stayed in hotels. We picked our times early in the morning with a light sees 1 foot or less and about performed fairly very well, there was some slight spray on the windshield but other than that it was perfect. I joked around a little bit that my fillins came loose a little bit, but it wasn’t really very very bouncy coming back we went directly from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Marblehead mass a distance of 51 nautical miles , we manage to do this in two hours and 10 minutes averaging approximately 25 mph. I keep the front facing glass placement on for these trips as it goes down the windage and afford a little more protection from any errant spray as best I can tell I’m averaging about 3.3 miles per gallon , my overall rating is a 9+ out of 10 and two small drawbacks, and I have is that swim ladder in the back is showing rust already, and the back drain holes for the water flow seems to be backfilled a slight amount and get a slight amount of water in the back of the boat I didn’t think I would be such a fan of a soft top version, but it provides more protection from the sun and I think it looks a lot sportier than the old hard tops. I’m a little bit concerned because I’ve read some more things on some of the forums saying that other stainless steel around the Pop up cleats also rust. it would be a shame if that happened anybody has any comments on the site water in the back of the boat from the drain coming back I would appreciate it. I never thought the lines on the GW particular beautiful, compared to some of the downeast boats we have in the harbor, but I have gotten several compliments from people saying what a pretty boat we have. my wife equally enjoys it which is extremely important and although I didn’t think I was gonna ever get a new boats my first new boat I am so happy that I did …we have another four or five weeks to enjoy it before we have to put it to bed for the winter
New Freedom 215
- Thread starter Lew
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Super that you are enjoying your new 215. There is a 215 berthed next to me (250hp and no hardtop), the owner is super happy with it for fishing and cruising Barnegat Bay NJ and inshore. The 215 with the extra width compared to an 208 or 228 and narrow gunwales made room for a lot nicer seat. I also keep the front strataglass panels up on my 208 to keep errant spray out. Kinda disappointing that you are getting water in the back even with the lighter F200. I’ll ask my buddy if they have that on their 215. I’d be checking the scuppers and since it is new talk to the dealer. 215 has been around now for a bit and the factory should have fix for that? Maybe Grady set the boat up for the additional weight of the hardtop or walkaround Adventure versions of the hull? Put some weight in the anchor locker to drop the bow and get the rear scuppers up higher a bit when stationary?
Are you satisfied with the performance with the F200? On my 208 with cuddy cabin and hardtop I consider the 200 merely adequate and would have thought the 215 would need the 250 - perhaps without the weight of the hardtop and cabin, plus your relatively light loading and driving style it is happy for you. I did drop down to a 14x14 Powertech SCE4 four blade which I like more than the 14.5 x15 Reliance that I think you might be running. I do use tabs in addition to motor trim to get a smooth ride.
On my 208 I am gonna have the upholstery shop do new front strataglass modified to be able to zip open and roll up the panels (so I can ventilate without removing the panels and quickly deploy as needed).
Happy days to you. You are in a wonderful area for boating and a Grady, gorgeous into the fall, although the season is shorter!
Are you satisfied with the performance with the F200? On my 208 with cuddy cabin and hardtop I consider the 200 merely adequate and would have thought the 215 would need the 250 - perhaps without the weight of the hardtop and cabin, plus your relatively light loading and driving style it is happy for you. I did drop down to a 14x14 Powertech SCE4 four blade which I like more than the 14.5 x15 Reliance that I think you might be running. I do use tabs in addition to motor trim to get a smooth ride.
On my 208 I am gonna have the upholstery shop do new front strataglass modified to be able to zip open and roll up the panels (so I can ventilate without removing the panels and quickly deploy as needed).
Happy days to you. You are in a wonderful area for boating and a Grady, gorgeous into the fall, although the season is shorter!
I ordered a 215 last year with dual deluxe II helm chairs instead of the port side lounger, F250 with DES. It suits our needs (day cruising with another couple or two). The rear seating layout is more comfortable than the folding benches and the cushion flip makes it versatile for boarding. The set back makes those seats the driest and smoothest ride and Open up the cockpit.
The hole shot puts a grin on my face and I now use the cruise control way more than I thought I would, particularly in no wake zones. On a busy day in the harbor you get tossed around a bit, but boat doesn’t feel squirrely too often and lands solidl.
As to the scuppers, mine drain fine and there’s no water accumulation. You may want to check the outer scupper flaps. When I’m on the trailer cleaning, I stick my finger under the flap and usually find debris of some sort that has clogged and got caught near the flap. Fish that out and they work fine.
The hole shot puts a grin on my face and I now use the cruise control way more than I thought I would, particularly in no wake zones. On a busy day in the harbor you get tossed around a bit, but boat doesn’t feel squirrely too often and lands solidl.
As to the scuppers, mine drain fine and there’s no water accumulation. You may want to check the outer scupper flaps. When I’m on the trailer cleaning, I stick my finger under the flap and usually find debris of some sort that has clogged and got caught near the flap. Fish that out and they work fine.
Thanks Peter…I will try the flaps to see if there is any debris ..barnacles etc. ..I am on a mooring so I might need to go for a “swim” to clear the flaps. My previous Grady ..Voyager24 1997 the scuppers would get barnacled up. Happy to hear you are enjoying the 215….Where do you do your boating? Is this your first Grady?
I purchased the boat off the showroom floor. The 200 seems ok…good gas mileage and gets planning better than my previous Voyager24 with 250 ox66. Cruises well between 22 and 26 mph.
Not sure who Peter is..
We’re in Charleston, SC, so the harbor which is shallow and gets rough easy, endless rivers, the intracoastal up to Georgetown and down to Beaufort for overnight excursions.
My third Grady. In 94 I ordered a 228 and bought a 2014 225 Freedom used. Owned a number of other brands…I have a short attention span when it comes to boats
Hi Coastbuster….Peter was the commentator above your comments. Beautiful Charleston ….you probably get to boat almost all year round? My 2024 has the GW white Yamaha 200 with electronic steering . There is a setting on the Yamaha instrument that allowed me to an adjust the tightness or friction of the steering. Making in somewhat tighter gave me a better firmer feel on steering. I have to look up “cruise control” not sure I have this.Not sure who Peter is..
We’re in Charleston, SC, so the harbor which is shallow and gets rough easy, endless rivers, the intracoastal up to Georgetown and down to Beaufort for overnight excursions.
My third Grady. In 94 I ordered a 228 and bought a 2014 225 Freedom used. Owned a number of other brands…I have a short attention span when it comes to boats
If you have the digital steering, you may have digital controls, too. The “cruise control” is a rocker style switch below the trim/tilt switch on the shift/throttle lever.
It raises or lowers your engine rpm by 50 rpm increments. At first I didn’t think much of it, but I find it useful in no wake zones and on longer runs to adjust speed in small increments. Even though I don’t fish much anymore, it would be very useful while trolling. When you activate it by pressing the button you get a message on your CL display that it’s active and what rpm it’s set to. As you press the speed up or down buttons the display updates the rpm it’s set to. When you manually move the throttle lever the “cruise control” disengages.
It raises or lowers your engine rpm by 50 rpm increments. At first I didn’t think much of it, but I find it useful in no wake zones and on longer runs to adjust speed in small increments. Even though I don’t fish much anymore, it would be very useful while trolling. When you activate it by pressing the button you get a message on your CL display that it’s active and what rpm it’s set to. As you press the speed up or down buttons the display updates the rpm it’s set to. When you manually move the throttle lever the “cruise control” disengages.
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Thanks Coastbuster…I read the Yamaha manual about “cruise control” last night and I believe I do have this feature….you explained it better than the Manual…I will give it a try in the next few days and post results. Also inspecting the scupper drains I was surprised to find that there is only one through hole drain .(.located on the starboard side.) servicing both floor drains. The 1997 Voyager had thru hull fitting on both the port and starboard side servicing the port and starboard aft floor drains. Thanks again!
Here it is, though this is a binnacle mount control. Same place on a side mount control. Yamaha photo.
Coastbuster …I tried out the “speed control” feature today…it was very good for the harbor cruises that we often do with friends…I will use it often as sensitivity of 50 rpm changes is much better than using the throttle. I had an experienced boater on board and he quickly picked up the fact that I was changing speeds by pressing a button. Thank you for letting me know about this feature!