New Guy from Oregon

[Pescadote]

Not currently a GW owner, but am thinking about purchasing one, so I did some research and found this site. Here's a bit of my boating history: my dad bought a brand new 1970 16' Seaswirl with a 90HP Johnson when I was 7 years old. We fished the heck out of that boat and even made frequent trips out on the ocean for salmon fishing back in the 70s and early 80s. So I have been fishing and boating pretty much all of my life.

For me personally, I have owned two jet sleds, an 17' Arima, and currently own a 21' Thunderjet Alexis Offshore model with offshore bracket and a 225 and 8hp Yamaha. I love my Thunderjet, and it has been somewhat of my dream boat for years before I got it. If you are not from the Pacific Northwest, aluminum boats are very popular here.

However, I find I am drawn more and more to ocean fishing and less to river and lake fishing here in Oregon. Also, I live about 2 hours from Newport, where I fish out of in the summer, and am thinking of mooring my boat there in the summer just for the ease of use in fishing and to save myself hauling the boat over there every time I want to go out. And, while aluminum boats have their advantages, mooring in saltwater is definitely not one of them!

I mostly salmon fish, but also occasionally fish for Albacore, and we need to run 40-50 miles out for those at times. Also, I also like to trailer up to British Columbia for salmon fishing, so I do want something pretty trailerable when needed. My tow rig is a 3/4 ton Duramax.

So, currently looking at the Seafarer and Gulfstream models. I do quite a bit of salmon trolling, so my preference is to have one main motor and a trolling motor. And here are my questions to the Grady owners:

* I'm 6'4" - can I stand up in the skip tower models of these boats or will I be hitting my head? Also, will I be stretch out in the cabin bed or will it be too short?
* Seafarer has a porta potty and the Gulfstream has a flush toilet with holding tank? Important consideration for my wife!
* Pros and Cons of the Seafarer and Gulfstream models? Things to consider?
* For the boats with the offshore bracket, can you also mount a kicker motor on the bracket? From what I see on the pictures, it looks like the main motors have a bit of an extension that sticks out. Some Gulfstream models have a very narrow bracket?
* Years to consider? Are there issues with certain years that I need to be aware of?

Wow, I realize I have a lot of questions, but I am the kind of guy who really likes to think through things before taking the plunge.

Thanks in advance,

Pescadote (Big Fish)

 

[Fishtales]

gulf is a wide beam boat. better at anchor or on the drift. not as easy to trailer and in some states may require a permit. love the gulf cockpit. Not a van of the motorwell access on some GWs. twin 150s perfect on the gulf. assume both have hardtop? really depends on how you plan to use. you can always get rid of a gulf with twins on it.

 

[RussGW270]

First off, welcome!

Not sure what a Duramax can tow, but if it could tow a Gulf, I'd get one with twin engines. Just me, I like that extra bunk heh. The extra beam is an issue for me as I am a stickler for being legal.. so the beam being wider than 8'6" would mean I would need to spend more per year to tow it.. but, since CLEARLY the one I have has not moved from my driveway for a few months.. lol.. then it might not have been a real issue

BUT... the Gulf is a really popular boat.

The 228, also awesome, but if I could pull a wider beam / heavier boat.. and I was into drifting, seems the better option.

Post photos of whatever ya look at or get and folks can advise.

40-50 miles off the coast, I'd try to get that 2nd engine.

R

 

[magicalbill]

Hey:

This is a great site full of knowledgeable GW owners. Others will likely weigh in but I'll start.

I have owned both a Seafarer and a Gulfstream. Both are marvelous boats. I am not familiar with the sea conditions in the Pacific NW, but I do know how the boats your asking about ride and handle. The are stable at drift, (for their size) and are solid and safe maneuvering in a groundswell. A surface windchop is another story: Anything over 10-15kts and 2 foot seas will knock them (and you) around a bit. They are by no means unsafe in those conditions, but running them is no fun, at least for me. Utilizing trim & tabs certainly help, but it's a rough ride.

I don't know what a "skip tower" is. I have never heard of one. I would guess it's a custom add-on for fishing? I am not a fisherman, so I'm not up to speed on that sort of thing.

If your 6' 4" you'll barely be able to stretch out in the cabins of either. your a big guy and those cabins get pretty small when you lay down, especially if you store other stuff in there.

I didn't have any porta pottys in either of my boats. I have not heard of a Gulfstream with a holding tank. Mine came with a porta potty under the bunk on the stbd side, but I declined it, needing more room for storage.

Pros/ Seafarer.

Great boat for it's size. It handles well, has plenty of room in the cockpit and is easily trailerable with an 8' 6" beam. It takes reasonable seas and is safe.

Cons: Seafarer:

Fairly small cabin for you, although I would find one, crawl in there and make sure it would work for your needs.
It's not a boat that can take really rough weather, although that is subjective, really. I guess it depends on the desire to fish and what the Capt & crew can/will take. The boat is certainly solid.

Pros: Gulfstream:

Handles rough water better than the Seafarer. The wider beam gives it a "bigger boat" ride, although, as mentioned, once they get over two footers and 10-15Kt winds, you start dropping the tabs and holding on.

The cabin has a small area near the companionway where you can stand, but it will still be a borderline fit for you when you stretch out. It has a useless galley/sink combo to port and a "bunk bed" configeration to stbd. The head, as previously stated is under the bunk cushion to stbd.

Because of the wide beam-to-length ratio, it's stable drifting in a beam sea, or reasonably so. It's not a Hatteras, but it's pretty solid.

The cockpit is huge for a 23 footer. You can play Cornhole in there...

Cons: Gulfstream:

It can be trailered, but technically, you need permits to be legal. Your call there. Your 3/4 Duramax will easily haul both boats. Expect your Gulfstream to weigh in near 8-9K on a tandem trailer loaded; the Seafarer around 5900K with tandem rig.
Your Gulfstream is a fairly big boat on a trailer; Much bigger than it will be 40 miles offshore. Plan accordingly; You'll be around 12' 6" high with a hardtop and GPS antenna sticking up, the Seafarer a foot or so lower.

No other cons that I can think of except you'll need twins for optimun performance. Yes, it's adequate with a single, but I wouldn't want one that way. Twins perform much better and it makes it much easier horsing it around a dock in wind/current.

As far as years to consider, I would think the newer the better for obvious reasons. If you land on a mid-2000's Seafarer with a Yam 225, make sure it's been treated for the corrosion problem.

I can't answer the bracket/trolling motor questions as I don't fish. Besides, I've gone on long enough.

Luck to 'Ya!

 

[Pescadote]

Thanks for all of the input so far! For clarification, in the Arima world, a hardtop is a fully enclosed cockpit with glass windows all around and is generally shorter in height. What they call a "skiptower" is what I see on Gradys - hard top but taller and with plastic curtains.

I take my current boat out tuna fishing, but I'm pretty selective on the days I go. Do think the Seafarer would handle seas and chops a least as well as my current boat and quite possibly even better? That's why they put suspension boats in our PNW tin cans!

 

[Ky Grady]

There is a company in your neck of the wood that does brackets for kickers that mount on swim platform. Pooderbuilt Manufacturing, PDR manufacturing.

 

[SkunkBoat]

its been my experience that with four strokes you really don't need a trolling kicker.
Twins are great but a single 300 is a viable cheaper and more efficient option on those boats.
The Gulfstream is a better option for going to the marina and hanging out...staying over so you get an early start...going long...
If you are going to trailer a lot then Seafarer

 

[magicalbill]

I have no experience with a 21' Thunderjet Alexis. I have never even heard of one so I can't give a knowledgeable comment on the ride comparison between it and the Seafarer.

Thanks, I now know what a "Skiptower" is. You should be able to stand upright and not hit your head.

I have no clue as to the availibility of Grady's up there, but paying a Captain for a test ride in a Seafarer of Gulfstream on a typical day offshore would go a long way toward your decision. Maybe you two go fishing for the day and test out drift stability, seakeeping, fishability, etc.

 

[Pescadote]

My thinking on a kicker motor is that I would rather put tons of hours on a $3,000 9.9 horse rather than tons of hours on a $20,000 250 HP!!!
Kicker motor can always get me back in (although slowly) if my main poops out.

 

[wrxhoon]

I have a 228 and I take it offshore in the pacific up to 40 miles from Sydney heads, of course I choose my days. I find she handles the sea fine, heading out can be rough depending on the weather. I like the seafarer as it is legal width here for towing an easy to tow long distances up and down the coast chasing marlin and bluefin , yellowfin etc.. Mine come with a parta-pottie but I removed it for the extra storage space. the cabin is not very roomy but I don't use it to sleep in it so it suits.
I fished for salmon out of Vancouver island on a Gulfstream, he had a 10 hp kicker for salmon trolling . The Gs is a much bigger boat than my 228 and she handled well but the sea was very calm .
I don't know what the GS would weigh on a trailer but my 228 hardtop weighs 3100 kg (6800 lb) on aluminum trailer and almost full tank of gas. I tow with a Landcruiser 4X4 4.5 lt Turbo diesel and she does it very easy.
If you are going to tow long distances I would go for the Seafarer or even look at Journey (8'6" wide)

 

[Greyduk]

"Great boat for it's size. It handles well, has plenty of room in the cockpit and is easily trailerable with an 8' 6" beam."

I think you will find that the Seafarer has an 8 ft beam.

 

[Fishtales]

The beam is 8'6" per the brochures online. GW uses the same hull on a few different models, that alone leads me to believe it is as advertised (max for standard trailering).
I agree that the twins are way better and troll fine (I shut one down and alternate to keep hours aligned if I have to go real slow) versus a single and a kicker. You can run modern 4 strokes till the cows come home IMHO. The hours don't drive replacement unless you are really using them a ton which most non-commercial guys don't. Age is probably the biggest killer followed by lack of maintenance. Ever have to really come in with a kicker in the crap, it isn't fun.
I'd go with the twins all day for redundancy, performance and piece of mind. For me use case really dictates the pick followed by amount of trailering, beam, helm design and cockpit size.

 

[Ky Grady]

Fish,,,the references is to the Seafarer in an earlier pro/con conversation as having a 8'6" beam, Seafarer is 8' beam. Gulfstream is 9'3" The Journey is 8'6"

 

[magicalbill]

KY Grady:

As I mentioned earlier, the Gulfstream is 9' 3"

I thought the Seafarer was 8' 6" but it may be 8'.

 

[Greyduk]

Seafarer is 8 ft. Gulfstream is 9'3"

https://www.gradywhite.com/models/walkaround-cabins/seafarer-228/
https://www.gradywhite.com/models/walkaround-cabins/gulfstream-232/

 

[Ky Grady]

Well crap, thought I just looked at the Gulfstream and saw 8'6", I was on the Journey specs, my bad. Seafarer is 8'

Corrected earlier post.

 

[Fishtales]

I really like the gulf for a small boat. I think you could trailer and get away with it. that extra 8" or so in the beam is huge!

 

[magicalbill]

Fish is right. The 232 is the biggest 23 footer out there and it is a noticeable ride improvement over the Seafarer, as I mentioned in my first answer to your question.

As far as overwide; yes it is and acquiring the permits is a personal decision. You might think on it as your 3/4 Duramax will jerk it just fine. You'll get 10-11MPG, and you'll have the best 23 footer once you get to the ramp.

I will always make the case for twins on that hull because I owned one for 10 years with twin 200's. Besides, I'm with Russ; if your going a significant distance offshore, that 2nd engine could be a big deal.

 

[Doc Stressor]

I've fished out of a Gulfstream, a Seafarer, and a Thunderjet in the Pacific. All handle swells pretty well and all have trouble with windwaves over 2'. Both Gradys ride softer than the Thunderjet and the Gulfstream certainly has a big boat feel to it. Lots more room, but it would be stressful to trailer 2 hr each way. The Seafarer trailers a lot better. I also have a 3/4 ton with the Duramax and it barely knows the boat is back there at highway speed. If you lived on the water, I would go with the Gulfstream. But since you don't, it's your call.

You will need a trolling motor in order to fish salmon if you go with a single engine. While the big 4 strokes will troll all day at idle speed, you will be going too fast for kings. With a 16" prop my Seafarer still moves at 3.5 mph at 800 rpm. OK for coho, but too fast for kings. A Gulfstream with twin 150 hp engines might be slow enough running on one engine, but I don't know that for sure. The one I was on had a single 250 with a kicker.

 

[UCPA111]

It's a tough decision for sure. I troll on Lake Erie for walleye and trout. I hung a 300 Mercury Verado on a bracket on the back of my Seafarer and love it. I troll with it down to 1.6 mph. It does a really nice job. On flat water she'll run ~50 mph with half fuel, hard top, 4 guys and all gear and rods out.

I tow my boat with an F350 Powerstroke (2018 6.7) and it's a breeze. People comment it's like it's not even back there. The thing I love about the Seafarer is a massive cockpit for a 22' boat. I customized mine a bit when I redid the transom (converted from cutout transom to full height and added the bracket). I find it easy to troll 10 rods (planer boards, dipsy divers and down riggers) and have multiple fish on at one time. It seems a lot of the Eurotransom boats have a lot of stuff in the way for running down riggers off the stern.

I am not sure you can make a bad decision here. Trailering the Seafarer would be easier/a non issue with your truck. The GS offers a larger boat ride in some respects.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKY3HuZDoWwR_iSbBmZmWEkSuhFlgBwjb