New member in NJ seriously interested in 330 express

[robdnj]

Hi. My name is Bobby and I wanted to take the time to introduce myself. I'm from Jersey City Nj and currently have a 26' walkaround with a single 250. With a growing family and a desire to share boating with them as well increase my offshore capability, I have been searching for the right boat for about a year now. I've considered everything from a cat, downeast/pilothouse, pursuit 3370/335 and the Marlin. However, after hopping aboard a 330 express at the Annapolis show, I decided that the layout was perfect for my needs.

I've spent many . . many hours doing my due diligence on the 330 and for both the benefit of future potential buyers and to confirm with current owners, here's a list of pros and cons as I understand it.

Pros:
Nearly 12' allows for a very comfortable cabin
Great ride due to 15k weight loaded
Reasonably good fuel economy of 1-1.1mpg at approx 30 mph
Center helm seating arrangement lends itself for entertaining guests
Grady quality
Can be powered adequately with 250s or better with 300s.

Cons:
Some find center helm seating a bit crowded
Can get a bit challenging in a following sea
Not a speed demon
Not easily trailerable due to beam and size
Access to Genset on pre 08 models a bit inconvenient due to the need to remove screws and caulking. Post 08, access is hinged.

I started my search for a well cared model to repower. My price range seems to put me in the 2002-2006 range as newer models tend not be priced for repower. This board has been extremely helpful in my research but I had a couple of other questions I was hoping could be answered.

Questions

1) Tower: I see quite bit of models available with a tower. I'm sort of ambivalent about it. Does it adversely affect performance? What about stability on the drift?

2) are there any particular issues with the 330 to watch out for? For example: fuel tanks issues, water intrusion in known areas.....etc.

3). For a boat in the 2002-2006 vintage, what would be an acceptable amount of gel coat cracks? Any areas that are more prone to it?

4). Windshield. How's is the visibility? I'm 5'8". Would that put the top of the windshield at eye level?

Thanks again for taking the time to read this. My plan is to purchase one and immediately repower with 300s. Hope to join the club soon. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone has a 330 within a few hours of nj, I would greatly welcome the opportunity to get a quick ride and tour from an actual owner. I would be happy to compensate for fuel and time. Thanks again and I look forward to your responses.

Regards,
Bobby :noob

 

[everwhom]

Hi Bobby,

I went through this exact exercise exactly 1 year ago. I bought a 2003 330 and repowered it with Yamaha F250 offshores. I had considered F300's but I stayed with the 250's for 3 reasons: I was able to recover them from my previous boat (insurance loss) so it was the cheapest option, the 2003 hull is only rated for 500HP max (though my understanding is that the 2004 hull is rated for 600HP without any changes), and Grady's own performance #'s on the F300's are nearly identical to the F250's.

Here are the #'s as quoted on Grady's website back when they used to offer both the F250 and F300 from the factory:

500HP
Best Cruise: 30.7 MPH (4300 RPM), 1.17 mpg
5000 RPM: 36.9 MPH, 1.02 mpg
Max Speed: 42.9 MPH, .90 mpg

600HP
Best Cruise: 29.9 MPH (4200 RPM), 1.25 mpg
5000 RPM: 37.1 MPH, 1.08 mpg
Max Speed: 44.6 MPH, .86 mpg

I generally achieve the 30MPH / 1.1mpg cruise, but my top speed is more like 41-42mph (all GPS measured)

Comments on some of your pros and cons:

- Cabin is great, ride is great (though I think due more to the hull design than weight)
- I love the center helm seating, though I am a fairly small person as are most of my buddies. It is a bit tight getting past the seats, but it never bothers me.
- Haven't had any problems in following seas -- I've had some real 3-4 footers on my tail and the boat performed great.
- I don't do my own generator maintenance, so haven't been too bothered about the deck hatch access. I do recommend keeping it caulked though. The hinged access behind the transom seat is pretty big and lets you get to most of what you need in the bilge without remove the deck plate.
- I did not have ANY gel coat cracks, but I also held out for a boat that was in really great shape. I knew I would repower so I was only focussed on the hull
- visibility wise, the boat had a premium helm seat that is super adjustable. I have it up pretty high and the visibility is outstanding. The passenger seats around the helm area do not have great visibility forward, however, and in 2006 (I think) Grady actually raised them up a few inches. I've been thinking of getting some extra cushions or a small bean back to sit up on so my crew can help keep watch forward when we are underway...
- I would HIGHLY recommend getting one with an original bow thruster and a the fischer panda diesel genset. My previous boat (Whaler 28 Conquest) did not have a thruster and it took a lot of the fun out of boating if the wind was blowing off the dock


I made the following upgrades:
- replaced all electronics with an all Garmin system: 7612xsv, 24HDx Radar, Reactor Autopilot
- I had International Marine fabricate new acrylic dash panels for the electronics that pretty match the existing carbon fiber look panels on the boat. They have all the templates now so can fit the dash perfectly (see picture). I actually made further changes (added the autopilot later) and that let me redo the layout for very cheap because they just cut a new panel with the same matching screw holes
- 2 Lee's rod holders on the gunnels
- 3 transom mount rod holders: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000 ... UTF8&psc=1
- 8 Taco interior rod hangars: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H ... UTF8&psc=1
- a wireless windlass remote (my 2003 did not have a remote windlass control at the bow -- the newer ones do)
- Lees' 18' carbon fiber outriggers

To sum it up - I love my 330, and feel it is absolutely ideal. I use it 80/20 fishing / entertaining, but when I'm entertaining, all the fishing stuff is neatly stored and my kids and guests have tons of lounging space + suntanning space on the bow. While not a speed demon, I took the boat on a day trip from Nantucket to West Atlantis Canyon, hooked a blue marlin and some huge mahi mahi.

 

[Fishtales]

The only thing I will add is to look out for early year models (first two years of production). There were some ride and stringer issues as I recall. If looking at this vintage, so a web search and find the articles and/or threads. Otherwise pretty nice boat.

 

[robdnj]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Nothing like insight from someone whose been there before. It is greatly appreciated.

Everwhom, you had mentioned that you used international marine for your dash plate. Is that the international marine that does the suzuki repowers in Florida?

Thanks again. Heading up to New England to see one this weekend.

If anyone has any insight on the pros/cons of a tower on the 330, I would welcome the insight.


Regards,
Bobby

 

[everwhom]

Yep - Same International Marine. Great guys -- sometimes you have to email them a few times as they get quite busy, but they're pretty awesome overall.

My boat is still in its slip in Cape Cod Bay if you happen to be in that area this weekend...

 

[duckhunter]

just bought and repowered a 2003 with zuki 250 four strokes, 4500 28mph 1.1 nm per gallon, 40 mph 6000 rpm, 17 pitch 3 blades , noted some cavitation so my try 4 bladed props, furono electronics but plan on larger display, any suggestions

 

[HMBJack]

I have owned a 2006 330 for 6 years now and use it out off San Francisco year round. The 330 has a great hull for everything I encounter off my coast (think BIG swells - much bigger than the East Coast stuff. I know because I grew up in NJ and fished there until I was 22).

I agree with everything that Everwhom above suggested on the boat and will add only a few points.

I personally like the caulked in panel set-up to access the genset Vs. the newer hinged access door.
This is because that area of the boat is where ALL of the deck water goes and there is no hinged panel on the planet Earth that will keep all of the water out. A tube of the exact color match of caulk can be purchased at your local Home Depot or Ace HW store - it is GE Silicon II in Almond. Piece of cake to remove and replace the panel when doing service down in there.

Bow thruster is a huge and valuable option - I recommend it. I will never own a big boat without one. These boats (like all planning hulls) do not have a lot of hull under water for their length and therefore sail a lot in a strong side wind. The bow thruster neutralizes most of this.

The gensets went to Diesel in about 2005 or 2006. I favor these over the gas ones (a pal of mine has an older 330 with a gas genset and I favor the diesel Fisher Panda). A diesel engine under deck is much safer than a gas engine.

If you plan to repower to 300's, then engine discussion on F250's or F225's is meaningless. I have heard the boat is perfect for the 300's but have no issue at all with the F250's.

Grady-White hit a grand slam when they designed this boat. Not much to say other than you only live once and this is an excellent choice for many reasons (fish, cruise, etc.). The newer the 330, the better. It's all about what you can afford.

Good luck in your search and if you have further questions, this is the place to ask!

 

[jip40]

I purchased my 2002 330 with in 2011. I knew the boat as it had one owner and kept it in the same marina as my old 22' Pursuit.

I have the 5Kw gas genny and like it because I don't have to maintain 2 different types of fuel. The halon system in bilge keeps me comfortable from a safety point of view.

I agree with all the comments above - except - I got tired of recaulking the genny panel. I was having some issues with the genny before I had it rebuilt and was removing the hatch quite a bit. I found solid rubber tubing used for seating screening in window frames at a local hardware store. It came in 3 diameters and a combination of the three sizes matched the spacing around the hatch. An inexpensive plastic tool used to seat the tubing in the window frames works great to seat it around the hatch - it takes 1 minute to remove the tubing and maybe 3-4 minutes to reinstall it

 

[Scott D]

Bobby I sent you a PM.

Scott

 

[Bayhouse]

Bobby, I have a 2003 330 with a full tower (done by Cocker Marine in NC) and just re-powered with Suzuki DF300's (done by International Marine). Home port is near Atlantic City, but I run the boat to Florida for the winter (a great joy of having the 330). Would be happy to take you on a cruise when we're back North in the April timeframe.

I love the boat with with 300 HP engines. It was ok with the F225's, but it's a whole new boat with these engines.

Yes, the cabin is spacious, but it gets tight with more the 2-3 people. I spend weekends on the boat while in Florida and it's fine with just me and the wife, but if my two young adult children are around, we're squeezed in there.

 

[grady33]

Thought I'd chime in here. I live in OC, MD and in 2011-12 moved up (from 27 sailfish) to a 2006 330 Express. I have never regretted that decision and have never looked back. While not a speed demon (F250's), it is an excellent handling boat in all seas. My sailfish would occasionally pound in a head sea but that isn't a problem with this boat. It's weight makes for a smooth ride. We mostly troll and fish the offshore canyons (50-60 mile ride) and do a few overnighters each summer. The boat has all the creature comforts like diesel panda generator, air conditioning, fish box freezer plates, bow thruster and more. The electronics are still great (Furuno VX2 electronics - radar, sounder, autopilot). The only think I’ve added is sirius weather and I just replaced the vinyl enclosure. When purchased, engines and generator had maybe 400 hours. We are nearing 900 hours now and still running great. At some point, we may repower but not this year. We simply love this boat and I have no major and few minor complaints!