New to forum, new Grady White Owner! (Pics Added)

[fishgitter]

Picked up a 1985 Tournament 190 this afternoon, found a great deal on it! It is in pretty good shape, minus a few cosmetic issues (wood trim needs restaining, hull needs a good scrubdown, etc). The previous owner put it in the water for a test ride yesterday, 2 hours in the local sound and it ran like a champ. Did everything I wanted it to, and then some!

*edit* the glove box was not locked, didnt realize you needed to push the lock in to open it, haha.

Will post some pics tomorrow afternoon when I bring the boat home (had to get a different size ball for my hitch).

*edit* cleaned up the teak today, promise pictures soon!

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Re: New to forum, new Grady White Owner!

Welcome aboard and congrats on your new boat. Where are you located? Post some pics soon.

 

[mboyatt]

Re: New to forum, new Grady White Owner!

Welcome, my friend! You will love your Tournament. I have a 1994 tournament and am glad I went that route. Great all around boat. Again, welcome and happy boating. You just purchased a tank - she will serbe you well.

 

[fishgitter]

Re: New to forum, new Grady White Owner!

Thanks for the welcomes! My homeport is Morehead City, NC, looking forward to fishing this GW hard! I have spent all weekend cleaning, waxing, polishing, installing electronics, etc. MY Maiden voyage will be Tuesday at 0700!

 

[fishgitter]

Re: New to forum, new Grady White Owner!

Thanks to some horrible weather all week, my maiden voyage was postponed 2 days. It was blowing 15-20 SSW with a 3-6 foot very choppy sea. The weather wasn't great but at least it wasn't storming. So put the boat in the water around 2:30 this afternoon. It handled the stink real well, I was quite impressed. It hopped up on plane in no time and was taking care of the chop. However after being beat enough, I rode Bow high for quite a well. It cut down on the pounding! Here are some pics from today!

Ordered my bimini top last night, hoping it is here before the 4th!


Built new jump seats for the stern, not sure what originally went there. Also shows the redone Teak trim. What goes under the motor well on those brackets? This is when we got back to sheltered water!


On the trailer, pretty sure that winch strap goes OVER the roller, correct?


Another trailer'd shot from today


It's me! On the way in, protected by the southwest wind by the barrier island!

 

[bbbagman]

Hey man, you boat looks great !! I know you will enjoy it for years to come !!

 

[ROBERTH]

Congrats Fishgetter! Will keep an eye out for ya down there. I see you took some spray on your T-Shirt!

 

[Jeff_R]

Congrats on the boat! I bought my 1988 190 Tourament back in January and have fixing it up and using it tons! I love the boat.

 

[Parthery]

Congrats....my first GW was an '86 190 Tournament with a 150 Johnson...

To answer your questions, the jumpseats were one piece backed cushions that sat where your teak seats are...they look nice.

The brackets under the motor well are the storage holders for your bimini top. It should fit nicely in there when you collapse it.

 

[Jeff_R]

Here is how the OEM Stern Seats look and how the Bimini folds to hang on those hooks.

 

[fishgitter]

Jeff_R thanks for the pictures, I'm glad I went with the wooden seats over the cushioned, they are used more for decoration/looks then usability for me. There won't be many times that I need that seat space. I got my bimini in the mail today and was quite pleased on how it went on. Was a quick install for 2 people. It came with the rear support poles, but decided to not use them as I have the bimini mounted on the slide track system, and mounting the support poles to the top of the gunwale looked like it would put an awkward angle on them. I wasn't going to pay 32.99 for two straps at west marine, ended up getting a camlock and using some black paracord. Wish I would have rethought the height, 46 inches is kinda low, but it'll do as it will mainly be used drift fishing or anchored anyway. Here are a few pictures from today.


The Camo Cord came with the CamLocks, and was used to hold the top steady while adjusting the rear straps. I replaced it with Black 550 Paracord to match the rear straps.


I never thought of the bimini fitting on the brackets under the moter well cap, thanks Jeff_R for the picture


Ready for some fishing, wish this wind would die down! 20-30 kts for the last 5 days, and continuing until Tuesday!

 

[CatTwentyTwo]

Re: New to forum, new Grady White Owner!

On the trailer, pretty sure that winch strap goes OVER the roller, correct?

She's a beauty fishgitter and will have no problem living up to her name. Congrats on your new boat.


I'm certainly no expert but I would keep the strap under the roller. The consensus of everything I've read about this is that the bow eye and strap should be under the bow stop with the bow pulled up snug against the stop. I really have to crank the bow up tight to keep it snug to the roller because as you pull up the ramp and the stern settles on the trailer the boat wants to lean back and away from the stop. I experimented with several different adjustments of the winch stand before I finally settled on a position that seems to work best for me. This is what my strap, bow eye and bow roller looks like.

 

[fishgitter]

Thanks CatTwentyTwo. I will leave it be for now, next time I put it on the trailer ill be sure to jack it a little further up to that roller stop.