Opinion on Sailfish 282 From Owners?

[wahoo33417]

To Sailfish 282 Owners: I'm planning for the retirement boat. Thinking about a center console since I mostly fish and like to fly a kite, but Grady's walk-around works fairly with a kite and does keep the Admiral happy. The Sailfish fits the need of being a true walk-around, has overnighting comforts, is reasonably trailerable and is a Grady (Marlin doesn't fit in our storage).

My hesitation is that folks on that other, Grady-hating website particularly bash the ride of the 282. (Oddly, the 283 seems to earn some praise for its ride?) My only time on a 282 was on a calm day on a dealer-sponsored Bahamas crossing, so nothing really learned there.

What I'd really like to know is how does she handle a 2'-3' closely- spaced chop? That is where my current boat - and mostly my current spine - need to come off plane and plow through. Features aside, the retirement boat needs to be able to handle 2-3 without pounding. So opinions of owners are much appreciated and will guide where I spend my time looking for the next boat.

Tx, Rob

 

[Fishtales]

Hi,
My 2 pennies. The 282 Sailfish is a very nice boat. The biggest drawbacks I noticed as a result of 6 years of ownership are.
- The helm is tight if you have the (2) captain's chairs. If I were to get one, I would change out the port chair for the companion seat. The companion seats on the boats are a bit low in my opinion. I would add a nice drawer assembly - maybe 8 " or so in height between the fiberglass mounting area and the companion seat to give it some lift. The front chrome support should still fit as basically you are still mounting in the same spot but to the drawer assembly base.
- The gap between the windshield and the hardtop is a bit excessive. GW provides big smile face zippered plastic enclosure pieces. I'd want to work with a custom fabricator and come up with a better design.
Other than theses two things, the boat a nice platform.

I would stay away from the 29 Chesepeak. I've heard from solid sources that this boat had performance issues and to "stay away".
If you are considering the Marlin, you really should ride both. The Marlin while only a bit bigger on paper is a whole different feel. The Sailfish felt like a boat and the Marlin feels like a yacht. I know it sounds corny, but ride both and you decide.

 

[g0tagrip]

Opinions are like arm pits, everyone has two:
Here is mine - I have owned both the Sailfish and the Marlin. The Sailfish was a great boat, but the cabin was not very comfortable for the Admiral and myself. In fact she said one morning while cooking breakfast "you know we would have a lot more room in here if the boat was five feet longer" hence the Marlin.
In my opinion the Sailfish was a great fishing boat for us, I had it for 7 years. The Marlin is by far a much better boat all around. The Sailfish ride was good but the Marlin is sweet. The drawback to the Marlin is it is very difficult to tow, the boat is really big and heavy, and requires a special permit. The Sailfish is not an easy tow either but not nearly as beamy nor as heavy as the Marlin. I have had the Marlin now for over 10 years. We have spent many a night comfortably on the Marlin.

 

[wahoo33417]

Thanks guys. Experiences from owners is invaluable.

For years we have fancied the Marlin as the retirement boat. Now that we're nearly there, we're realizing the practical limitations of storage and trailering.

We depend on a professional hauler who trailers our boat for our annual trips around the east coast. When asked, he said he thought he could pull a Marlin, but he wasn't wild about it. Similar response from our marina where our existing boat is stored on an indoor, elevated rack. The marlin might fit in the rack, but they won't let their forklift lift a boat that heavy, that high.

Well, no rush. We'll figure something out.

Tx, Rob

 

[Sharkbait282]

We're approaching our 4th season with our boat, a used 2002 282 sailfish with the F225 twins. 2-3ft closely spaced chop is difficult in most boats if you can't grin and bear it with the bow down and into the throttles a bit. I've found the boat can tolerate significantly more beating than my wife can stomach, but when I need to get somewhere and she's not on the boat, there's ample opportunity to learn trim techniques.

The reason I think with the 282 that you see such diverse views on "ride" quality is that the boat is quite sensitive to motor trim and tab. Even in flat water if you're not on the motor trim correctly it'll feel twitchy if you don't get the nose out. It's up to #4 in range on the motor trim in flat water. In slop and chop it can take a good amount of tab and throttle to feel like you're not lugging the motors, and then you have to get used to the fact that you'll need the windshield wipers at times. Every boat has it's sweet spots, and if you're looking for a pocket 30' retirement boat, the 282 (or Marlin, if the +$ for everything fits your budget) probably won't disappoint if you put in the time on the learning curve.

I don't have a large truck or place to store a trailer, but I wouldn't call the Sailfish or Marlin trailerable by anyone but a professional, or if you're seriously comfortable with campers or other 5th wheel-is sized trailers. 10k lbs is no joke, plus permitting in all states.

Depending on what year boat you're looking for, I find that the other downside to the boat is that there's a broad spectrum of approaches to how to arrange/mount electronics, from the well thought out but sparse to the full on haphazard. Finding a boat that meets your budget and doesn't require a ton of re-work in the electronics space is difficult.

 

[megabytes]

As another owner of both a Sailfish and a Marlin, I will strongly concur with what has been said. The 272/282 is a great boat. I caught some serious fish on mine. The helm chair spacing was annoying as Danny has said. The hull requires aggressive use of trim tabs in all but inland waters but will take way more seas than I will. I had mine in a honest 4'-6' beam sea and always felt safe during a 30m ride home. Even when my 6' mate was in the cockpit looking eye to eye with some waves. We had a 6'+ Sailfish release that day.

The Marlin however is way more boat than the 2' length. The cockpit is HUGE for a 30' boat. The cabin is roomy and the helm area is perfect. I just bought my second last Spring. You will be happy with either model but you will need to weigh the tradeoffs. The genset option is another big plus, especially for your use cases. Mine weighs a bit over 12K with fuel according to our forklifts.

Oh, and the 300s are awesome with this hull. Love this boat! :goodjob

 

[wahoo33417]

Thanks guys. I looked at a Marlin at a boat show yesterday. I fish solo quite a bit, so I made laps around the boat as if I were chasing a fish and then just sat there contemplating. Fortunately dealer rep was busy with other folks. It wasn't my home dealer, so if he thought I was bit nuts, that's okay.

I certainly see what you're saying. Beyond the additional length, it sure is a lot of boat. Would be nice to have on some of our long-distance boat trips.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Rob

 

[capeguy]

I have run an '06 282 with 225s for 7 years. I fish the South Shore of MA, Cape Cod, and Stellwagen bank. My friends love to fish on my boat, it is solid, takes the seas here as well as any 28' and is a fishing machine. We do not overnight on it and use the cabin mainly for storage. Yes it needs the trim tabs, but I don't see that as an issue. May consider selling mine as I am thinking of a CC now that family has grown..

 

[Graybeard]

There are plenty GW bashers on The Hull Truth and IMHO they are just jellious or just plain FOS. There are also a lot of shills for various products and dealers under the guise of being informed message board members. The Sailfish can be trailered and can be stored on a trailer. That really cuts down on the operations costs. The Marlin 30 is not ment to be a trailerable boat. Several members of our local GW owners club have Sailfish and regularly take them out in the ocean for tuna, shark and Marlin trips. They also trailer them to distant locations and can store them in their driveways. One member just did the ICW from Norfolk to Ft Myers in a Sailfish. They are tight for spending more than 2-3 days overnighting. I’m in the process of buying a pre owned Marlin 30 because we couldn’t make the numbers work on the Express 33 my wife really preferred. The costs increase exponentially when you jump to a non trailerable boat.

 

[Gary M]

Had an older Sailfish for 5 years and made over a dozen Bahamas trips in it. My buddies loved the ride and the big cockpit. It was bit tight to overnight for my wife. But it rode well, is Grady tough and was a fishing machine.

Moved up to a 2001 Marlin and it was like night and day on the first trip to Bimini in it (3-4s plus an occasional 5 footer to keep me awake). But, it's not only 2 feet longer but it's a foot wider and what, 2,000 to 3,000 pounds heavier on a full load? I always say that Beam and Weight usually make for a great ride. :mrgreen:

But if you cannot do a Marlin, then I'd suggest that you seek out a very well maintained Sailfish and then equip it to the hilt! Autopilot (I too fish alone and the AP is my best friend!), a good radar, fishfinder and all the little things that will be there for you to enjoy and to make it safe to fish alone....... and then go out and enjoy the hell out of it!!

We had a retractable aft Bimini on both boats and for Bahama trips, local putt-putts on the ICW, anchoring out for lunch, etc, everybody loves having that! Retract it for fishing. There are many options out there to provide some cockpit shade....

 

[Legend]

The Sailfish is a great boat and it can handle a lot more seas than most of us would ever want to be out in. This is my 3rd GW. First was a Seafarer which was a big step up over my 19 foot Mako. the second one was a Gulfstream and that was a big step up over the Seafarer and in turn the Sailfish is a lot more boat than the Gulfstream. I have never ridden in a Marlin or a 33 Express but I am sure if I did I would be figuring out a way to get into one of those beauties. Sailfish and Marlin great boats - boils down to how much you want to invest. Good luck

 

[wahoo33417]

Thanks for the experiences. Very helpful to know that if storage space and trailer-ability are hard limits, we can still be good on most days. Of course we would test ride before any purchase, but the test-ride day isn't likely where and what we'd like to encounter.

The Marlin has always been the hoped-for retirement boat, but it may have to wait until we've completed the trips to our destinations by truck & trailer.

Thanks.

Rob

 

[Fishtales]

There are plenty GW bashers on The Hull Truth and IMHO they are just jellious or just plain FOS. There are also a lot of shills for various products and dealers under the guise of being informed message board members. The Sailfish can be trailered and can be stored on a trailer. That really cuts down on the operations costs. The Marlin 30 is not ment to be a trailerable boat. Several members of our local GW owners club have Sailfish and regularly take them out in the ocean for tuna, shark and Marlin trips. They also trailer them to distant locations and can store them in their driveways. One member just did the ICW from Norfolk to Ft Myers in a Sailfish. They are tight for spending more than 2-3 days overnighting. I’m in the process of buying a pre owned Marlin 30 because we couldn’t make the numbers work on the Express 33 my wife really preferred. The costs increase exponentially when you jump to a non trailerable boat.

All true... The 282 while more trailerable has a 9'6" beam. Technically you need a special permit to be legal (8'6" in most states). The Marlin is 10'7" and sticks out like a sore thumb when trailering. I would recommend getting the permit as any LEO that knows boats will stop you. Just my 2 pennies...

 

[Gary M]

Thanks for the experiences. Very helpful to know that if storage space

Storage on a Sailfish will NOT be an issue! You'll have the big mid berth below as well as good storage under the V-berth....... Can't recall on my Sailfish, but my Marlin also has storage under the mid berth. For long Bahamas trips, I can stow cases of water, the spare props, etc down there.

My Sailfish did not have a Genset so a previous owner had built a storage box (open top) below the aft bench seat. That was great for stuff like oils, fluids, hyd steering fluid, tools, Ring Free, etc. I miss that on my Marlin but I have the genset down there on that boat.

You should also have deck storage to the outside of both helm seat pedestals. Good for a small bucket, fish net, whatever.

The entire cabin is great DRY storage!

 

[grady33]

Owned a Sailfish which I bought new in 2000 and sold in 2012 with Yam 225 OX66. I loved that boat - great ride and could handle all sea conditions. My brother and I (both over 6’3””) fishes the boat hard off Ocean City, MD out as far as 80 miles. Great range. However family grew and I wanted creature comforts and onboard generator so I moved up to 330 Express. We fished a lot of overnighters and the boat was fine. Good luck!