Poor Grady-White support for older boats.

[NORTONP]

I bought a 2005 225 tournament new. One of the reasons that I bought a Grady white is their reputation for building quality boats, and the build quality has been outstanding. I am a person that likes to keep my boat looking new. But after 10 years things begin to wear out such as seat upholstery. Grady offers no solution except to go to a local fabric shop which I did, however not having any information from Grady on color or source I now have a huge mismatch in bow seating. Next I needed to replace my lounge seat. Since the boat is over 10 year old and they are not required to stock replacements, Grady had no interest in helping me. Again I went to a local shop and they quoted $3,600 to recover the seat. So I happened to be looking through current catalogs and found that current models use the same seat. So, I ordered one through dealer, $2,400 including shipping of $600, but better than $3,600. Next I needed to replace the captain seat. Again no help from Grady. I found the name Pomanette on it, so I went to their web site and found that it is a current model except newer fabric design that matches my lounge seat. (They knew what color to use) In addition they sell seat and back cushions and arm rests separately. So for $600+ I have a new captain seat. No thanks to Grady. I also needed to replace my bimini. Again, no help from grady, just go to a local shop. so I did $1800 to replace it. Fortunately, I found a shop the sells exact replacement for my boat, sippers and all, $1,000, Great likes boat top. Next I will need to replace my fold down aft seat, I know they use these seat on current model so I need to find one that matches my boat. There have been many other items that I have had difficulty in sourcing, like hydraulic lifter on hatches, fortunately, if you can find them these vendors, They are more helpfull than Grady. I am sad to say that Grady is not very helpfull if your boat is over 10 years old.

 

[Hookup1]

It's not just Grady White. All of them are in the business of building boats. GW Customer Service is helpful with technical details and maybe has documentation on where some original parts were sourced from.

There are a few member here who know who GW gets canvas from. Most have it made custom.

 

[blynch]

Right or wrong, I don't really know that there are a ton of industries in which OEMs provide excellent support with things like soft materials for 18 year old vehicles/machinery. At that age, I don't know that Grady could provide such great economies of scale on the parts that they'd really be able to offer much pricing advantage over your local upholsterer.

 

[NORTONP]

I have called GW Customer Service, when you tell them the age of your boat, sorry they cant help you. How hard would it be to provide a parts list with details? they have that information, that would set them apart from the others. The other day a guy on the docks asked about my boat, "I told him how old it was. He said"looks great for 18 years, looks like a new boat". That's great for Grady-White reputation. But no thanks to Grady, It is because of my TLC that makes it so. Yes, Members on this site are a great resource. Too bad Grady is not. Don't get me wrong I love my Grady. I just think Grady can do better.

 

[kirk a]

I have had several interactions with GW customer support for my 2003 all of which are completely counter to yours. But I'd be shocked if they have had a single fabric source or vinyl source for every model in every year. Colors change, vendors change, etc. Matching vinyl that has been in the sun and used for 20 years is an art form. Even if you could get the same color, it would not match with the other fabric on the boat.

 

[NORTONP]

Right or wrong, I don't really know that there are a ton of industries in which OEMs provide excellent support with things like soft materials for 18 year old vehicles/machinery. At that age, I don't know that Grady could provide such great economies of scale on the parts that they'd really be able to offer much pricing advantage over your local upholsterer.

Pricing advantage? yes $3,600(Local upholsterer) vs $2,400(Grady price) for lounge seat. $1,800 (local upholsterer) vs $1,000 (OEM maybe) for bimini. I spent several hours trying to find the correct tachometer online. A parts list from Grady would have been helpfull as there are not any #'s on the unit.
I just replaced the chuck on my 45 year old Rockwell/ Delta drill press based on parts list found on-line. Some how you can find parts to repair almost everything. There is no such information on Grady-White boats, and there could be.
Everyone that has a 18 year old Grady needs to replace the seats, in order to keep it looking great. There are many posts on this site regarding this issue. I would like to know who manufactures the fold down aft seat on current models. They may be able to offer a replacement seat cushions for me just like Pompanette does.
I'm just suggesting that Grady can do better. Many of the same parts used on Grady white boats have been used for years.

 

[everwhom]

I have had several interactions with GW customer support for my 2003 all of which are completely counter to yours. But I'd be shocked if they have had a single fabric source or vinyl source for every model in every year. Colors change, vendors change, etc. Matching vinyl that has been in the sun and used for 20 years is an art form. Even if you could get the same color, it would not match with the other fabric on the boat.

I too have had all great experiences with GW getting support for my '03, though to be fair I haven't tried recently. I've found this forum to be an excellent source of info for finding OEM parts and equivalent. I've had 2 different upholstery shops redo various cushions and bolsters and both did a perfect job matching (which is a moving target since everything has changed over time).

 

[drbatts]

Your experience with Grady customer service has been different then mine. I have always found them very helpful for things especially parts and manufacturers. Grady even provided me with information and parts number on my 265 long after the model had been discontinued. That being said I have never contacted them for cushions, upholstery etc. I have just automatically used a local shop. Honestly the quality of the upholstery on both my gradys was not great compared to what I had done locally. Another good source for parts information is the parts guy at your local grady dealer. I have made many a phone call to the parts department, who will either have the part or point me in the right direction for the part. I also get it to that as some models get older and discontinued parts may be more difficult to find.

 

[bill.kimbell]

I have had similar lack of responsiveness from GW. Port windshield popped out of its frame. Local GW dealer would not work on it because the gasket was old/possibly rotted (15 year old boat). They did not know part/could not source the gasket. I spoke w GW they told me of a previous vendor that "might know." Could not or would not, provide previous part number nor dimensions. Vendor told me to call a guy who "used to work here." Unbelievable. I finally fixed myself using existing gasket after ordering three possibilities from Grainger and others - none close enough to fit. Frustrating and unnecessary. GW certainly has the information, why not make it available like every other manufacturer does since the dawn of the Internet?

 

[MashpeeMan]

I guess sometimes it depends who answers the phone but I also had very good support from GW customer service when I needed advice for re-powering my (2001) 192 this past off-season. The rep. spent a fair amount of time researching to make sure that she was giving me the right answers for my particular boat and I hung up the phone with a concise plan for next steps (and remembered thinking, imagine if you'd call Ford or GM for advice on a 20+ year old vehicle if they'd spend that much time and effort with you). My boat also looks good as I've re-upholstered locally... I did everything at once so all of the fabric matches and a lot of people have commented that it certainly doesn't look like a 20+ year old boat. Overall these boats hold up extremely well, particularly if they're well cared for. But with all of the variables over several decades (changes in design, changes in suppliers/vendors, etc.) I'm not sure how fair it is to expect a heck of a lot of individual customer service beyond the basics whether it's from GW or any other company.

 

[Saltyone]

Not to be the devils advocate here but try calling an automotive dealer of any manufacturer and try to find any sort of interior trim pieces on an 18-year-old vehicle. Whether its door panels, seat covers, etc., I can almost guarantee they won't have it or be able to supply you with any information as to who they sourced their materials from.

And most of those cars had hundreds of thousands produced as compared to a low volume boat production.

Not saying what you experienced was right, but it's an unfortunate reality on something 18 years old.

The couple of times Ive had to call Grady on my 2000 265, they have tried their best to assist in the information I was looking for. One time they were able to point me in the right direction, the other time they couldnt help.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I've had a few mixed experiences when contacting GW directly. One time I contacted them, I think it was via phone, and asked if they had the performance data sheet for a 228 Seafarer with a Yamaha F225 on it, and they emailed it to me within the hour. Which I was quite shocked to see that. On the other hand, I've had a few questions to where I called up and was told someone would get back to me but they never did. I get it, I'm sure they're probably busy and likely understaffed, and even though it was a little frustrating, it definitely wasn't enough to lose sleep over. And I agree with Saltyone as well as what the others have said above in that a boat being almost 20 years old, or maybe even older than that, is going to likely have multiple different design changes if it's still even produced to this day. Parts manufacturers can change up multiple times in the course of two decades and likely a good deal of those parts are hard to find, or are discontinued. Definitely a bit frustrating, but if you want convenience then you'll likely have to buy something that's brand new, still under warranty and that has parts readily available. Also, as Saltyone mentioned above, automobile parts of that age are almost even more difficult to find from the manufacturer. Oftentimes if you're trying to find something locally you'll have to go through O'Reilly's or AutoZone, etc and to where those employees aren't exactly known for being the best in regards to knowledge. If you can't give them a year, make and model to look up in the computer or a part number, they're oftentimes almost useless. It's an unfortunate truth, but it is what you have to accept for a boat/vehicle of that vintage. Fortunately there are a multitude of online companies out there that do aftermarket parts that for the most part have a decent fitment, though not always. Summit, Jegs and other companies online have millions of parts available, but even still unless the parts are interchangeable with other models/manufacturers... they might not be available all the time or they might stop producing them. I've seen a couple of guys on eBay as well as on here that sell Grady White parts, especially seat cushions and so forth. So there's always another option, as well as a few that sell them on Craigslist, etc.

 

[sturgstev]

I think that this board is a great place to obtain information from other GW owners. I have an old Mercedes SL and have obtained information from the Benz forum or just search you tube videos for some DIY projects.

A GW word search on Yahoo or Google may be helpful too.

Depending on a manufaturer for information on a 20 plus year boat or car many not be the best way to go. My SL went out of production over thirty years ago so I would contact the manufacturer at last resport.

steve

 

[ItalianAngler]

GW makes is pretty clear they aren’t in the parts business, just ask the parts rep at your local dealer. Boats are far more like houses than they are cars, it’s not like I call up my builder and ask what front door they installed on my house back in 2003. GW is however quite good at helping you when and where they can. Gotta remember a lot of manufacturers they used, and they likely had several for certain parts, may not be in business anymore. Then you have situations where parts changeover mid-year. I’m shocked they know as much as they do quite honestly. I downloaded the user manual online for my sailfish, nice to have that option, they certainly don’t have to do it. Saved me a few questions early in my time with her.

For new canvas it’s hard to beat A&J in Vanceboro. If it’s a few cushions then a local shop should suffice.

I have a 2002 sailfish and before that I had a 97 seafarer. I am also working on a 98 225 tournament at the moment.

 

[mr_mbuna]

I've had a good experience with GW customer service for my 2011 275. Sorry you have had a poor one. Keep in mind our boats are old. If you want champagne service, buy a new boat with a warranty.

 

[SeaVee]

They’ve been great for me and my 01 265, and I’m the third owner.

 

[Ky Grady]

I've had good luck with GW customer service with my '04 228. Third owner. All questions asked, have been answered in a timely fashion. Might try reaching out to your local dealer. I also have good luck with mine in Charleston SC and I'm in Kentucky. I spend so much time down in SC, they have adopted me I guess.

 

[wahoo33417]

I'll chime in on the side of having had good experiences when calling for part numbers or info on my 2007 Sailfish.

Once I sent a picture of a below deck hose labelled Marine Fuel that seemed very out of place. Within a few days someone answered that is the type of hose they used for the head plumbing system and this particular hose was for the overboard discharge. I was very happy that somebody took the time to look at a below deck photo of a 2007 boat and figure out what it was.

My other call was for the part number of the Bennett Trim tab which was made specifically for that model boat. No one at Bennett seemed to know that.

 

[Cadeco]

Well, I contacted GW a couple of times and I could get the answers I looked for. The Lady that answered my questions was great, to say the list and my boat is a 1998. I was amazed w/ the C. S quality. (just my 2 cents).