Ready to buy my new boat... but what? Input needed

[hkg4142]

I am looking at a few boats right now, I sold my Wakeboarding boat yesterday after having it on the market less than 24hrs! I am on Lake Erie and want something that will stand up to the beating this little lake can through at you pretty quick. During our peak summer Steelhead are about 30 miles offshore, those not familiar with Erie conditions can go from great to very bad in about 30 minutes. So having a reliable engine to get us back is very important! That all being said I'll get into my thoughts.

My number one pick so far is a 96 Grady White 248 Voyager with twin 1997 Yamaha 150 TXRV's, the compression testing on them is great and so far from what I can tell they check out just fine. I have been looking for some info on these motors and have not had much success so I was hoping to hear from someone here. Any info on the engines and boat is appreciated. I have been reading over at greatgrady.com and have heard nothing but great reviews on the boat, not so much info on the engines though.

Next choice is a 1987 Sea Ox CC with twin 115 Mercruisers, not sure on year but they look older saying only 310 hours on them which is from a rebuild here is a link to the boat ( http://www.happydaysboating.com/dlri...53721-1987.htm )

Then there is the 2005 Key West 225cc with a Yamaha 225 4 stroke

Another Grady is a Gulfstream 23 1995 with a 1995 Yamaha 250 VERY clean boat!!!

And next.. another Grady 2000 226 Seafarer, with a Yamaha 200 hp HPDI


All these boats are in a similar price range besides the Sea Ox which is listed about 10k less than the rest. I have been all about CC's for awhile, but after checking out some WA's Im torn...So I am just looking for any thoughts, experience etc etc... I appreciate the input!

Just adding this too... question on this boat is the price.. seems very high

http://southshoremarine.com/searchengin ... C&page=1&#

 

[Marty grady 272]

1) The Sea Ox is priced lower because their resale value does not hold up like the resale value of a Grady does. 2) I chose the 200 HPDI motors as replacements on my Grady over the 4 strokes because of the weight and because they are as efficient as the 4 strokes for my type of use. I love my motors and would not change. 3) The Grady stands up to anything that comes its way including a short chop that you see in the lakes.

 

[Fishtales]

Whatever you get, make sure it is surveyed.

 

[no problem]

Early and late in the season when the water is cold you may find a walkaround with a hardtop and enclosure is much more comfortable. I certainly do. If you do a lot of trolling you probably don't go forward of the center console often anyway. Let us know what you decide.

 

[Brad1]

I ran a 2003 SeaFarer 226 on Erie for the past 4 seasons (I bought the boat new as a leftover). That hull works very well on Erie. You won't get a smoother ride from any other boat in it's size / class.

You mentioned you were considering CCs. Early in the season on Erie, it can be quite cool and on rough days you will get some spray. Therefore, you want all the weather protection you can get. I like CCs, but not for Erie. Down south, absolutely, but not Erie.

Even though I really liked my 226, we both know that Erie can get really rough, really fast. You can never have too big a boat on Erie. Therefore, I would agree with what you listed as your #1 pick.

As for the Sea Ox with the MerCruisers, I have only owned one MerCruiser powered boat and found the maintenance to be a PITA. You'll be looking at pulling the outdrives annually, worrying about it freezing (unless you have a full closed cooling system). Bellows every 4 years, exhaust manifolds and risers at some point, Gimble bearing, u-joints, coupler all need greasing and if any of those go it can be alot of work to replace. Coupler alignment annually. Been there, done that, and no thank you to doing it again. The only good thing is that MerCruiser mechanics are plentiful. But I prefer to do my own engine work so that isn't really a big plus for DYI folks.

 

[bberry]

The 268 Grady White Islander that you have a question about is a very nice Boat, but the Price is very High. I have a 1995- 268 Grady white in VGC and no Bottom Paint with Twin 200 Yamaha Saltwater Series Motors with 600 Hours with Hard top and Loaded with Options and love the ride and walk around cabin and the way it handles with a Alum. Dual axle Trailer with S/S Brakes listed for 31,000 $ on the Boat Trader in Chesapeake, Virginia. The only reason I want to sell my boat is to get a Smaller cuddy cabin Boat with a single motor.

 

[hkg4142]

Appreciate all the responses! We just got back from checking the 248 and the 268, both extremely clean boats! The 268 is priced very high, the boat has about 300hrs which you can tell by how clean it is. The 248 same, very clean boat low hours, two owners who have been at the marina its being sold from since day one so they know the whole boat history. Taking the 248 out tomorrow for a sea trial and a survey was done when the previous owner traded it in since then its been in the showroom. Survey found the port side stringer in the stern directly under the oil tanks had a small piece about 18 inchs long of a regular ply wood in it. There is no record why that was there, but they replaced the section and it passed the next inspection. I will be having my own survey done as well. I am getting the details from the compression tests which came out looking good. So number 1 is still looking like the choice. I am curious to get some ideas of price... An estimate on engine hours would be under 500. The asking is $28.9, this has always been a freshwater boat.

 

[hkg4142]

On the 248 with the twin yamaha 150's max speed is about 42mph does that sound about right?

 

[gw204]

IMO $28.5K for that boat is way high...

Personally, I don't see how a surveyor could tell a piece of regular plywood from marine plywood unless the end grain was exposed (which does happen on GWs) or the glass was not gelcoated allowing you to see knots through it. If that's what the broker is telling you, I call BS. My guess is the surveyor found that section of the stringer was rotten and that's why it was replaced.

For your neck of the woods, I would check this out (use the 350 to heat the helm area):

http://www.thehulltruth.com/boat-commer ... marle.html

 

[hkg4142]

I agree the 28.5 is WAY high, going in with a much lower offer. The owner of the Marina is a family friend so I don't see him BSing, he is getting me a copy of the original survey and I will be getting one myself as well. Sea trial in 5hrs.. feel like a kid on xmas morning haha.

 

[hkg4142]

GW to add to your post saying 28.9 is to high, what would you estimate this boat value. To me the negatives are no trailer ($2800), no hard top ($7500 after all options and shipping are calculated). My initial bid I was thinking in the $19k area and go from there. Granted this is a fresh water boat and always has been I am seeing 248s of this year going for mid 20s to high twenties and those include trailer, hardtop but are all saltwater boats. Being on fresh water my whole life the idea of buying a saltwater based boat to put in fresh water has always been a last resort kind of thing. Thanks.

 

[GW VOYAGER]

I bought a 1996 Voyager last july 3rd.
Sounds like it is like the one you are looking at except for the motors
Mine has a 225 hp johnson single engine.
My boat was also fresh water but has a trailer. The only thing which didn't work was the $40 rule pump fot the livewell.
Mine also had trailer,and curtins which had never been used, all cushins.
the boat was in excellent shape and still is although I use it in salt water.
I didn't go through dealer so saved taxes.
gave $22,900.
I may have given too much in somes views but a good deal is in the eyes of who is forking out the money and I am satisfied with my deal.
Also means a lot if a boat has been dry stored.
Just my opinion.

 

[hkg4142]

Appreciate the info, heading to the sea trial in a few so fingers crossed Ill be a GW owner by the end of the day.

 

[gw204]

If everything checks out, I think low 20s would be appropriate. Start at 19 and see what happens. It's still a sh*tty market out there, you might get lucky...

I also wouldn't try to use the $7500 hardtop cost as a bargaining tool though. You can get a nice one made at a local shop for much cheaper than that...and the broker probably knows that.

 

[hkg4142]

Back, boat tested out great, there was 2-3 and sloppy and this boat just pushed through it cruising about 28mph. Max RMP about 5600 and that took us to 47mph. The boat is very clean and runs like a champ, I cant believe how fast this got on plane from a dead start. We had 5 people on the boat and 4 of those people where 200lbs+ Main full tank was 1/4 reserve full. Unfortunately though I had to walk away from the boat, the price just did not move as much as I needed it too. Could have used another $2000 off price to really make me feel good about the deal. We will see...