Talk to me about the GW Express 305

[Toothpick 10]

I have seen a few 305s pop up for sale lately and they seem like a pretty nice boat. They're not as large as a 330, but they still seem substantial. I currently own a GW Islander 270, so a 305 would be about 2 feet wider and 2 feet longer. I'm just wondering what peoples thoughts are on this model

 

[ItalianAngler]

I have a 282. I shopped them for a while when I was considering upgrading to either 30 or a 33. I felt there weren’t enough benefits to outweigh the premium over comparably equipped Marlins. Helm seemed a bit cramped. Cabin was a def upgrade as are the looks but I also like to fish the bow of my 282 on nice days. Feels safe with the recess. Express felt a bit spookier to me. Others may disagree.

 

[Fishtales]

Plenty of threads on this boat here. It is a mini express. The helm can be a bit tight. If you can work with it, then it is a fine boat. Shares the same hull as all the other 30'ers.

 

[PDX-Boats]

I have a 305 and love it, but to be fair it's my first Grady.
A larger person might have a hard time navigating the helm, but otherwise, I like it centered with excellent viewing all around.
Mine is powered with twin F350s. She'll do 54MPH comfortably, although I prefer to cruise at a moderate speed.
There isn't much not to like. The only consideration would be you and your crew's size. If you can move around the helm than I think it's an excellent boat.
To be fair, the Marlin has the same hull and I think it's excellent as well. The Marlin would be the better choice for large crew and straight up fishing. The Express is good for fishing and cruising.

 

[drbatts]

I have had my 305 for 3 seasons after moving up from a 265. Overall we have been very happy with the boat. Its used mostly for fishing both offshore and inshore as well as some cruising and overnights. For longer trips the helm area is very comfortable for 3 people. Most of the time we fish with 3-4 guys. I personally like the center helm for visibility, and the pop up electronic box is nice. The higher windshield is also a nice upgrade from the 265, as now i'm always looking through glass rather then plastic. As far as the cabin goes you can sleep 2 people in the forward v berth "without touching" and 1 adult comfortably in the aft bunk. Maybe a second small person who would be "trapped" on the inside. When I go away for a weekend with my wife we both sleep on the forward bunk, and throw all of our stuff in the aft bunk. Although it doesn't have the recessed walkway up to the bow, there is plenty of room to maneuver forward. I can get up there with a fishing rod in hand. My 55 lb. dog also does it easily. Fishing off the flat bow is a piece of cake. I also had cushions made for the front deck for the ladies to sun bathe up there as well. The bilge access in the rear is excellent compared to my previous 265 and a lot of other earlier model Gradys as it has the flip up panel. My boat has f300's and I cruise comfortably at 30 knts through pretty much anything. I believe most of the 305's have no wood in the transom or sides and are composite construction except for the stringers and deck. Which is the case in my boat as per Grady. When I was looking at boats i looked at both marlins and 305's and would have been happy with either, I just found the right boat at the right price locally and jumped on it. Price range for the 2 models in my experience were very similar. Grady did not make many 305's as a result there are a lot more marlins on the market.

 

[frankm]

My thoughts:
I own a 305 Express and I love the boat. My good friend in the berth next to me owns a 30 Marlin and we take turns venturing out on both boats. They share the same hull, but many characteristics are different. If I fished only, I would prefer the Marlin for its extra spacious cockpit area. But for cruising and fishing, I prefer the 305 Express. The larger helm area allows for 2 couples to sit comfortably while cruising and talking, especially in chillier weather up here in Maine. The hardtop is much larger allowing for me to store up to 6 fishing rods on the underside of the hardtop, freeing up cabin space. I can also fit 5 to 6 life jackets in the netting. As mentioned above, I also prefer the center helm sitting and the powered electronics box. In other posts on this site, I have shown photos of my setup when entertaining on the dock. I remove the helm chair and replace it with a nice table, making the helm area more usable.

 

[Toothpick 10]

Thanks for the great input above. drbatts situation is very similar to mine going from the 265 to the 305.

Do any of you trailer your 305?

 

[eppem]

I was gonna say wait for dr batts to reply and he already did. I also moved up from a 265 and ended up with a Marlin, like the doc said, you can go either way, just depends what is on the market. Both have pros and cons but both (305 and Marlin) are excellent options!

 

[drbatts]

It was a big jump up from the 265 in a few aspects. The 1ft increase in the beam makes it feel like a lot more boat. In terms of handling where i had to slow down in the 265, I don't have to now in the 305. While I can still run the boat single handed and do often fish alone on it too. My boat has the bow thruster too so tight quarter handling is easier then the 265. Its a bigger cabin with A/c and heat which is a very nice upgrade too as my wife will now sleep on the boat which she wouldn't do in the cave like cabin of the 265. Plus i can sleep a couple of guys in the cabin for fishing trips now.

I don't trailer the boat. With the the wide beam, high hardtop with antennas its just easier to have it pulled out by the yard. The weight with hull and engines alone is over 10k lbs. I don't have a tow vehicle capable of handling it nor do I want to trailer that much around regularly. I know some guys have large trucks and are comfortable towing these larger boats, I'm just not one of them.

Feel free to Pm me for any specific details

Frank, I have seen your pictures, the table looks great. how big is the table you made for the helm?

 

[frankm]

drbatts,
Thanks, we love the table. very useful. Even when we are out fishing, if it is cold, we will pull the chair and mount the table for lunch in the helm area.
I don't have the dimensions with me at the moment. (Don't remember!) The table is in my condo for the winter up in Maine. I was there yesterday. I wish I had seen your post. When I go back up, i'll get the dimensions for you.

 

[teaklejr]

We just went from a 1997 F26 Tigercat we had for 14 years to a 2007 305 this past July and so far love it. It definitely was a big size difference but not to big. We don't fish much really use it as a weekend getaway, we have slept in both spots with zero problems, bow access is easy, ride is great and the looks of the express line up cant be beat. We knew we wanted a 305 and had been looking for a few years, only thing I said I had to have was a bow thruster well ours has bow thruster, chill plates and generator so glad to have all of them. You wont be disappointed in the boat if you get one.