TheHullTruth

[brdawg2001]

That group is hard on Grady's...whew...based on their comments every Grady ever made has had to have the transom redone...haha

r

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I was a part of THT forum years ago before I owned my Grady, and I think that I was even a part of it before I owned my previous boat, which was a 21' Arima. It was/is a very tough crowd/forum to be a part of as it seems like everyone on there either...

A. Has the best boat known to mankind...
B. Knows everything about fishing or boating...
C. Knows everything about boats, even those they've never owned or stepped foot on before...
D. If they don't know the answer to something, which is rare, they will make something up or say something they've heard before elsewhere. And if that doesn't work, they'll name drop their buddy who is, go figure, an expert everything as well and who just so happens to have the second best boat known to mankind. Or what seems to happen most of the time would be...
E. All of the above.

It was a very abrasive and argumentative crowd years ago when I was a part of their forum and even looking on their site briefly a few weeks ago, it was still a lot of people arguing and fighting back and forth with one another. THT, at the time I was a part of it got to be so bad where it seemed like every topic of discussion turned into an argument or pissing match and to where I'd had enough. Bloody Decks can get to the same level at times, and I'm sure there's people like that on just about every forum out there. Even the Arima Owners forum that I was on just before I bought my Grady seemed to be comprised of mostly arrogant jerks who thought they knew everything about anything and thought that Arima's were almost like a gift from God. The admin/moderators on that forum would bend the rules for some or make up rules on the spot... like there was a rule for not bringing up religion or politics and one member brought up the topic of Covid and then it got into a political debate, of which for some reason I got a warning for. Same with they had this "unwritten rule" about not commenting on boats in the "For Sale" section with regards to price and whatnot. I remember I got in trouble when someone posted a Craigslist ad for an Arima for sale and they even mentioned that it wasn't their boat and/or had no affiliation with it. I mentioned that it had been listed for some time and was likely because it was in my opinion way overpriced. I again got a warning for doing that when one of the moderators/admin did the same thing in the same section of the forum just a couple of days before.

From Arima's being a very rough riding boat to people very much over-exaggerating how great they are, to finally the members and moderators/admin on the Arima Owners form, it was time for me to sell my boat and leave. And I'm glad that I did, my Grady is 100x the boat that my previous Arima, or any Arima for that matter, will ever be. The people on this forum for the most part have all been quite courteous and there doesn't seem to hardly ever be any issues on here. Though it is the reason why I made up the post the other day about having an "Open Forum" section for this site, so that people on here have a section to talk about things that don't relate to Grady White's or fishing/boating in general. And that's because most of the people on here are courteous and amicable towards others to where I figured it would be nice to chat about other things as well. But that idea was quickly shot down.

 

[blynch]

I feel like THT can be pretty well broken down into 2 types of discussions. Some are specific and technical, like "My [engine brand] is doing [small performance issue], what could be wrong?" or "My [specific boat model] needs a [new part], what should I do?" These are generally disinteresting enough to the average reader to avoid the trolls and can usually be counted on for a handful of responses with solid advice.

Then there are the absolute dumpster fire posts, like "When will the used boat market soften?" or "My [new boat/ recently worked on boat] came with [large defect/ structural failure/ price increase], should I sue someone?" where it turns into a 200 post pissing match in no time. I think the trick is to avoid the second kind.

As for the Grady transom hate, I get the point but I think it's a little overblown. Yes it's a common issue but plenty of people get by without any problems. Other boats have common issues too, there's just something about this one that's especially easy to keep parroting back on online forums. Part of the reason so many older Gradys have wet transoms is that lots of them have survived long enough for the issue to arise when lesser brands would have been scrapped long ago.

 

[blindmullet]

That group is hard on Grady's...whew...based on their comments every Grady ever made has had to have the transom redone...haha

r

It's not too far off but it's because the boats were good enough to hang around for 20+ years and they might need a transom now. Besides a design flaw on the models that have the bang plate most transom issues are user error. Lots of Grady yard yacht's around Florida.

I will say I think GW cut some corners on my specific model. Throw some poly filler concoction on the end grain and terrible wiring are my main frustrations. IMO it's an above avg production boat.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I'll be honest and say I was quite surprised when I came over here from the Arima Owners forum and seriously looking for a 228 Seafarer to buy when I heard that GW still used wood in their transoms. I figured a company like GW would have gotten away from using wood long ago, as I believe Arima stopped using plywood in the mid 1990's. I was a bit surprised to hear it, definitely not a deal breaker and it didn't make me not want to buy a GW anymore. My biggest frustration was getting all excited and thinking I'd found "the one", then paying to have a surveyor go out and inspect the boat to have them tell me the floor is spongy or that there was a lot of water intrusion on the moisture reader. Other than being a simple frustration, a 1st world problem, and being out $600, it wasn't anything I lost sleep over and simply continued my search for another 228 Seafarer to look at purchasing.

 

[Fishtales]

It is a little rough at THT for sure. A lot of the GW issues are self-inflicted though. They prob need some new leadership and blood infusion to combat the living off the reputation phenomena.

 

[Dhirsh]

THT is 1% fact and 99% Keyboard Cowboys that what to add to their post count but nothing constructive to the conversation. Used to try and contribute but it almost always gets trolled down to a fight with somebody. I still go to the site but keep my responses pretty limited.

 

[TortugaBob]

THT is like many online product review posts, you have to weed thru the noise. Agree with the comments here. I will say, there is an outstanding guy, Abbor, in Electronics forum that has helped me with very technical Navico issues. He works in development with the OEM's. Also, THT helped me sell my Parker quickly, and I bought a basically brand new Loadrite Trailer for my Marlin 300. So, not all bad, but you have to dig for the "Truth".

 

[Rustygaff]

Pursuant to THT lore, my boat should have sunk or burned by now due to a rotten transom, wood stringers, or bad wiring. Surprisingly, it still floats. All jest aside, there is simply too much amped up testosterone floating around over there.

 

[Uncle Joe]

They are not exactly a kind and thoughtful group over there....in my experience.

 

[Ryhlick]

As stated before, if you are after technical information and are very specific, there is a great amount of information available by some. I have had outstanding service by Semperfi who sells electronics that is a world of knowledge if you reach out. Like and any form, there are a select few that just search for confrontation. Definitely not like this group here.

 

[glacierbaze]

THT is like New York City, you can find anything that you need or want there, just don't hang out in places like Mott Haven, Brownsville, or the South Bronx.
THT got rid of a lot of trash talking, when they closed the Bilge, where anything went, and the Sandbar. Those who stayed mostly hang out in Dockside Chat. My new years resolution, 5 or 6 years ago, was to stay clear of that forum, and not be drawn into any of those pointless arguments, and I have kept it

 

[brdawg2001]

Yea, I have been surfing it for years...and I also use SemperFi for my electronics purchases as well....the Grady Item and F225 corrosion are the most brought up it seems....also interesting to see the upswell of Mercury fans...

I am seeing a lot of gas tank issues but that does not seem something comes up in regards to Grady...any thoughts on that?

r

 

[Uncle Joe]

Yea, I have been surfing it for years...and I also use SemperFi for my electronics purchases as well....the Grady Item and F225 corrosion are the most brought up it seems....also interesting to see the upswell of Mercury fans...

I am seeing a lot of gas tank issues but that does not seem something comes up in regards to Grady...any thoughts on that?

r

You will see plenty of threads here regarding gas tanks but that is a common problem with any boat, I believe. An aluminum fuel tank in a boat has a finite life expectancy and if you keep your boat long enough it will need replacing.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Pursuant to THT lore, my boat should have sunk or burned by now due to a rotten transom, wood stringers, or bad wiring. Surprisingly, it still floats. All jest aside, there is simply too much amped up testosterone floating around over there.

Haha spontaneous combustion...

 

[Mustang65fbk]

You will see plenty of threads here regarding gas tanks but that is a common problem with any boat, I believe. An aluminum fuel tank in a boat has a finite life expectancy and if you keep your boat long enough it will need replacing.

The fuel tank on my 21' Arima had a molded plastic tank. Would something like that fare better than the aluminum?

 

[Mustang65fbk]

One of the many things I love about this site is that there aren't any ads like there are on THT. Well I take that back, there are a few ads from those that I'm guessing sponsor the site, and are related to Grady White boats, or at least boating in general. At least it's not like THT where you're inundated with advertisements of which some actually do relate to boating and fishing but the rest are anything from half naked women to celebrity problems to this or that. I'll pass....

 

[glacierbaze]

It's pretty simple, if you don't want to see ads, just log in.
With all the bickering, you would think that it was a bunch of grumpy old men, but when an age related topic comes up, I am always surprised at how young many long time posters are.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

It's pretty simple, if you don't want to see ads, just log in.
With all the bickering, you would think that it was a bunch of grumpy old men, but when an age related topic comes up, I am always surprised at how young many long time posters are.

It actually doesn't have anything to do with being logged in or not as even when I do log in, the ads are still there. Anything from boating to women in bikinis to celebrity nonsense BS. Also, how can you tell about the age of the other members on the THT site? One of the most prominent threads recently over there has 15 pages worth of responses from members and not one of the members has their age displayed on their profile like we do here. Also, I don't really buy into the age related topics as you can look just about anything up on Google from any time period, whether you were actually even born yet or not. Case in point... I have a 1965 mustang fastback and know a good deal about classic cars as well as classic music because that's what I grew up with... a father that graduated high school in the late 1960's and is still stuck there. So... if you asked a question about classic cars or music and I mentioned something knowledgable about them or mentioned that I have one, you'd likely incorrectly assume that I was alive or a teenager back in the 1960's, if I didn't clarify. I think you might be assuming just a bit there...

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/1204702-price-increase-after-boat-purchase.html

 

[glacierbaze]

Maybe it's not the log in, maybe it's being in the Captains' Club, or Admirals' Club now, that I had to pay something like $20 to join in '03, so that I could list items in the classified forum. Anyway, if I am logged in, I don't notice any ads, other than a sponsors banner across the top of some pages. Not logged in, it is unbearable.
Not many list their age here, either, but you didn't have to go through 15 pages of profiles to try to prove your point, I don't think age is an option in a THT profile.
I'll change age related topics, to topics related to age of THT users, which believe it or not, there have been a few since you were in grade school.
I never noticed your age, I am surprised that you are only 36. You're right, I thought that you were your father, that old dude who is always good for at least half a page.