Tournament 225

E

Ed Bukala

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H Everyone
We presently have a 185 which we have enjoyed for the past two years. We have thought long and hard about our boating needs, fishing, day cruising, and have decided to move up to the 225 with Yamaha 250. This boat as you know, has the motor mounted on the extended transom which we really like. Can present 225 owners give me their feedback on how you enjoy this boat and the extended transom feature.
Bukster
 
Ed:
Our 225 with the Gil Bracket is terrific. We gain cockpit space and move the noise from the engine further aft. We have a full width swim platform so that we can use it as a platform when working on the engine. Very convenient. We get extra buoyancy as well from the bracket. We have no problem when backing up the boat; we raise the engine a few bars and it backs up very well.

Read David Pascoe's review on notched transoms and you will never get another notched transom. Our neighbor had a near tragic boating accident because of his notched transom in July. It brought into clear focus Pascoe's advice.

Enjoy.
 
Not to derail your thread Ed..but how do you like the 185? I am thinking of getting one.
 
Striped Bass, thanks for the positive feedback. I plan to find that review, it sounds like worthwhile reading.
Bukster
 
Not to derail your thread Ed..but how do you like the 185? I am thinking of getting one.

Hi Joe
Our 185 is a 2008 and it has a 150 Yamaha. My wife and I were realatively new to boating and this boat turned out to be perfect to get our feet wet. It was large enough for us to feel safe and yet not too large that we were intiminated with the boat. Can not say enough how well this 18 foot boat handles bigger water. We boat out of Lake St. Clair and it was nothing to go out 20 miles to our favourite fishing holes or cruise all day for 30-40 miles out to the St Clair River then inland through the rivers and back home to Mitchells Bay. She would cruise happily all day at 28-29MPH consuming about 6.5 gallons per hour. When we wanted to get home quick and the water conditions allowed it, she would get up to 45-46 mph. Trim tabs are a must, we did not have them for most of the first season but got them installed late that year, huge differance. The one thing we did have to figure out is how to keep her from wandering at low speeds. You have a tendancy to over steer to try and keep her on line, which makes it worse. What we found solved the problem is at low speed we trimmed the motor out almost to the point that the prop was nearly out of the water. This solved the problem and she tracks like its on a rail. As for motor, you can probably get by just fine with the 115 hp especially if you have trim tabs. Great boat, no regrets at all, just want a bigger one already.
Bukster
 
We have had ours for 2 full seasons now, and we absolutely love it. Here are a few reasons

The full transom keeps our little ones in the boat
THe bracket is awesome as a place to climb out of the water and hose off.
Its great on fuel, but very powerful.
TONS of storage. We have a full mooring cover, and that probably helps too, but the storage stays dry which is great. we leave towels, jackets, etc,. on the boat and that is terrific.
The layout works great for subdividing adults in the cockpit and kids up front Everyone is happy...
Great fishing boat - really well thought out.
Great seating - comfortable for a bunch of people. We have regularly had 4 adults and 5 kids - piece of cake.
All the normal Grady stuff - super solid.
We put a Garmin 10" color chartplotter/fish finder in the electronics box - stays clean and dry and boy is it awesome especially at night.

I hope you are delighted with whatever boat you end up with - we have been very happy with ours.
 
Hi Mike
Thanks very much for that feedback. One of the only things I do not like is the locking instrument compartment. I would rather have a flush mount option as I do on my present 185. It is good to hear that you were able to put a 10" Garmin in this space as I was hoping to go to a 12" Raymarine but was told it was too large. What model is the Garmin you have in your boat? It sounds like we are making a good decision on the 225, nothing is perfect but I have done a great deal of research and comments from owners like yourself really helps.
Bukster
 
Buckster make sure you get the ski pylon for tubing and wakeboarding. The pylon has worked better than I expected. Great motor and boat combo. Good mpg at cruise but can really move when you want to get up and go. Works good trollin 4 rods in the holders. I rarely get tangled up even with fish on. Great for casting and jigging because you can run up to the bow. The shade from the bimini is a huge plus in the summer here in Maryland. Someone mentioned the full mooring cover before, make this a priority. You hardly ever have to clean the boat and keeps the seat cushions in great shape. Good luck on the research.
 
I believe it is a Garmin 5210 - I can't remember exactly. It is not the touch screen version. It's great because you can easily see the screen from the transom if you are fishing there. I agree also with the other comments about the ski pylon and the mooring cover- very key!
 
Hi Bay Drifter
We were not going to get the ski pylon as we have no boarders or skier's and the few times we have tubed behind the 185 we used the aft rings and that worked well. I really do not like the look of the pylon as well, especially if it gets only one or two uses a summer. We have the full canvas on our 185 and put it up when we leave after a weekend. We find this works reasonably well but still have plenty of spider droppings and dead bugs to clean up on the inside when we return. Will a mooring cover help in that regard or with the full canvas is the mooring cover a waste of money. Your opinions will be appreciated.
Bukster
 
I think our garmin is actually a 4210.

Also wanted to throw in 2 bits about the full mooring cover canvas. It really does a lot of good - protects the boat from UV, keeps out bird goo, etc. Never have water in the bilge either. I'm not sure if we would otherwise or not, but after some pretty torrential nights of heavy rain, she stays nice and dry. (We have a neighbor with a boston whaler who constantly has battery problems which seem to be the result of the bilge pumps running too much. ) The biggest convenience is that the boat stays so clean. I always enjoy seeing all of the bird crap on the canvas because I know it would be on the boat otherwise.

All of that aside, I don't know how it works with full canvas. We leave the bimini rolled up, and the mooring cover snaps around the bimini poles.
 
Hi Mike
Did you get your mooring cover custom made as Grady does not sell them. If you bought it from a canvas supplier can you tell me the make and from who. As for electronics I will check out that Garmin and also looking at the Raymarine A70D or C90W. I want the biggest screen that I can get in that compartment, getting old and the eyes are not as good as they used to be.
Thanks
 
Ed, your dealer can get you a good lead on the mooring cover. They are custome made. If you get the full canvas set from Grady you will have the snaps already setup for the cover which goeas all the way to the back of the transom.
 
I just saw a 225 at Port of Egypt this weekend! We just happened to stop for lunch next door.... I joked with the Mrs. " I'd like this for clamming in the bay and water skiing with the family" . Can't really water ski off a 265 Express...
 
Hi mronzo
Well, you just have to have one of each...that is if the Mrs. agrees
Bukster
 
Bay Drifter is correct on the canvas. My dealer was Catalano in CT. They hooked me up with a canvas guy who, I must say, did a terrific job.

One thing we asked him to do which has worked well: We asked him not to put any snaps at the transom on the swim ladded side. That way when the kids are climbing in and out of the boat, they are not banging their knees on the snaps. The boat came with a canvas bow cover. The custom guy made a matching cover from the windshield all the way to the back of the transom. I recommend it highly for boats that live in the water.
 
Hi All
Thanks to all who took the time to send me comments about our 225 purchase. Well the deed is done and she is on order for spring delivery. I will post some pictures of "Bukster" when she is launched and hopefully some nice spring Walleye will be in those pictures. Our 185 went in on trade at Desmasdons Boat Works up here in Pointe au Baril, Ontario, Canada. Desmasdons is the only Grady dealer we have in Eastern Canada and a great dealership to deal with. If someone in Ontario is looking for a great 185 (2008) in terrific condition you should look them up.
Bukster
 
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