Why are Gradys so popular up Northeast vs South??

[gregsnow]

Why does it seem Gradys are so popular up in the northeast (yankees) and you dont see so many down in the South (perfect confederates) :wink: :lol: . There are numerous dealers but the northeast takes the cake with Gradys. It seems it would be balanced throughtout the country. Just curious if anyone knows the answer. Feel free with the smart a$$ N/S answers :wink:

GS

 

[Tuna Man]

I think you may be mistaken, if by the south you mean Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and of course Florida. When I was searching for boats, I found far more Grady's for sale in the south than the north. Do a search on Boat Trader or similar nationwide site, I think you'll see the same thing. Last time I looked I would say that about half of the late model Marlins were listed as Florida boats, about a quarter from the rest of the southern states and a quarter from the northesast. Lastly, remember Grady is situated in a southern state- NC.

 

[gregsnow]

I think you may be mistaken, if by the south you mean Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and of course Florida. When I was searching for boats, I found far more Grady's for sale in the south than the north. Do a search on Boat Trader or similar nationwide site, I think you'll see the same thing. Last time I looked I would say that about half of the late model Marlins were listed as Florida boats, about a quarter from the rest of the southern states and a quarter from the northesast. Lastly, remember Grady is situated in a southern state- NC.

I wasnt counting in Va. and NC but I knew SC had its fair share. You dont see many in the S/SE compared to E/NE. Didnt know if they werent marketed the same as the NE or what plays into it.


GS

 

[gradyfish22]

I have to agree, I think Fla alone has as many Grady's as the NE put togeather. When we looked, we found a ton in Fla alone. Our first Grady was from the Keys, and our second Grady was from SC.

 

[gregsnow]

I dont frequent the E coast of Florida but theres not that many on the W coast of FL and panhandle over to Al and MS.

GS

 

[fishingFINattic]

Maybe it has to do with the style of fishing in your area?
When I fished Venice, LA I didnt see one Grady..... almost all cats and CC (contender, ect) but I dont think I saw one Grady.
Here is Ct..... I am surrounded by Parkers at my pier..... the full enclosed cabin ones.......
Since alot of the walk around Gradys 26' and under dont have A/C - I have to think that has something to do with seeing them in south too...

Tim

 

[megabytes]

They are big around NC - no surprise there. Our marina told me at one time that 25% of the boats were Gradys. Around Morehead City there seem to be as many Carolina Classics and Albies due to the number of bluewater folks who desire deep Vs.

Around Wrightsville, many folks use their boats for family outings as well as fishing. This is just type of usage that GW targets. For pure fishing there are better choices but GW, Pursuit, BW, and Scout are by far the best multi-purpose boats.

Boats are really no different from autos in that there is no single model for everyone. I think of GWs as a crossover SUV. Part luxury, part fish, part cruise, part family. A Albie is more like a F150. Sparse amenities but great off road.

 

[plymouthgrady]

Popularity

One reason you may see more Grady's for sale on Fla. and the south vs. the northeast could be attributed to the cycle of boating. Could you imagine driving a Mercedes for 4 months and garaging it for 8? That's basically what we do in the N.E. So naturally less boats will turn over because of longevity. Factor in desirability and replacement cost and not many Grady's are reasonably listed for resale.
I also agree with the earlier post about the type of fishing you do.
How many Grady's do you see in the S.K.A., Monster Shark, etc.? I see alot of Contenders, Regulators, Fountains but not many Grady's.

 

[Capt Armchair]

Why does it seem Gradys are so popular up in the northeast (yankees) and you dont see so many down in the South (perfect confederates) :wink: :lol: . There are numerous dealers but the northeast takes the cake with Gradys. It seems it would be balanced throughtout the country. Just curious if anyone knows the answer. Feel free with the smart a$$ N/S answers :wink:

GS

When i was looking there were an maybe 5-6 late model Marlins on the market in SE Florida.

On the water there are a fair number of GW, probably not as many as more affordable or mass production CC's, but I see a decent number of them. What is cool is there are alot of older ones out and about. Older Grady's never seem to die....

 

[magicalbill]

I started a thread awhile back entitled "How Many Grady's In Indiana?"

If you think they're sparse down South, come to Hoosierland..I think there are about 3 or 4....

 

[gregsnow]

When i was looking there were an maybe 5-6 late model Marlins on the market in SE Florida.

On the water there are a fair number of GW, probably not as many as more affordable or mass production CC's, but I see a decent number of them. What is cool is there are alot of older ones out and about. Older Grady's never seem to die....

Thats good to hear cause my Grady is only a Spring chicken at the moment.

 

[Lucky Stars]

if you count the fishing season and the amount of coast line Florida has more fishable days from fishable ports then the entire rest of the east coast. IMHO

 

[capt chris]

I will be the third one @ Cumberland that I'm aware of. It really all comes down to the dealer network. There has to be enough demand to support a dealership and a lot of people are not comfortable with having their local dealer 350+ miles from home. Ergo they won't consider a Grady. Three of the four Sea Ray dealers in KY are also BW dealers but they don't sell any BWs other than yacht tenders. Good luck trying to sea trial a BW before you buy it in KY. So effectively I had a local BW dealer in name only. I'm not complaining because I can already tell that GW holds their dealer network to a much higher standard than Brunswick. I have owned BWs since 1987 before buying my GW this year and I knew more about the BWs than the dealer ever did. I taught the dealer about the Smart Craft gauges on my 2002 Outrage. They didn't have a clue. They're very nice people but let's face it, they make their living on Sea Ray. It has been a real pleasure to deal with the GW dealer organization that is commited to their product and their customer base. Bigger is definitely not always better! I just hope GW has some good succession planning and doesn't get sold to the highest bidder when Eddie Smith cashes in his chips.

 

[jaydub]

I dont frequent the E coast of Florida but theres not that many on the W coast of FL and panhandle over to Al and MS.

GS

I agree Grady's are big in the NE, but there are probably more Grady's in SW Florida than you may think. Our 2 year old Tarpon Coast Grady White club already has 50 boats and it only includes the areas from Venice to Boca Grande and over to Punta Gorda. That doesn't include the heavily populated areas of Fort Myers, Sarasota and Tampa. I see them all all over down here.

 

[G8RDave]

Not alot of Grady's in Tampa. Many more in Boca Grande area but that's probably due to Igman Marine (Grady Dealer) being based in Port Charlotte/Placida. My guess is that we don't see as many Grady's down here because there are so many other boats made here that are of good quality and much less expensive. Also, center console's are really big around here and that's never been Grady's sweet spot.

 

[liz]

There are a ton here in coastal Georgia

 

[Tashmoo]

In our area it is clearly the dealer that makes them so popular. There probably are three GW's to every one other boat brand in our marina. All are from the same dealer, they deserve to be where they are as they are a class act. They have also weathered the storms over the years and have remained in business. The other major brands in the North of Boston market appear to have no staying power, the Pursuit dealer has changed and moved, Regulator and Albemarle can't keep a dealer and so on.