WTB more like what to buy!?

[hattieice]

Looking for some input from the Grady gurus on here. This is a bit of a read so I apologize in advance but my confusion and desire for bang for the buck is grinding my brain to a mush.

Looking for a Grady due to perceived quality, reliability and availability of replacement parts when needed. Coming from a 1987 40’ Hatteras double cabin so looking to downsize and upgrade/update. That thing was a beast for two people.
Other brand being suggested by the wife include Hydra-Sports which she likes for the simplicity of it. And she saw a decent one on Facebook. Mako, Stamas, Scout and Seaswirl. Boston Whaler is a thing but hard to find.

Use case: Gulf of Mexico. Intercostal cruising anywhere from Clearwater to Sarasota Florida. Someday maybe the Keys or even Bahamas. Not looking to go fast and not a fishing family. Just water lovers.

Looking for 23-25 footer tops so 2 can handle. Would love to be 2000 or newer. Do not want to worry about wood or transom rot.


Budget under $35000 and no time frame. Likely get really serious after summer season when everyone decides gas is too expensive and hopefully less of a sellers market.
Need a head. Some kind of cabin/shade/top that can keep kids/adults from roasting. Even a walkaround would do in a pinch. I’ve read all the pros/cons on those you all have shared. Not sure if a center console would do it but with the right shading, maybe. Capacity for 2-7 folks max.
My confusion is all the different models that Grady has in this size range. I’m just not sure what would be good based on usage. Which I’ve been reading a bunch here which actually confuses me a bit more.

Thank you in advance for your time and effort if you choose to indulge my “analysis paralysis” moments.
Here’s a couple of local posts of interest that may help you all get the party started:
https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/bod/d/saint-petersburg-2003-grady-white-228/7483137892.html

Older than desired but looks nice: https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/boa/d/largo-1992-grady-white-dolphin-model-25/7473877285.html

Over budget but doable:

Grady-White Gulfstream 232 boats for sale - Boat Trader

Find Grady-White Gulfstream 232 boats for sale near you, including boat prices, photos, and more. Locate Grady-White boat dealers and find your boat at Boat Trader!

www.boattrader.com

 

[nuclear]

In general, the 228 and 232 are both great boats and similar in many ways. However, coming from a 40' Hatteras, is your wife willing to live with the much smaller cabin and even worse the little potty without a dedicated area?

 

[hattieice]

In general, the 228 and 232 are both great boats and similar in many ways. However, coming from a 40' Hatteras, is your wife willing to live with the much smaller cabin and even worse the little potty without a dedicated area?

The answer from her is a resounding yes! Lol

While the Hatteras was spacious with amenities to spare, it really was too much boat for two people. While a separate head would be great, it’s really become about simplifying with the trade offs of going to a smaller vessel. The biggest win is being able to go out on whim as opposed to having a few extra folks to help manage 38,000 lbs of boat. So simple actually feels like a win for us.

The cabin is just a nice to have knowing it’s not going to be a home away from home like the Hatteras.

Thanks for the questions and replies. Helps me a lot to focus up on needs versus wants and starts giving some model directions to review.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I suggest Gulfstream 23 with twins as smallest option coming from a 40'
Twins for handling/docking, plus you plan to cruise.

 

[hattieice]

Cool. Thank you. I will start looking for that. Twins seem really hard to find. Any specific year to steer clear or near of?

edit: Just looked at a local CL listing. Do all Gulfstreams have that open transom? I don’t know that I really like that as a “feature”

 

[Don Davis]

There shouldn’t be any open transoms on newer Gulfstreams that I’m aware of.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Apologies for the long winded response... I just bought my 2004 Grady White 228 Seafarer last October back in Maryland and then trailered her 3,009 miles back to just north of the Seattle area where I live via a U-Haul truck. It was a pretty fun trip, no issues and would do it again for a great deal like I got as the boat, motor and trailer I bought for $26.5k. The boat, as stated above is a 2004 GW 228 Seafarer with the hardtop, motor is a 2004 Yamaha F225 with less than 1k hours on it and the trailer is a 2009 Wesco brand aluminum I-beam trailer. A quick backstory on myself is that I had a smaller boat, it's called a 21' Arima, and it was ok out here in the Puget Sound, which is relatively protected waters but it's a modified vee hull with no weight in the front and all the weight in the rear. The boat would pound and slap in the 1'-2' chop and wasn't a very comfortable ride, as well as it sat really low in the water so you'd get waves and spray over the bow, windshield and sides of the boat. Upgrading to the 228 Seafarer was a night and day difference, of which I love the enclosed transom on the back of the boat as well as the transom bracket, the floor being all one level without any steps or stairs in it, a decent sized cabin to sleep in or put all of my gear in and it's a boat that I can trailer, launch, captain and retrieve all by myself. Or even better yet is having a second person to help out on top of that. I spent just over a year in my search to find one, I put offers down on a couple of boats, had a surveyor go out and look at one that had several issues with it that I ended up passing on. Instead I bought the one that I bought and trailered back across the country, and I'm glad that I waited because it's the nicest one of all the boats I looked at, as well as it was the cheapest. The reason why I look back east for boats is because they're so much cheaper than they are out here in the Seattle area and for $26.5k it isn't going to break the bank, as well as when I got my boat home I actually looked on Craigslist and there was an identical boat to mine with a few more options that sold for $55k.

To answer your questions specifically... I'm a bit biased towards the 228 Seafarer for several reasons but as stated above, I like the enclosed transom as well as the transom bracket for more room and safety as I have an almost 7 year old niece who loves going for a boat ride. The idea of an open or notched transom wasn't very appealing to me like on the other, smaller boats as well as I leave my boat on a mooring buoy during the summer, which again isn't very appealing for a notched transom. I'm also fairly complected so having the hardtop to keep me out of the sun and other elements is incredibly nice so that I'm not red like a lobster after a couple hours of fishing. The 232 Gulfstream has a step/stair on it going up to the helm area, which I have parents in their early 70's and don't want them to trip over that, as or my niece. The 232 Gulfstream is also a considerably wider and heavier boat with having a 9'3" beam compared to a 8' beam on the 228 Seafarer and when I stood in one I thought it was too big for my particular fishing/boating applications. The 232 Gulfstream also weighs considerably more than the 228 Seafarer in that my boat with a half tank of fuel and a small amount of fishing gear is around 5,300 lbs whereas per the GW website a 232 Gulfstream with twin 150's on it is around 7,300 lbs, and I'm assuming that's not fully loaded with fuel. With the boat itself having a 9'3" beam, I guess in some states you also have to get a special wide vehicle permit when trailering the boat from what I've heard? Obviously our two needs aren't going to be the same as we're on different coasts and I'm fishing/boating in relatively protected waters so what works best for me isn't always going to work best for you, or someone else. Your budget I think is going to be the biggest issue in that any decent 228 Seafarer with a model year of 2000 and newer is probably going to be close to that, if not maybe more. The 232 Gulfstream is generally going to be considerably more than that, especially if the boat has twin motors or any decent options to it. The 232 Gulfstream did go through a slight design change I believe starting in 2006 where the earlier models had a rear cutout for a seat in the center part of the stern area, whereas the newer design has a large fish box in that area with a flip down padded seat. Of which I like the later design with the flip down seat considerably better as you get more storage and the flip down seat easily folds up and out of the way when not in use.

- Of the 3 boats you linked, the first one looks decent but is older than mine, has an aftermarket canvas top that you I don't believe could put a radar on if you wanted to, it also doesn't have the full sized swim platform in the rear, it has the cheaper helm seats, no cockpit bolsters and with it being a Florida boat it'll likely have a good deal of spider cracking and you can see the vinyl trim is drooping off gunwales as shown in picture #8. It looks like a decent boat, the hull appears to be in decent shape from the pictures but I think it's overpriced, especially when compared to my boat, as it has also been for sale for a few weeks now. It has a Yamaha F225 on it, of which I'd have the lower unit dropped and inspected for the dry exhaust corrosion issue and have the entire boat looked over by a competent marine surveyor, of which I'll post a couple links to marine surveyor websites below.
- The second boat I honestly didn't read the entire ad and don't have much to say that's really positive about it besides that it looks like it's been taken care of pretty well, had a lot of the wiring as well as the cushions replaced and maybe a newer trailer? The boat is 30 years old and before 1997 they used standard marine grade plywood in the stern of the boats, so there's a greater tendency for the boat to rot, as opposed to newer boats having a product called Greenwood XL. Which there's no guarantee with the Greenwood XL that you won't have an issue, but it's supposedly a considerably better product. The boat has twin 2 stroke motors that are likely going to smoke, burn oil and be considerably louder than a 4 stroke. The price to me seems absurdly high, which is likely indicative of why it's still for sale on Craigslist after 26 days of having been posted. Nothing imo makes this a $34k boat, especially when there's no radar, it just has basic electronics, 2 stroke motors and so forth. If the boat had newer 4 stroke motors with radar, top of the line electronics and so forth then I'd say it's much closer to being a $34k boat, but not in the condition it's in.
- Boat number 3 I believe is a scam. There are a ton of scams on Craigslist and even some on Boat Trader or other boat selling websites. The ones that say "Private Seller" aways draw a red flag, as well as those that don't mention anything about a trailer, have very few pictures, very little in terms of the description and the biggest thing is the price. A 2006 GW 232 Gulfstream, even with a single main motor and without a trailer is still probably a $65-70k+ boat, if not maybe more depending on the location. The fact that he's selling it for $50k makes me a bit suspicious as a $5k trailer is about all that's needed to make the price too good to be true imo. It's also been listed on BT for weeks and weeks. For comparison purposes, here's one of the next closest priced 232 Gulfstream's on BT... it's a 2002 with a 2 stroke motor on it for only $10k less and also doesn't have a trailer. Of which I don't think you're going to get a boat that's 5 years newer, with a 4 stroke motor and in considerably better condition for only $10k more. Good luck!

Grady-White Gulfstream 232 boats for sale - Boat Trader

Find Grady-White Gulfstream 232 boats for sale near you, including boat prices, photos, and more. Locate Grady-White boat dealers and find your boat at Boat Trader!

www.boattrader.com

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[hattieice]

To be fair, I appreciate that long winded response. I’ve come across a few of your posts on this site. Very well said and gives me a lot more perspective on what I want/need and what’s available to me here. Admittedly, I would love to find something “local” but realize that it may take longer or be overpriced considering it’s Florida prices.

I think I would lean heavily towards a boat similar to yours though I like the one you linked. And surveys and sea trials will be had for all we get serious about.

Appreciate that insight. Super happy you found the “one” lol. I hope my patience holds out for my search!

 

[Fishtales]

I like the Gulfstream for your application. I'd get the twin 150s. The only factor to consider is beam. It is 9'3" I believe a bit larger than the 8'6" standard trailer beam.

 

[hattieice]

Beam isn’t an issue as we won’t be trailering it unless we buy out of state. High and dry is the plan for storing.

Twins seem hard to find but seeing as there’s no rush we will see what end of season brings to market.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

To be fair, I appreciate that long winded response. I’ve come across a few of your posts on this site. Very well said and gives me a lot more perspective on what I want/need and what’s available to me here. Admittedly, I would love to find something “local” but realize that it may take longer or be overpriced considering it’s Florida prices.

I think I would lean heavily towards a boat similar to yours though I like the one you linked. And surveys and sea trials will be had for all we get serious about.

Appreciate that insight. Super happy you found the “one” lol. I hope my patience holds out for my search!

Thanks! I try to give what knowledge/experience I have to others that are in a similar situation to what I was in and if they want to listen then great, if not then no sleep is lost over it at night. I was actually looking at an early 2000's Grady White 228 Seafarer before I bought my 21' Arima back in the early summer of 2017 and my old man and I were actually getting serious about flying out to take a look at it when the dealer called to say it had sold. Then the Arima popped up on Craigslist back in Maryland as well, which makes for the third boat that I've purchased in Maryland and then trailered back to Seattle at this point, and it was a steal so I bought it instead. But I've been looking at Grady White's off and on for over 5 years now, of which when I sold my Arima in the fall of 2020, I started looking seriously everyday until I bought my Grady in October of 2021... so just a little bit over a year later. Patience for me was a big thing, several boats had issues that the sellers weren't being honest about, prices were higher than I wanted because it was a huge seller's market, and still seems like it is today. I didn't enjoy waiting at the time but am very glad that I did because now I have the best boat out of the half dozen or so that I was considering buying, and for the lowest price.

It sounds as though you're located in Florida? There are quite a few Grady's for sale in the area, either on BT or Craigslist, and I'd check out both models in person to see which you like more. I'm thinking most Grady White dealers should have a 232 Gulfstream to look at, or at least should have one in the next month or two to look at. Might give them your phone number if they don't currently have one and then have them call you when they get one in stock? As stated above, I stepped on board a 232 Gulfstream at a dealership nearby my house and wasn't a fan of the wider beam as well as the step going up into the helm area. I like a boat where the floor is all the same level and without any steps or stairs in it. Keep looking, don't get discouraged and be patient. One will pop up that will check off most, if not all of the boxes you have on the check list. And I always recommend having any boat that you purchase surveyed. Good luck!

 

[hattieice]

My question is how did you find such a good deal in this market? Lol. 2021 was still a very hot sellers market. And yes, I am indeed here in Clearwater FL.

I had my Hatteras for sale in April 2021 and it finally sold in January. So I’m thinking that the market will taper as anyone that wanted a boat has almost got one and those that didn’t (like me) are waiting for the right one.

I’m still all over the board on brands and even WA versus CC but likely a walkaround is where we will land. And I’m good with a single motor as I think about real world usage versus that “maybe Bahamas someday” ideal. Just get me out a bit to the Gulf in some pretty blue water!

 

[hattieice]

As a follow up. I was on BT and CL again today and plenty of those “private seller” with minimal photos boats have popped up. Never would have figured scam but here we are.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

My question is how did you find such a good deal in this market? Lol. 2021 was still a very hot sellers market. And yes, I am indeed here in Clearwater FL.

I had my Hatteras for sale in April 2021 and it finally sold in January. So I’m thinking that the market will taper as anyone that wanted a boat has almost got one and those that didn’t (like me) are waiting for the right one.

I’m still all over the board on brands and even WA versus CC but likely a walkaround is where we will land. And I’m good with a single motor as I think about real world usage versus that “maybe Bahamas someday” ideal. Just get me out a bit to the Gulf in some pretty blue water!

I think two major things helped me get the boat that I got and for a great price... First off, the boat that I bought was being sold through a Grady White dealership in Maryland called Tri State Marine and they have a policy that all business and transactions have to be done in person, not over the phone. They said that they've been burned far too many times with online sales where someone would call from out of state and say they wanted to buy the boat, put $1k down payment down on it, then a couple of weeks goes by and they call back to say they can't arrange shipping or they no longer want to buy the boat. At which point they'd lose the couple of weeks holding the boat for the "buyer" when they could've been selling it locally or to someone else that was actually serious about buying the boat. They said that unfortunately, this would happen to them all the time and that they had to stop doing it because it was also their policy to give a full refund to the "buyer" if they had to back out for whatever reason. So I think that was a big reason right there in that if someone wasn't local, they'd have to fly out, look at the boat and then tell Tri State if they wanted it or not, which I'm guessing probably a lot of people didn't want to have to do that.

Another big part of it, and I think the biggest reason, was that all of the ads that Tri State had on BT, Boats.com, YachtWorld and so forth had the correct boat/model description but the wrong main image of the boat. At the time, I was looking at BT every single day trying to find a boat and came across the ad for my boat, which said "2004 Grady White 228 Seafarer for sale" but the main image for the ad showed a dual console boat, which was another boat Tri State was selling at the same time. I figured that with the price and the picture of the boat that they must've put the wrong description in the title and almost didn't click on the ad. But I figured, why not double check and see? To my surprise, it was the correct boat being a 228 Seafarer but the main picture was I believe a 225 Tournament. I called up one of their salesmen to talk to him about the boat, he told me I needed to come out and look at the boat and do business in person. I asked them that if I bought a plane ticket and showed them a copy of it, if they'd hold onto the boat for me for a business day so that I could fly out, look at the boat and let them know if I wanted it one way or the other and not have them sell it out from under me while I was on my way out there. Of which they said "sure". So, I bought a plane ticket Saturday night after calling them just before closing time to confirm that they hadn't sold the boat, sent them a copy of my plane ticket, flew out Sunday morning, got into Baltimore Sunday late afternoon, met up with a forum member from here Monday afternoon and bought him lunch in exchange for looking at the boat with me, drove to Tri State after lunch, made them an offer contingent upon a favorable sea trial run, went out for a sea trial run the next day on Tuesday of which the boat was awesome, they double checked the trailer and everything Wednesday to make sure everything was good for the cross country road trip back to Seattle and then Thursday I started off back for home. I think another part of it was that they listed the boat in late September kind of at the end of the peak of the season and hadn't had anyone come out to look at it for a couple of weeks, so I think they were wanting to sell the boat before winter officially set in. They were asking $28k for the boat and I offered them $26.5k, of which they said ok.

 

[ItalianAngler]

I think two major things helped me get the boat that I got and for a great price... First off, the boat that I bought was being sold through a Grady White dealership in Maryland called Tri State Marine and they have a policy that all business and transactions have to be done in person, not over the phone. They said that they've been burned far too many times with online sales where someone would call from out of state and say they wanted to buy the boat, put $1k down payment down on it, then a couple of weeks goes by and they call back to say they can't arrange shipping or they no longer want to buy the boat. At which point they'd lose the couple of weeks holding the boat for the "buyer" when they could've been selling it locally or to someone else that was actually serious about buying the boat. They said that unfortunately, this would happen to them all the time and that they had to stop doing it because it was also their policy to give a full refund to the "buyer" if they had to back out for whatever reason. So I think that was a big reason right there in that if someone wasn't local, they'd have to fly out, look at the boat and then tell Tri State if they wanted it or not, which I'm guessing probably a lot of people didn't want to have to do that.

Another big part of it, and I think the biggest reason, was that all of the ads that Tri State had on BT, Boats.com, YachtWorld and so forth had the correct boat/model description but the wrong main image of the boat. At the time, I was looking at BT every single day trying to find a boat and came across the ad for my boat, which said "2004 Grady White 228 Seafarer for sale" but the main image for the ad showed a dual console boat, which was another boat Tri State was selling at the same time. I figured that with the price and the picture of the boat that they must've put the wrong description in the title and almost didn't click on the ad. But I figured, why not double check and see? To my surprise, it was the correct boat being a 228 Seafarer but the main picture was I believe a 225 Tournament. I called up one of their salesmen to talk to him about the boat, he told me I needed to come out and look at the boat and do business in person. I asked them that if I bought a plane ticket and showed them a copy of it, if they'd hold onto the boat for me for a business day so that I could fly out, look at the boat and let them know if I wanted it one way or the other and not have them sell it out from under me while I was on my way out there. Of which they said "sure". So, I bought a plane ticket Saturday night after calling them just before closing time to confirm that they hadn't sold the boat, sent them a copy of my plane ticket, flew out Sunday morning, got into Baltimore Sunday late afternoon, met up with a forum member from here Monday afternoon and bought him lunch in exchange for looking at the boat with me, drove to Tri State after lunch, made them an offer contingent upon a favorable sea trial run, went out for a sea trial run the next day on Tuesday of which the boat was awesome, they double checked the trailer and everything Wednesday to make sure everything was good for the cross country road trip back to Seattle and then Thursday I started off back for home. I think another part of it was that they listed the boat in late September kind of at the end of the peak of the season and hadn't had anyone come out to look at it for a couple of weeks, so I think they were wanting to sell the boat before winter officially set in. They were asking $28k for the boat and I offered them $26.5k, of which they said ok.

That was a fun day, I love checking out Grady's! I was down at Tri State last weekend actually, they have a brand new Gulfstream in the showroom, 180k. It was outfitted with twin 150's.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

That was a fun day, I love checking out Grady's! I was down at Tri State last weekend actually, they have a brand new Gulfstream in the showroom, 180k. It was outfitted with twin 150's.

Yes it was, still very much appreciate it. Thanks again!