Recent content by mr_mbuna

I haven't concluded that my transom is bad/water-logged nor have I gotten a firm quote from anyone, but the guy that did the new fiberglass cap in 2021 told me it would be $8k to replace the transom if needed.

I didn’t do the glass work in 2021. I hired a fiberglass pro in the SF Bay Area while I was living there.

I bought a 2011 GW 275 Freedom in 2020. It had the classic corroded aluminum transom bang cap: The transom was still dry and I didn’t want to risk water intrusion, so I had the transom permanently glassed over, which I thought was the right thing to do. I picked up my boat from the...

I still have nightmares about trying to install trim tabs on my last boat without countersinking the holes. Good to know that Tri-State (also my dealer) is able to do this. I might give them a call.

Yes, I’m in Maryland so I pull the boat out of the water around Thanksgiving and store it on the trailer until Easter.

My 275 didn’t come optioned with the factory bow cover and tonneau cover, so it doesn’t have the snaps around the gunnels for the OEM covers. I would like to start covering the boat now that I’m wet slipping it. Should I have AJ make me a set of OEM covers and get a fiberglass shop to install...

@Jorday did you ever do this?

I wish I could... I've talked to a lot of marine upholstery pros and they all say it's impossible to repair. Maybe I should go get some super glue... every professional trade thinks they're a rocket scientist these days.

The main motivation is that the seams are coming apart on the seats on our current boat. Then it becomes a slippery slope of upgrades… if you’re going to spend $9k to recover the seats you might as well spend $15k to make them not look like La-Z-Boys, and if you’re going to spend $15k you might...

I got quotes from more than half a dozen marine upholstery shops. The choice came down to $9K to have them re-covered or $15K to have them modified to look similar to the seat design on new GWs (square shoulders, diamond pattern quilted stitching, etc.). If I spend the money, I'll get them updated.

We would tow the boat from Annapolis, MD, to Beaufort, SC, and back. There don't appear to be any clearance issues trailering a 307 (assuming it's 12' 10" tall with a radome). Just a higher risk of developing arthritis from 10-12 hours of white-knuckle driving.

Good advice that works for everyone, Ekea. You may have a career in politics :). Joking aside, you do give me a good set of questions to think through what matters to me: I have some money but not unlimited funds. I have to balance my spending between my boating habit, my car-racing habit, and...

I have a 2011 Freedom 275 + Yamaha 350 which has been a good boat for us for the last three years but it's in need of some updates. Before I spend more money on it, I wanted to hear the opinions of other owners on whether it would be better to trade up to something newer or larger. If we keep...

The Freedom 275 was available at the Annapolis Boat Show recently for $230K, the 307 for $360K, and the 375 for $999K ( o_O ). These prices were all about 15% off MSRP. Boat show prices have some factory subsidy but I think you can reasonably aim for 10% off and refuse to pay any more than 5% off.

Price?