Boston Boat Show

[capeguy]

Went to the show and was pleased to see it is a little larger than the past few years, a good sign. GW as always had a large display, but I was shocked to find only 1 cabin boat, the 330. Not a single walkaround and only a couple of CC. However they had nearly the complete line of DC all the way up to the 375.

Apparently these Dual consoles are far and away the best sellers, but it is stunning to see the complete change in focus.

On the plus side for GW, I was also less than impressed with the competition. Robalo seems to be the best competition for the DC market.

Personally, I can't see the value in a 36' bowrider for $600K+, but the market seems to be going that way...

 

[Fishtales]

Hi,

I agree, but they have to stock what is selling hot I guess. At one time fishing focused, then family fishing and now family entertaining. My next boat will be the 34 or 38 Pursuit Offshore once I get the kids through college, assuming I can afford it...

The DCs do absolutely nothing for me. I was told the Freedom 375 is listed at the NE Boat show at $724K - marked down to $685K or so?? Will be going in tomorrow night and will confirm. Who the heck would pay that much for a big bow rider? Once the shine wears off this style it will be a hard resell IMHO.

 

[swaterhouse]

I was also surprised to only see the 330.

I can see the value in the DC seeing how most boaters use it for a half day or so two or three times a month, but you loose all ability to overnight on it. Seems silly to me, and no way I would go that way. I have a hard enough time thinking about a 30+ footer with outboards!

 

[MA208]

I think if you can afford 600k for a boat you're not going to want to sleep in it. Likely dock it at your 'summer place' on the islands or Cape.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I never checked out the 375 until just now. That is more than a "bow rider" and there is a limited cabin (s) per se too. It is like a giant party boat that you can fish and do all sorts of stuff with. But if I had the ability to buy a $600K to $700K boat I would want one I could sleep aboard and go places which would send me to express models.

Now those freedom boats between 19 and 30 feet are a great market for Grady in my opinion. I loved my 192 and almost bought the 225, but I went with the walk around. Funny Grady invented the Walkaround and the dually market is now their emphasis. I think the center console market is likely saturated with many boats cheaper than Grady and when it comes to big center consoles, there are many that are lighter and faster and more fuel effecient. Now the dually market, that is less of fishermans boat and more of a family boat. Notice in Grady's marketing there are no young people on that 375 but there are some younger families on the 25 footers on down.

 

[Fishtales]

Hi,
GW had a nice display. The 330 with the glass enclosed helm was in the $415K range. The 37 Freedom was $780K with the show price of $685K. I will say it is nice boat from a build perspective. Fit/finish what you expect and all heavy duty - no signs of any corner cutting. Still, that is an insane price if you ask me and the people buying them must have $ to burn. One nice thing! The metal strip on the transom is gone, looks to be white fiberglass or plastic now. It still has the screws, but it won't corrode now. I think a glassed solution is in order though to properly water intrusion potential.

I had to check out the starboard helm Pursuit OS380. Very nice boat. The helm just flows right for me and plenty of room. The two things that bothered me were the tackle station doors and the aft seat design. The doors are a bit flimsy and they need to be redone like the top covers (GW RTM like). One thing on the transom seat caught my attention - metal frame. While the dual seat was very sturdy I kept having visions of someone coming down hard on the metal edges and hurting themselves. Other than those two issues, hands down that would be the boat for me in that size. If my memory was right it was $460K and looked like a bargain next to the Freedom 37. Great fish & freezer boxes, plenty of rod holders, side rod holder doors - just very nice.

 

[megabytes]

One of the sales reps for the east coast lives in Wilmington. He has told me on numerous occaisions that the DCs are far and away the best selling boats. For whatever the reasons, that is what the customers want and GW is wise to respond. I have been on the 375 factory boat. It is awesome. Although not my style of boat, it was extremely well done. The fit and finish was as good as I have seen and equal to Pursuit.

I wonder what the future of GW cabin boats will be. The 330 is a big seller and I really like the 370 but The W/As may soon go the way of the famous Sailfish. I am starting to think about anothr Marlin before it gets dropped. It is still by far the perfect boat for my needs. It is also the largest I can dry stack at my marina.

BTW: I got a chance to use the Helm Master on the the 375 at an in-water demo. Wow! It is just too cool and a game changer for docking. The irony is after 22 years I have gotting pretty good at doing it the old fashion way.