Did anyone catch the new type of boat

SmokyMtnGrady

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Grady White is introducing. It is called a coastal explorer. It is like a beefed up bay boat. http://www.gradywhite.com/251/ It is kind of a cool looking boat. Part me of says if Grady goes after the Bay Boat Market, maybe they should add a deck boat to their line too. Then again, would this dilute their brand and reputation any?
 
I saw this a couple of months ago. Cool looking boat. Not my style, but still a cool rig. I bet she will be very expensive. Gradys aint cheap! The only way I could afford one was by purchasing a 20 year old boat. But the darn thing looks new! Gradys sure do hold up well.
 
I saw one...it's definitely a different look...

Not cheap though...well north of $100K.

Again - not really my cup of tea but GW does their research and that must suggest there is a market.
 
Brian, did you sell your other Grady - the 225 you got like 2 years ago? Just curious.
 
I saw it yesterday at the Baltimore Boat Show and climbed aboard. A pretty boat, but with those low sides I don't think it will be very popular on the Chesapeake Bay.
 
Graybeard said:
I saw it yesterday at the Baltimore Boat Show and climbed aboard. A pretty boat, but with those low sides I don't think it will be very popular on the Chesapeake Bay.

Exactly my thoughts. Those low gunnels may lend themselves to Fla flats fishing and some lakes but doubt they will be very popular up north. However, maybe they felt that they have the NE market covered pretty well and were actually looking at the bay boat market as something new.
 
I think Grady had to look at a bay boat of some type for competitive reasons. Yellowfin, Contender, etc. all offer or are introducing high end bay boats. Grady needed an "entry level" model for fishermen, but at $100,000 that's quite an entry. Inland and bay fishing has become a big market.

Nice looking boat.
 
It seems if they are going to do this, then perhaps they should have like a 22, 20, 18-19 models as well. I saw it as a southern boat for sure.
 
It seems to me GW is moving further and further away from the WA models they are so well know for. The dealers used to stock most of the WA models and now it's one or none at all. I guess it doesn't really matter much to me though since the ridiculous prices on new boats today + the cost of fuel will likely keep me from ever moving up.
 
I would think it's due to the ever-changing trends.

I was in the Keys for our January vacation and stopped by Caribee Boat Sales (GW dealer) there in Islamorada. I was looking around, and saw no cabin boats. A sales guy told me they basically stock CC's and sell little if any cabin boats.

We have 3 new members in our Grady club and all 3 bought the Freedom dual console boats.

Bay and Flats boats are huge in my area. If Grady is to survive and flourish, they need to continue to evolve. I don't care for the Freedom bow riders and I am not a fisherman, so I'll never have a flats boat, but if I was in the front office of Grady, I'd make the decisions they're making.