Grady head sea ride

[JTB]

Owned a Grady since '01.A 222 and now 232 '06.I fish off Hatteras and it is brutal.I am less than impressed with the head sea ride. I have over 1600 hrs as a grady owner so my complaint is justified by experience. If I went to a 336 or 330 would it be that much better? I asked earlier about the 336 ride, but not alot of response. I was trudging through the slop in Hatteras inlet last week and I had a 23' regulator walk away from me like I was sitting still. Can't take that anymore. I am considering a diesel express, but I like to go fast when conditions allow. Looking also at a 35' Everglade cc. I would like to stay with Grady because of the quality but I'm literally taking a beating.Let's hear from the offshore 330 and 336 crowd. Thanks.

 

[cobrapowersys]

First a jump from a 232 to a 336 is big. Surely you know that the the hull displacement of any sport fishing boats can only be modified from mfr to mfr slightly. This said, I am sure either 1 your boat is underpowered, or powered with the wrong motor, or 2 you are not trimming and tilting your boat in properly. I would recommend a book by Tim Bartlett "Book of Outboard Motors" and learn how to properly run your motor.

 

[alfa1023]

we've been in some legitimate 6'-8' head seas in our 330 Express. Going fast in those conditions is not in the cards. But running along at about 10 knots, off plane, we were not getting beat to death at all. Lots of spray (we stayed dry with the eisenglass up). Tabs down, motors trimmed down and just plow through it.

Buddies I boat/dive with have a 26' Century WA and a 25' Cobia WA. When running out in typical GOM 2' - 4' head seas, I am always having to slow down and let them catch up. They are taking a beating while my passengers are complaining about why do we have to wait for "them".

Find a way to get a ride in some less than ideal conditions. I will be surprised if you are not impressed.

 

[JTB]

Cobra, I have F150's that came on the boat. They don't call Oregon Inlet "Hell's Gate" and Diamond Shoals off Hatteras "The Graveyard of the Atlantic" for nothing. I can tell you after 10 years and 1600 hrs off the Outerbanks, trimming is not the problem. Hatterras is brutal. I need more ass under me, I know that. I just want to see if it should be a Grady or not.

Alfa, I do want to find a 330 or 336 to ride in to feel the difference. I'm also looking at going with a 32' Topaz. I have to do something. This 232 is good on a 2' day but we don't get enough of those and my body can't take many more 100 mile round trips taking a beating. I feel like a 330 could give me a decent ride at 25kt in a 2'-3' headsea. Maybe 20kt in 4', is that possible?

 

[ocnslr]

I know from one ride on a 330, out of HI, that it is certainly more comfortable in snotty conditions than our Islander. But it weighs three times as much, so that should be expected. I can't tell you if it will meet your desired head sea performance parameters.

I will say that I have always used a simple formula to determine what the ride will be like. Divide the period of the seas in seconds by the height in feet, and if the quotient is less than TWO, it will be a sloppy day. In other words, a 2' - 3' head sea can be quite manageable, depending on the period of the seas, or it can be brutal.

Our Islander has a 'finer' entry than the Gulfstream and we have covered a lot of miles in 2' -3' Chesapeake Bay chop, or the same conditions returning from offshore. We trim down, tab down, and stay on plane at 17kts. A lot of spray, but the curtains are always there, and no pounding.

If I could afford a 330 I wouldn't hesitate to move up to one.

Good luck.

Brian

 

[grady23]

Can you tell us more about the sea conditions you're speaking of? I have a Gulfstream and yes at times it's a rough ride. But that has been in the Chesapeake with a 1/4 sea and 30kt winds. You sound like you've been around so you know what I mean. I have had to slow down to a crawl coming out of Hatteras when conditions were less than desirable. When you encounter those really steep and short duration conditions, you have to take what she gives you. The guy that "Smoked" you in the 23 Regulator you mentioned -- Was he having a "good Ride" ? I kind of doubt it. I have a friend that has a 27 Contender that can run circles around my Gulfstream, but it's a completely different boat then the Grady Gulfstream. I would think that a 336 would be a TREMDOUS improvement in ride with 10 more feet of hull and about 4000lbs more weight.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Never been on a 232 but i had a 306, 330 and now the 336. All three were great (we have same conditions as you here) on any weather with the 336 having a little more advantage on the other two on the speed and weight. I actually feel that my 336 rides better than 330 on a snotty day and i haven't got wet yet.

 

[alfa1023]

JTB - your question on speeds in certain headsea conditions is hard to answer - in our 2'-3' head sea here in the Gulf of Mexico, we definitely can run 25kts no problem. But those are close spaced waves, so we are kinda just having our way with them with out any up/down motion. 4's seas at 20kts, depends on if they are close and steep or more like swells. In the GOM, we get these short, choppy waves that are a pain, once they get 4' on up, you just have to slow down - when we do Bahama trips or go out to the middle grounds where we see more "swells" versus "chop/waves" we can run with the hammer down.

 

[uncljohn]

I always thought it was interesting that considering Grady is built in Carolina, you hardly see any of them on the water there..... :hmm

 

[CWOT]

I always thought it was interesting that considering Grady is built in Carolina, you hardly see any of them on the water there..... :hmm

what do you see?

 

[gw204]

If you want the best head sea ride, I personally think you need to look at a different manufacturer.

My only experience with a 330 is watching one fade off in the distance as we walked away from it in a 28 Carolina Classic one snotty day here on the Chesapeake...

 

[tar heel waterman]

I always thought it was interesting that considering Grady is built in Carolina, you hardly see any of them on the water there..... :hmm

what do you see?

I see an awful lot of them between Beaufort and Wilmington, but I don't know what part of Carolina you're talking about...

 

[uncljohn]

I'm talking OBX Oregon Inlet and sound area, down to HI. Hardly see any Gradys. You see tons of offshore carolina-style boats but in terms of smaller boats, I see some Parkers, and other brands, but as a Grady owner, I look for other Gradys and see relatively few of them. Maybe b/c this is vacation area and the Wilmington/Beaufort are more residential? Can't say I've been in that area except once about 15 years ago (pre-Grady)

 

[BobP]

Good question, asked many times before here.
Wrong website though, suggest thehulltruth.com for the armchair replies

Can also suggest a more active approach - if you come out of a marina spy up who comes down to the brand x boats and make friendly with them, say you heard about the famous ride, I bet they offer you to go out for a ride if not ask. I bet they bought brand X for same reason. If no one in your marina, wait at inlet and follow a Brand X boater back to his and then walk up and start the chat.

And be advised center consoles behave differently than cabin boats which are bow heavy relatively speaking.

Once you are on Brand X with owner you will see for yourself - pick similar water wind condition day, and then can decide if the Brand X owner is really just taking a beating or is it really true Brand X ride.

Unless you buy your cars without ever test driving the same model, never buy a boat model untested in the sea conditions you go in.
Good luck and be happy with your boat whatever brand you choose.

 

[Grog]

You can't compare a Grady to a Carolina or a Regulator for a head sea ride. Everything has trade-offs. The big Carolinas aren't speed demons but will do their 28 knots in most conditions and top out at just over 30 and being inboards you loose the cabin room. Most wives will have the divorce papers ready by the time you reach the dock if they have to drift on a smaller Regulator with a decent swell. It's all a matter of what you want.

 

[bauer5152]

I always thought it was interesting that considering Grady is built in Carolina, you hardly see any of them on the water there..... :hmm

I also think so.

 

[megabytes]

Grog has it right. Pick your poison - rock and roll or pound.
One aspect I really like about modified V hulls like GW is that you can always slow down to make the ride comfortable. Good luck getting a deep V to stop rolling. :doh