I have a Grady 257 CC, which I absolutely love. This fall I've had her in Montauk for the fall run, docked alongside a number of Regulators and Contenders in the 23' - 26' range. All three are obviously terrific boats and fishing platforms, and I'm just wondering how this group compares the Grady to Regs and Contenders. I'm not looking to make a switch -- I love my Grady and my dealer -- but am just genuinely curious.
Grady vs. Regulator vs. Contender
- Thread starter JGH
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wahoo33417
GreatGrady Captain
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Our work boat is a Contender 31. Good boat for running at speed in a chop. But I wouldn't want one. While running in that chop you can see the hull sides flexing and you hear every slap resonate throughout the boat beneath your feet. It doesn't instill confidence in me. The fit and finish is not great and the components have not held up near as well as my Grady.
I do have to slow down a bit in my Grady in a chop so as not to let too much air beneath the hull, but when seas get big I'd rather be in a Grady.
Have not been in a Regulator on the water but they look like nice boats.
Rob
I do have to slow down a bit in my Grady in a chop so as not to let too much air beneath the hull, but when seas get big I'd rather be in a Grady.
Have not been in a Regulator on the water but they look like nice boats.
Rob
wahoo33417 said:
really.... I don't have any first hand experience but would have thought it to be sturdier.
wahoo33417
GreatGrady Captain
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The fiberglass is very thin on our Contender 31. This boat weighs less than my Grady 258. To be fair, I have never heard of a Contender hull breaking, but you can see the hull sides flex. Also to be fair, the Contender gives a good ride in say a 2'-4' chop, but I don't like what I see and hear.
Rob
Rob
wahoo33417 said:
That's the exact opposite of what I'd expect. When I lightly pound the hull sides of a Grady with the bottom of my closed fist, the hull sides resonate slightly. Not just my Grady, all the Gradys I've seen on the dealer's lot. When I did the same thing on a used Contender that was on a dealer's lot, the hull side was rock solid. Now does that test indicate one boat is superior over the other? I don't know because when I did the same thing on an Angler hull, the sides were rock solid like the Contenders, where as a Parker's hull sides resonate like the Grady's.
BTW, what were you doing watching the hull sides when you were running at speed? Looking out over the gunwales at the outside of the hull while the boat was running (I assume someone else was driving) sounds like a boating accident in the making.