Grady White 229 - Adding a Bracket to a 222?

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NHAngler

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Basically a center console version of the 228? A 222 bracket wannabe based on the 228.

Has anyone ever closed in the transom and added a bracket to a 222 or 226? I know this seems odd but for other brands seems like more than 1/2 of the rebuilds of older hulls are doing this. Other brands (like the Potter build Seacrafts) often need to reconsider the weight of the outboard being moved further back, added weight of bracket, height of floor for drainage, etc.

Given that the 222 and 226 share the base hull from a 228, I would think it would be somewhat easy from a readiness standpoint? ...Or am I assuming too much?

I'm curious if anyone has done this mod and if so, would love any details you could share (cost, issues, performance, regrets, etc).
 
So, just to clarify... you're saying pull the engine, fiberglass in the current motor well so it's an enclosed transom and then add a transom bracket to it? I would think strictly from a cost perspective alone that it wouldn't be worth it, as I imagine that it would likely cost $10k+ to do what you're considering doing. You've got holes going into the motor well for the throttles as well as other cables, you have your motor well drains and other things that would also need to be re-plumbed, etc. On top of that, the cost of the transom bracket I imagine must be a couple thousand dollars, or more, by itself. Then you've got to consider the structural stability of the old motor well that you just fiberglassed over, and it would need to be reinforced structurally somehow, as well as where and how to mount the transom bracket. Can it be done? Of course. Just about anything can be done with time and an unlimited budget. That being said, I think you'd have considerably more time and money invested into the project than whatever longterm payoff you think you'll get out of it. Which would bring me to my next question of... why not just upgrade to a different boat? There are a few 228 Seafarers out there for sale, and if you're wanting to stick with a CC style of boat, why not just get the 257 Advance? While it doesn't have a transom bracket on the back, it does have essentially a fully enclosed transom with the motor(s) hanging off the back and no cutout for the motor well like your boat has. Lastly, I'd think if you did go through with the project you're considering, if/when you ever did decide to sell the boat, I imagine it'd likely be a hard sell as it would be radically different from stock, or how the boat was designed from the factory. Nor would I imagine you'd likely recoup your total costs or have a bunch of interested people looking at a boat like that. Again, these are just my opinions on the matter. I had a previous boat, called an Arima, which was a 21' walkaround that was similar where it had the motor well notched out. I briefly considered doing something similar to where I'd fill in the motor well with fiberglass and then add a transom bracket or something similar to put the motor out back a bit further. After thinking about it off and on for a bit, I figured the costs would severely outweigh any sort of benefits that it might bring, and that the boat wasn't my forever boat anyway. I ended up selling the boat shortly thereafter and bought my GW 228 Seafarer, and I'm very glad that I did as it's 100x better of a boat than the Arima ever was.

 
Mustang65fbk said:
So, just to clarify... you're saying pull the engine, fiberglass in the current motor well so it's an enclosed transom and then add a transom bracket to it? I would think strictly from a cost perspective alone that it wouldn't be worth it, as I imagine that it would likely cost $10k+ to do what you're considering doing. You've got holes going into the motor well for the throttles as well as other cables, you have your motor well drains and other things that would also need to be re-plumbed, etc. On top of that, the cost of the transom bracket I imagine must be a couple thousand dollars, or more, by itself. Then you've got to consider the structural stability of the old motor well that you just fiberglassed over, and it would need to be reinforced structurally somehow, as well as where and how to mount the transom bracket. Can it be done? Of course. Just about anything can be done with time and an unlimited budget. That being said, I think you'd have considerably more time and money invested into the project than whatever longterm payoff you think you'll get out of it. Which would bring me to my next question of... why not just upgrade to a different boat? There are a few 228 Seafarers out there for sale, and if you're wanting to stick with a CC style of boat, why not just get the 257 Advance? While it doesn't have a transom bracket on the back, it does have essentially a fully enclosed transom with the motor(s) hanging off the back and no cutout for the motor well like your boat has. Lastly, I'd think if you did go through with the project you're considering, if/when you ever did decide to sell the boat, I imagine it'd likely be a hard sell as it would be radically different from stock, or how the boat was designed from the factory. Nor would I imagine you'd likely recoup your total costs or have a bunch of interested people looking at a boat like that. Again, these are just my opinions on the matter. I had a previous boat, called an Arima, which was a 21' walkaround that was similar where it had the motor well notched out. I briefly considered doing something similar to where I'd fill in the motor well with fiberglass and then add a transom bracket or something similar to put the motor out back a bit further. After thinking about it off and on for a bit, I figured the costs would severely outweigh any sort of benefits that it might bring, and that the boat wasn't my forever boat anyway. I ended up selling the boat shortly thereafter and bought my GW 228 Seafarer, and I'm very glad that I did as it's 100x better of a boat than the Arima ever was.

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Yup, aware of the amount of work. I’d take most of it on as a project and outsource what I’m not good at or don’t want to do. In most cases, there would also be a new outboard and fit.

257 is awesome and would love to have one but is not towable for me. A 247 might be. 1k lb difference just for the hull. My thought on the 222 is due to the amount for sale with wet transoms that would need attention either way. Like the popular SeaCraft projects boats, why not close it in and add a bracket? A GW hull is worth it.

A 228 is also on my list but something is telling me to stick with center consoles.

AFA recouping costs, you are right and would probably be a boat that stays with me until I’m quite a bit more crusty and closer to the grave and don’t care. Or, I would start a trend and we would see 229 models showing up everywhere. :)
 
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