Grady White in Canada

[Roarque]

After fishing several Boston Whalers over the years, my better half convinced me to look at a Grady White Gulfstream 232. I liked what I saw but I was not convinced that the Gulfstream would be our final boat. "Let's buy a used one and try it out for a season, then move to a new boat when we know what our exact needs will be." I said and Karen agreed.

We could not find a Gulfstream in our home province and after looking further afield ( and paying for several marine surveys along the way ) we found a 2006 with 150 hours on its Yamaha F150 engines. The boat was in Oregon and that made it somewhat easier to bring up to our home on Vancouver I sland.

Season one was last summer (2011) and it was shortened by poor weather. However we still got out on the Gulfstream 232 for 150 hours and used it to cruise the gulf islands from Victoria to Desolation Sound. Wow! What a place to cruise - being on the Grady changed our attitude towards life's priorties and we both truly learned about the magnetic charm of boats.

We've decided to keep the Grady for one more season (2012) and then decide what our next boat will be. We think we need the ability to stay on board the boat at a dock with electricity and fresh water. Karen wants to be able to have a stand up head with hot water. I want to be able to BBQ and sit on the rear deck after dinner in good or bad ( ie, rainy ) weather. There will just be two of us and we enjoy each other's company while underway so we spend a lot of time together at the helm.

Any suggestions as to what our next boat should be?

Any suggestions for a rear deck enclosure ( such as the SureShade) ?

Greg and Karen

 

[richie rich]

I would go with the 25 journey at a minimum or 29 chesapeake walk around versions if you want that comfort and space down below....the mrs will like the accomodations

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Why not go all the way? 330 Express, one of the best lay out boats for what you want to do with it.

 

[bhemi]

I have a '92 Marlin and I live in Vancouver. Mine came all the way from Florida. With the Canadian dollar at par you can buy a lot of boat these days in the USA. www.boats.com is a good place to start to compare prices. Shipping a 30' Marlin or smaller boat is really not that expensive relative to the value of the boat. My advice get one with low hour four strokes ready to use.

On a sadder note the dealer in Vancouver is useless as t*ts on a bullfrog. Buy your parts on ebay, from a US dealer or from the Original Manufacturer. Parts from Capstan can be double if their parts department bothers to answer. I usually ship to Point Roberts and pick up from there. www.tsbshipping.com has a great mailbox service that is dirt cheap.

 

[trapper]

Hello Roarque, Good to see another west coaster with a Grady. Yes I agree we live in the centre of the universe. My wife and I have spent the last few summers cruising Desolation Sound the Discovery Island, the Broughton Islands with trips out to Flynns Cove out by Nootka. We boat camp and although it is only a 208 Adventure we manage quite well. One has to be fairly organized and we usually do about a week at a time on board with breaks to come home repack and look for another adventure. Have owned a few boats including a 40 ft. commercial troller fishing out of Tofino for a few years, but certainly enjoy the times on the water in our Grady. We prawn and pursue the winter springs during the cooler months but they are confined to day trips. I have to agree with bhemi the Vancouver Grady White dealer is a waste of time unless your buying a new boat at the boat show, then they are all over you like a fleas on a dog. I have dealt with Jon Givens at Jacobs Marine in Seattle and have found him very knowledgeable and helpful regarding getting parts ( bow pulpit for me) and staying in touch after an order. Anyway, thought I would say hello and if you see the "Vagabond" on the water come by for a cold one and I can get a close look at what a bigger Grady looks like on the water without showing too much jealousy. Cheers, trapper

 

[bhemi]

Nice to see a few Canucks show up. I agree with the comments on Jacobsen. Very helpful the few times I called them. I have run my boat from Vancouver to Tofino and beyond. Offshore in the swells it ran great and the comfort level was amazing.

A lot of people run aluminum boats on the west coast because they handle the daily bumps better than fiberglass and they go faster with less horsepower because they are lighter per foot. The downside is that they are cold, basically the boat ends up the same temperature as the water because aluminum is so thermally conductive and due to their lighter weight they pound the daylights out of you.

 

[Grog]

A Sailfish is the minimum but to be comfortable you're looking at a Marlin or 33 Exp. Then again it's easy to spend other people's money.

 

[trapper]

It appears canucks don't always respond to other canucks! As the Stones wrote years ago, "You can't always get what you want but if you try sometimes you get what you need. I believe I need a bigger Grady. Cheers, trapper