Is there any way to test for stability, ride , etc

[viperdrum]

There are many posts about the ride quality of various Gradys and other boats (ie touting the V hull etc) . I have asked several that include "will I notice much difference in ride between a 208 and 225?"

But surely the manufacturers must have some way of testing the stabilty in say 3-4 foot chop of the various models. We all talk about it based on our experince with different models but there must be some way that they measure this in a controlled environment.

Anyone know of how this might be done and what the numbers are??

 

[Grog]

Everybody has different ideas of comfortable. Take a test ride in what you're interrested in and see how you like it. Sure the bigger boat should handle it better but how is it suited for your needs and restraints (trailerable, $,...)

 

[gradyfish22]

There is a way that this can somewhat be tested, but I am not sure what Grady White or C. Raymond hunt did when designing the hull. Being a Naval Architect I do know how this is done. A company can do tow tank testing to determine how large G forces will be in a controlled sea state condition, which can compare models, but it is hard to make an exact correlation between this and actual comfort levels. I'm not super familiar with how each hull is designed, but I know the SV2 hull form is the same basic design for all Grady's, I'm sure the hull form itself was tested at one point before it was introduced, but I am not so sure each particular model was tested on it's own. This type of testing is not cheap. There are formulas and guidelines that designers use to create a comfortable hull, but with a smaller powerboat, there is only so much you can really do. As well, a lot of the ride can also depending on the owner and how they load the boat with options, as well as use tabs and trim the engines.

As far as comparing these 2 models, you should notice some difference and an improvement in handling overall, but it all depends on what you are used to and what you expect. Like others have said, the only real way to tell is a sea trial.

 

[megabytes]

Trying to do boat tests like Car and Driver does autos would be tough for many reasons. There are way too many differences in similar size boats.

I recommend evaluating different aspects of the handling personally. While we have all heard how wonderful deep Vs are and how they smoke Gradys, Pursuit, Scout, etc, there was an interesting discussion on THT last week. In the discussion, several Albemarle owners admitted how awful their boats were at anchor or drift. Funny how that never is mentioned by the deep V fanatics.

No matter what ANYONE may tell you, all aspects of a boat constitute a tradeoff including hull, power, layout, construction, etc. My recommendation is to determine your preferences and match them to several candidate models. During seatrial it is best to run downsea, into a headsea, and in a beam sea to determine how the hull will handle. If anyone says their boat does all of these better then similar competitor models then they are greatly misinformed or lying. Also try the boat at drift and while moving around to determine roll and stability. If you never drift, cruise, anchor or do family things then this may be a low priority. If OTOH you rarely run 60 miles into choppy seas then stability may be more important then headsea splitting.

Good luck and ask LOTS of questions every chance you get.

 

[BobP]

There is no Consumer Reports style comparison testing of boats for ride quality or anything else.

The bigger Grady you asked about will give you a better ride since it is bigger - heavier and longer, same for any other model Grady above it that is bigger. Bigger Grady, better Grady ride.

One may get away with no road trial for a car, there is no substitute for sea trail.

You will find at Grady dealers used boats for sale some just bought, one year old or two, 50 hrs or so, guess why ?

 

[BobP]

By the way, I bought my Grady from a Grady dealer who refused to sell any boat w/o a sea trial.

Take 5 Grady's for sea trails, go ahead - pick a day with sea conditions you prefer, not what the dealer prefers (they will differ), even if you are not considering all of them. Then you will get a full range of what to expect then you can find a nitch good enough for your budget.

Let the dealer do work to get his commission, these are very expensive purchases, spend al their time you care to, and don't feel bad about it.
A dealer worth his salt will understands this benefits his business too.

 

[HDGWJOE]

By the way, I bought my Grady from a Grady dealer who refused to sell any boat w/o a sea trial.

Take 5 Grady's for sea trails, go ahead - pick a day with sea conditions you prefer, not what the dealer prefers (they will differ), even if you are not considering all of them. Then you will get a full range of what to expect then you can find a nitch good enough for your budget.

Let the dealer do work to get his commission, these are very expensive purchases, spend al their time you care to, and don't feel bad about it.
A dealer worth his salt will understands this benefits his business too.

Bob's right and a lot of good dealers run demo days periodically. There are a couple up here in the northeast offering them right now(brrrr). Only way to know is to take it out... and look for other than calm conditions when you go.