New 208 Owner

[Peter A]

Picked up this nice ‘21 208! Nicely outfitted (except no livewell or freshwater), F200 mechanical. Super thrilled, based out of Waretown NJ on Barnegat Bay. Will work my way from bay to inshore and then a bit offshore, plus lots of sandbar and cruising action.

Just getting to know her and need to build a fishing arsenal. All my angling the past 30 years has been freshwater fly stuff.

Boat runs strong, transited from Alpine on the Hudson out through NY harbor and down the coast, got to know her on a 3-ft/6-sec head sea day. No surprises and handled it nicely. Down a bit on top speed, prior owner installed a 4 blade 14.5x15 Solus plus a bit of a bottom cleaning is needed. Will run the 4 blade for a bit and gather some data and report back. Engine checked out good on survey, sea trial and post-purchase warranty inspection by Yamaha service.

All advice welcome! As I pull out of my Marina I pass a nice Marlin. Sweet. I am driving the miniaturized version LOL.

 

[steveditt]

Live well , wired to the to the spare breaker small bilge pump using about 3 foot piece of PVC pipe run a hose and wire through it to hang over the side of the boat just the hose into the live well I added the same restrictor aerator thats in the livewell to the end of the hose to control flow , in the live well small maybe 3/4 inch piece of pvc pipe that fits in the drain hole to the height you want the water to be, drill a bunch of holes in the pipe add tape to one end so it fits firmly in the drain . Water will pump into the well and drain out using the hole on the top and sides of course you have to install the plug while moving . It works great keeping bait or fish alive .I forget once and while now place something on the wheel to remind me to take it in before moving .

 

[Coastboater]

Nice looking boat!
Congratulations!

 

[Peter A]

Live well , wired to the to the spare breaker small bilge pump using about 3 foot piece of PVC pipe run a hose and wire through it to hang over the side of the boat just the hose into the live well I added the same restrictor aerator thats in the livewell to the end of the hose to control flow , in the live well small maybe 3/4 inch piece of pvc pipe that fits in the drain hole to the height you want the water to be, drill a bunch of holes in the pipe add tape to one end so it fits firmly in the drain . Water will pump into the well and drain out using the hole on the top and sides of course you have to install the plug while moving . It works great keeping bait or fish alive .I forget once and while now place something on the wheel to remind me to take it in before moving .

Thanks, so you are using one of the cooler boxes. I’ll consider that approach!

 

[MA208]

Very nice! Hard tops are pretty rare on 208s. I loved mine when I had it.

 

[seasick]

Is that picture taken at Tyson's Shoal?

Good luck with the boat!

 

[Peter A]

Is that picture taken at Tyson's Shoal?

Good luck with the boat!

I followed a friend of mine to that spot, I think as you follow double creek channel around heading east you can bear south in front of the Dike, that is the back channel to Loveladies Harbor. As you enter there is a small area to the right where you can tuck in, just above a patch that looks like a shellfish reclamation zone with some surface structures. Nice little spot, maybe there were 10-13 boats anchored in there on a busy Saturday with 2-3 feet under the keel at low tide. Walked 30 yards west and the water was shin deep,

Tice’s is north across the main channel.

 

[seasick]

Got it.

 

[Sdfish]

Congrats on great boat. I love my 208! It is a small BIG boat for sure.

 

[luckydude]

Just getting to know her and need to build a fishing arsenal. All my angling the past 30 years has been freshwater fly stuff.

Hi fellow fly fisherman, I am you. 40 years of fly fishing in fact. Then my feet gave out and I switched to ocean fishing. Here's my advice:

Shimano Torium reels if you want bait casters, Daiwa BG reels if you want spinning. Ugly stick tiger for your starter rods. Don't buy more expensive stuff until you have borrowed some setup from a friend.

Wash *everything* that has metal in it with fresh water after each trip. Salt water is unforgiving.

Find your locally fishing forum and introduce yourself and say you are open to taking people out if they show you their honey holes. Pay very close attention to who they are as people. Do this with about 20-30 different people and keep the very best ones. Those are your new fishing buddies. I did this and have about a dozen people who are great. Any one of them could call me if their engine conked out and I'd drive my boat to the harbor and go get them. Funny thing is it's mostly Grady-Whites: 3 228s, a 271, a 208, a 300 and then a Triumph, a Mako, a Whaler and an Osprey.

Enjoy that 208, that was almost my second boat but I want for the slightly bigger 228 because I crab and I need the extra deck space. The 208 is a fine boat!

 

[Peter A]

Thanks for the 208 endorsements and advice on boat and gear. I have been looking at a Grady for 18 years while I was land bound. As you know, you leave the world behind when you pull out of the slip.

I can see the incremental utility of a 228 but this local (in NJ) 208 ticked so many boxes that I decided to pull the trigger. A ‘21 with 120 hours, nearly new and was able to do a decent deal, 1/2 the price of a comparably equipped albeit bigger new 218. New-ish 208 and 228 not so easy to find.

 

[luckydude]

Thanks for the 208 endorsements and advice on boat and gear. I have been looking at a Grady for 18 years while I was land bound. As you know, you leave the world behind when you pull out of the slip.

I can see the incremental utility of a 228 but this local (in NJ) 208 ticked so many boxes that I decided to pull the trigger. A ‘21 with 120 hours, nearly new and was able to do a decent deal, 1/2 the price of a comparably equipped albeit bigger new 218. New-ish 208 and 228 not so easy to find.

This is probably not going to be well loved, but I'm not a fan of the 218. A Euro transom on a 21 foot boot, I suspect the deck space is
similar to your 208. When I bought my 228 in 2020, it was $117K plus tax, $129K out the door with a very nice trailer. The 208 was about $30K less. The 218, which while new and shiney, is no replacement for the 228, is $160K before tax.

I think you did well. The 218 is really not that much bigger and I know people who have taken the 208 around Point Conception and lived to tell about it. It's a seaworthy boat, you will have fun in that boat.

And yes, you leave your troubles behind when you pull out of the harbor, the ocean is my happy place, I think it is the same for others.

 

[Peter A]

Hi fellow fly fisherman, I am you. 40 years of fly fishing in fact. Then my feet gave out and I switched to ocean fishing. Here's my advice:

Shimano Torium reels if you want bait casters, Daiwa BG reels if you want spinning. Ugly stick tiger for your starter rods. Don't buy more expensive stuff until you have borrowed some setup from a friend.

Wash *everything* that has metal in it with fresh water after each trip. Salt water is unforgiving.

Find your locally fishing forum and introduce yourself and say you are open to taking people out if they show you their honey holes. Pay very close attention to who they are as people. Do this with about 20-30 different people and keep the very best ones. Those are your new fishing buddies. I did this and have about a dozen people who are great. Any one of them could call me if their engine conked out and I'd drive my boat to the harbor and go get them. Funny thing is it's mostly Grady-Whites: 3 228s, a 271, a 208, a 300 and then a Triumph, a Mako, a Whaler and an Osprey.

Enjoy that 208, that was almost my second boat but I want for the slightly bigger 228 because I crab and I need the extra deck space. The 208 is a fine boat!

Hear you on deck space, it runs out fast. Kids (well they are grown girls) already had me get a 6x6 floating dock. Very cool, I can fold it in half partially inflated and it sits ahead of the transom. The kids sit in the transom seats with their legs stretched out on it. A 228 you wouldn’t have to fold it. There are harder things in life.

Figured if I want to crab, I will build a space on the hardtop to strap down a pot. Top heavy and wind resistance are issues but that would only be a part-time thing for the bay. Not a this year project anyway.

Thought about the 2021 228 with a 300 that’s for sale in Brigantine, saw that listed before I bought mine…it is a definitely a step up in capability both boat/motor/equipment and with a trailer but is way way way more expensive listed over $140k. Whatever it sells for, that is a better deal than a new 218 unless you really wanted the euro transom and tow bar for pleasure boating, or wanted a brand new and never used baby.

Am totally happy with the 208. I’ll will typically have 1-2 passengers on board with plenty of solo days, only a few days doing a sandbar run with 5-6 on board. I’ll pick offshore fishing days with care, run with another boat, or go on bigger rig.

 

[luckydude]

Well, out here on the Pacific, pots are sort of a thing of the past. We're all using hoops and one thing I'll give them is they stack super nicely and use less space. I think you would be fine with those in a 208.

And while I have a slightly bigger boat, I'm the same, pick your days. It's been between 7@7 to 11@9 lately, nobody wants to go out in that.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I'm not sure what you paid for your 208 Adventure, that being said there are surprisingly a multitude of 228 Seafarer's for sale currently on the big three boat sales websites from the low $20k's on up to over $100k. I bought my boat essentially going into the off season back in early October of 2021 in Maryland for $26.5k, of which she's a 2004 with a matching year F225 on her, a 2009 aluminum trailer and right around 1k hours on the motor. I wanted to keep my budget under $35k as I'm definitely a bit of a frugal person and because most of these brand new boats sell 10-15+ years later for around half the price of what they were purchased for. Which is why I bought back east, and this is the third time I've done so, since just about everything in the Seattle/PNW area is oftentimes double the price of what they sell for back on the east coast. There are a couple of mid 2000's 228 Seafarer's currently on BT and even a 2011 in the midwest that is a repower and maybe a bit overpriced, but I'm assuming she's probably a freshwater only boat. As lucky mentioned, the Euro transom does absolutely nothing for me at all and the motorwell that the 208/218 Adventure have seems to take up quite a bit of extra space. I love the look and extra space that the 228 Seafarer provides over the 208 Adventure as well as the 226 Seafarer. It took me just over a year to find my boat and during that time I definitely considered a 208 Adventure/226 Seafarer, though I'm glad I was patient and waited for my boat. The extra weight, space and size of the boat is quite nice, though again as lucky mentioned, it's definitely a boat where you "should" pick and choose your days for going out. The boat itself is more than capable of most of what you can throw at her, but the fishing and boating experience when being out in those conditions is something I'd rather avoid personally at times. Either way, the boat looks great and as mentioned the hardtop is definitely a fantastic addition to keeping people out of the weather/elements and sounds as though you're happy with the purchase. Which at the end of the day is all that matters, good luck!

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