New Grady owner

Bern73

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Greetings Great Grady. I'm the new owner of a 1999 Grady White Escape 209 with a 1999 200hp Yamaha. My family and I have been very happy with the boat. Much more room than my previous boat, which was a 1971 Boston Whaler 16'9" hull with a 1983 Evinrude 75hp. I owned that boat for 20 years but finally decided to upgrade to a larger boat when the engine died for the second time. The Grady is in great shape but does have few minor issues and I was wondering if anyone had any advice. First, there is some cracking and peeling on the bow fish lockers lids (see picture). Any thoughts on the best way to repair this? One of the rubber hold downs for the fish lockers is also close to breaking (see pic). Also while replacing the bilge pump, I broke off one of the clips which holds the transom splash well door up (the other clip was already broken). These are small bulb like clips (see pics). Not sure where to get these. At some point, I will need to replace some missing cushions (smaller port side bow cushion) and two transom jump seat cushions. Does anyone know where to get these in the Tidewater Virginia area (Norolk/VA Bch)? This website has been a great resource. Thanks, Pete
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Pat Hurley

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Congratulations on the boat !! The repairs on the fishbox lid are going to be a bit more involved then a simple grind and re gel. You’re going to have some glass work involving the replication of the non skid grid if you want it to look original. If you are handy There are some good YouTube videos that give instructions on how this is accomplished. You may be able to locate those style latches thru Boat Outfitters.
good luck with your boat
 

Bern73

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Thank you. I appreciate the reply and suggestions.
 

SkunkBoat

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Look on Amazon for Perko Door Catch and look for Soft Draw Latch(the rubber latch)

Repairing the chips will be as complicated or uncomplicated as you are willing to live with.

You could lightly grind out the chips and cracks and fill with MarineTex and be done until it falls out and then do it again.

You could grind off everything that is loose to get to clean glass. That would take that entire cracked edge. Then glass it, shape it, fair it,
You need to prep the entire piece for paint or gelcoat. You will never get it to match the 23 year old gelcoat. You will have to live with the color difference.

Its a 23 year old boat. I would not worry about trying to match the non-skid pattern.
 
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SkunkBoat

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Take a good look at the deck drain/thru hulls and hoses.
The original hoses had steel wire inside and are probably really scary right now
 
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Fishtales

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Lots of helpful threads on the site. Always search and hopefully you will find.
 
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Mustang65fbk

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I have two thought processes on the matter... the first is what I normally think when looking over a boat that's over 20+ years old at this point, and that is that most of these things are normal wear and tear. Things break, they get chipped, they don't work or whatever else happens, happens to a 20+ year old boat. So, I think your two options would be to either fix the things yourself or have someone do it for you. Or you could leave them as is and have the sales price of the boat reflect the overall condition of the items that need to be fixed. If you're personally just wanting to sell the boat then I honestly wouldn't bother spending the time or money trying to fix the things that need to be repaired and just list it. If the boat is priced appropriately and someone comes over to look at it that is serious then these small things shouldn't be a deterrent from buying the boat. I almost prefer to not put money into a boat, or whatever else it is that I'm selling, because in all likelihood I probably won't get that money back from investing into it. The only problem with going this route is that you could not get as many people to come out and look at it, but again those people are oftentimes just tire kickers to begin with and just want to lowball you to see if you want to sell. I'm a pretty handy person with cars, boats, things around the house that need to be fixed and so forth... and as stated above, if these minor issues were presented to me on a boat I was seriously considering buying, I wouldn't turn it down just because of that, and especially if the price was right.

If you did want to do the repairs or fixes on your own, then I'd check with your local Grady White dealer to see if they have what you need as well as checking eBay or Craigslist for used items like the fish lockers, as I think those are going to cost a good chunk of change. I was selling my previous boat, which was a 2003 21' Arima, for what I thought was a very fair price and you'd have people nitpicking you over the tiniest little things. The outboard motor cowling was fading and chipping on one part of it that was maybe the size of two of my fists, and people were just losing their minds over it. I told them I had the paint as well as the decals to do it, I just hadn't gotten around to doing so with working 60 hours a week. So then they'd lowball you $5-6k, or more, based off that alone, of which one guy offered me $20k when my asking price was $27.5k. Of which I'm sure you can imagine how I responded to their offers and it seems like people in the Seattle area just expect the world to be handed to them for absolutely nothing and without them having to lift a finger. Of course the guy that offered me $20k when my asking priced was $27.5k also said he was very, very serious about the boat and then showed up in a Lexus passenger car, which I'm not sure how you'd tow a 21' boat with a vehicle like that, but alright. Luckily, the economy has been quite good for selling boats up until now and hopefully that trend continues. Good luck with your sale!
 
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Byram

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No bottom paint !!.. Nice bonus.
 
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Bern73

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Take a good look at the deck drain/thru hulls and hoses.
The original hoses had steel wire inside and are probably really scary right now
Thanks. I had to change the bilge pump and noticed that the hose for this was a bit brittle, so I was thinking of replacing it. I will check over the rest of the hoses. Deck drains and thru hulls look to be in good shape. I bought the boat off the original owner who kept it on a lift during the season and stored inside in the offseason. He took good care of it. It does need a good buff and wax though.
 

Bern73

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Look on Amazon for Perko Door Catch and look for Soft Draw Latch(the rubber latch)

Repairing the chips will be as complicated or uncomplicated as you are willing to live with.

You could lightly grind out the chips and cracks and fill with MarineTex and be done until it falls out and then do it again.

You could grind off everything that is loose to get to clean glass. That would take that entire cracked edge. Then glass it, shape it, fair it,
You need to prep the entire piece for paint or gelcoat. You will never get it to match the 23 year old gelcoat. You will have to live with the color difference.

Its a 23 year old boat. I would not worry about trying to match the non-skid pattern.
Thanks for the tip on the door catch. I was thinking something similar with the chips. I have friend who has some experience with gelcoat repair, so I sent him the pictures. To tell you the truth, I'm a fisherman first and aesthetics are not that important to me. I want the boat to look good but I'm not going to spend hours trying to get the perfect match. As you said, it is a 23 yr old boat and it's going to have some dings. I appreciate the suggestions.
 

Mako261

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Congrats on your new boat purchase…. I have same boat, your going to enjoy.
The boat is decent riding vessel thats well built and handles well for a 20 footer. I had to replace some of hinges and fasteners you need to, the good thing is you can get them on-line.
I’ve had mine for a little over a year. Good Luck
 

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Bern73

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Congrats on your new boat purchase…. I have same boat, your going to enjoy.
The boat is decent riding vessel thats well built and handles well for a 20 footer. I had to replace some of hinges and fasteners you need to, the good thing is you can get them on-line.
I’ve had mine for a little over a year. Good Luck
Thanks. I have been very happy with the boat. Took my son and his friend out yesterday for some fishing/boat ride and they had a blast. Plenty of room, rides nice and still easy enough to launch/recover on my own since I trailer it. I still have some electronic issues to work out but it's a boat and there is always something to do.
 
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Mako261

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Thanks. I have been very happy with the boat. Took my son and his friend out yesterday for some fishing/boat ride and they had a blast. Plenty of room, rides nice and still easy enough to launch/recover on my own since I trailer it. I still have some electronic issues to work out but it's a boat and there is always something to do.
 

Mako261

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Hey Bern73
What port do you usually fish out of?
I re-powered with 175 Suzuki… does your boat have trim tabs?
 

Bern73

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Hey Bern73
What port do you usually fish out of?
I re-powered with 175 Suzuki… does your boat have trim tabs?
I live in the Norfolk/Va Bch area so I fish the lower Chesapeake Bay and coastal Atlantic. I usually stay within 3 miles or so of the coast but with the new Grady (new to me), I plan to do some more trips further offshore to some of the local wrecks and the Chesapeake Bay Light Tower. My last boat was a 1971 Boston Whaler 16'9" hull which is basically the Montauk before they called it the Montauk. Great boat but not enough room for more than 1-2 people when fishing and really needed to pick your days for anything in open water. Where are you located?

I do have trim tabs but noticed they were not working yesterday so I need to troubleshoot them. I was planning on checking that they were getting power etc tonight after work. I knew before buying the boat that there was some problems with electronics and the seller knocked some money off the sale price accordingly. I have already replaced the bilge pump and installed a new GPS/depth finder. After the trim tabs, I plan on installing new spreader lights on the T-top and replacing the live well pump. Saltwater washdown and freshwater washdown work.

I have a friend that repowered with the Suzuki 175hp motor on his Kencraft Contender and he loves it. I was wondering if the 175 would be enough power for the 209 so its good to hear that you're happy with it. The 209 is a heavy boat and while researching it, a lot of people were saying you need at least a 200hp. My boat still has the original 99 200hp Yamaha on it. I'm aware that at some point I'll need to repower (20+ year old motor) but the previous owner did not put many hours on it so I'm hoping I can get at least a few years out of it. Runs strong.
 

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Welcome Bern and good luck with your new boat.
The only thing I can offer is that I used SS Hooks and eyes from Perko for my splash board. Much sturdier in my opinion. There are several sizes available.
 
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Bern73

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Welcome Bern and good luck with your new boat.
The only thing I can offer is that I used SS Hooks and eyes from Perko for my splash board. Much sturdier in my opinion. There are several sizes available.
Thanks. I will check them out. The other clips did seem easy to break. I was working on my bilge pump and had the splash board down. I brushed the clip with my foot and it broke the bulb off.
 

Mako261

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I’m fishing this boat in the keys…I purchased with original 225 Yamaha 2s but it was loud a drank more fuel and oil than I did in my twenties .
The 175 is okay for me ….I cruise it at 4000 rpm’s at around 25 knots …. Hole shot is slower on plane than 2s, but there’s always trade offs .
Been a classic mako guy for 35 years and still have a 261 1990 hull and 171 1975 hull that I fish regularly in the mid Atlantic (Delaware)
 
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Bern73

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I’m fishing this boat in the keys…I purchased with original 225 Yamaha 2s but it was loud a drank more fuel and oil than I did in my twenties .
The 175 is okay for me ….I cruise it at 4000 rpm’s at around 25 knots …. Hole shot is slower on plane than 2s, but there’s always trade offs .
Been a classic mako guy for 35 years and still have a 261 1990 hull and 171 1975 hull that I fish regularly in the mid Atlantic (Delaware)
Yes, the fuel consumption is definitely an increase from my Whaler 75hp Evrinrude. I'm not a speed junkie so 25knots at 4k is fine with me. I would of loved to get something with a 4 stroke but was hard to find a decent hull with a 4 in my price range. I do like Makos. I almost bought a Mako 204 but someone beat me to it and bought it before I could do a sea trial.