question re: older 22' grady hulls

[suzukidave]

hi folks

i own a 1986 tournament 190. i am looking at upgrading to a 22' tournament, and specifically considering a long distance purchase of a pre seav2 223. i live out west so no local boats to test drive. i use the boat for fishing and cruising and a little bit of tubing.

i have a few questions for folks familiar with the 22' boats from this era

-is the 22' tournament hull the same hull as the seafarer and fisherman of equivalent year? i am finding more discussion of the performance of these models with various engine setups than the tournament. i can adjust for weight if they are the same.

-is the hull any deeper than my tournament 19 or is it the same hull with 3' tacked on the back? is it any better as a sea boat or the same, especially in terms of bow clearance?

-how would a 22' perform with twin yamaha carbed 130s? what would people estimate for prop pitch and wot speed and sweet spot for fuel use?

-limited seating is a concern for me. has anyone figured out a good rear facing seat solution for a 22' that adds a removable seatback for the cushions on the cooler hatches

-same question for the rear corner hatches. anyone added jump seats?

-along the same lines, has anyone rigged an early 223 to have a full u shaped front cushion like a tournament 19 instead of the little corner seats. if so, how did you do it?

thanks in advance for any suggestions

 

[VeroWing]

You may be able to get dimensions of those various models here: http://gradywhite.com/customer/manuals/ Just put in year at right top of page. Twin 130 Yamahas should move that 22 nicely if running and propped correctly. Not sure about cushions and seating.

 

[suzukidave]

so to update this thread i got a 1994 223 seav2 hull with a 200 evinrude in the end. i'll comment on the differences for any 190 owners thinking of moving up who, like me, would be buying long distance.

in spite of the similar beam and layout, it is a lot bigger than my tournament 190. in fact i'd call it a completely different weight class. from the inside the bow seating area is pretty comparable but the locker/console area is quite a bit larger and the cockpit is generally larger. the biggest interior difference though is in freeboard. i went to climb in from the trailer fender and this was immediately apparent.

from the outside it is apparent the 223 is a much bigger displacement boat. much deeper hull with much more deadrise. looking at the 190 afterwards it looked shockingly small. i had to remind myself the 190 is pretty big for a runabout.