Real life 235 Freedom reviews

CharlieCWalker68 said:
I came from a GW 216 to the Freedom 235. I have a second "captain's chair" on the port side to maximize cockpit space. I also added a trolling motor and made a filler for the bow so that I have a large casting platform. The lounger, i, is a waste of space. My wife prefers riding in the bow. The eisenglass enclosure is so much better than wings on a cc. Our boating season has been significantly lengthened here on the Ches Bay. I haven't found docking the 235 to be too much more difficult. Head is better on the 235 as well.
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Hey Charlie... Where are you on the Chesapeake? If it's below the bridge, I'll probably cross paths with you. We'll be coming out of Cambridge or the Nanticoke around the Hooper's area
 
Beaur90 said:
While that my be your situation, you can’t assume everyone has crew or guest on their boat who know what they’re doing and are comfortable with fenders/ lines.
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Agree plus commenter mentioned having a 205 which has less elbow room.
 
Ackdog said:
Went to the Htfd Boat last weekend just to spend some time waiting for summer.
I’ve always liked Grady’s and wandered over to the models.

Well, there was a 235 Fisherman that caught my eye that I really like. While I was pretending to head to Block, my wife was doing some shopping of her own on the 235 Freedom. After spending an hour going up and down the Freedom, I must admit I like it more than I thought I would as I have never been interested in in a DC before. She said that if we were going to get a Grady it would be the Freedom and not cc. I get it and I am inclined to agree.

Can anyone here give me the good, bad and ugly? I’ve gone through all the internet reviews THT and the like, but I trust the opinions from here most.
Thanks.
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I see you're in Stonington; I have a 2023 Freedom 235 on the RI side of the Pawcatuck River. I bought it a little over a year ago with 56 hrs. on its 300 Yamaha. It's really a great boat in its size range. The original owner had good equipment put on like radar, larger screen chartplotter/depthfinder, and a bow thruster (probably not necessary though). The head is small but really helpful when taking family cruises. The number of storage compartments and wells are also a nice feature. The 300 is plenty of power and gets the boat on plane very quick. I had a short 1st season on it and did not fish with it yet, but it was great for family & guest cruises to explore this area that we are new to.

A word of warning about one of the GW dealers in the region. The buying experience was positive and they receive high on-line ratings. However, I stored the boat there last winter and they caused damage that I did not discover it until I had run the boat in open water. It spent the first 6-weeks of the season in their shop, and it appears they fixed the problem (fuel leak), but left gallons of strong cleaner in bilge compartments that has proven to be very difficult to remove. They were also deceptive about another problem, which they eventually fixed after I refused to take delivery. Use caution.
 
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