So the 208 and 228 go away for the new 218

SmokyMtnGrady

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They did something here I always thought would benefit the 228 and that is give it a 8.5 foot beam midships . It's a sweet looking boat at a foot shorter than 228. I hope it sells well .
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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How was your time in the Keys, or are you still there?
I am here through Thursday. I have been house sitting for some friends. Weather has been good but the winds have picked up. I came down with a sinus thing the day I got here back on the 7th.it impacted my ability to snorkel and stuff. I have only fished offshore 3 times in the last 3 weeks between weather and such. The past 7 days seas have been around 4 feet with 10-15 knit winds. I could have used a Marlin or Express 330 ! .

I can troll in those seas but running is sloppy. What I can't do is drift or anchor up in them to fish for yellow tail snapper along the reef. Don't tell anyone but I get a weird sinus sea sick thing when seas get bigger than 2 feet if I am anchored up. It's been a great trip ,don't get me wrong,but the first week I was dealing with head cold sinus thing and seas were awesome. Then it clears up and seas go to crap . Then since I am with family and friends people want to go shopping and they want to go sandbars and islands and reefs . I have gone to back country to fish the mangroves too. Overall, a great trip. I wish I could stay for another month ,but work and stuff calls.
 

nuclear

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Time to put away the pitchforks, they came back with a good compromise.


*although I still prefer the layout of the 228
 
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SmokyMtnGrady

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Time to put away the pitchforks, they came back with a good compromise.


*although I still prefer the layout of the 228
Yah, they did a decent job..I wish they would have just kept the 228 and made her 6 inches wider . It's laid out so well . I do like the innovation of the aft seats and how they swing. My 192 had something similar in that the back rest swung . Given they got rid of essentially 3 models 208/228/226 and consolidated them into one and kept it a walk around is great to see. My gut says what ever 208s and 228 226s they sold this model should total all those combined .
 

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I mentioned this in the other thread on the same topic… I think the front 2/3 to 3/4 of the boat looks really nice but am not a fan of the motorwell and the Euro style transom. I’d love to see it more with the 228 Seafarer style fully enclosed transom and transom bracket on the back. I know that not everyone agrees with me, but I much prefer the look and functionality of that over the 218 Adventure. I had a motorwell on my 21’ Arima and all it did was take up space you could use for standing, fishing or so forth. Too bad they don’t at least offer it with an optional transom bracket on the back of it, I think it would make for a much more versatile boat and would appease that crowd of people who think so as well.
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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I mentioned this in the other thread on the same topic… I think the front 2/3 to 3/4 of the boat looks really nice but am not a fan of the motorwell and the Euro style transom. I’d love to see it more with the 228 Seafarer style fully enclosed transom and transom bracket on the back. I know that not everyone agrees with me, but I much prefer the look and functionality of that over the 218 Adventure. I had a motorwell on my 21’ Arima and all it did was take up space you could use for standing, fishing or so forth. Too bad they don’t at least offer it with an optional transom bracket on the back of it, I think it would make for a much more versatile boat and would appease that crowd of people who think so as well.
While I agree with you on this 100% , I think some marketing nerd at Grady says the Eurotrashom sells better to moms and families than fishing oriented design which you and I appreciate. Grady is in the business of staying in business and their bent towards families and sandbars means you get a 218 Adventure.

Also, I didn't see a 218 thread title so I created this one. I didn't mean to duplicate anything.
 
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nuclear

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While I agree with you on this 100% , I think some marketing nerd at Grady says the Eurotrashom sells better to moms and families than fishing oriented design which you and I appreciate. Grady is in the business of staying in business and their bent towards families and sandbars means you get a 218 Adventure.

Also, I didn't see a 218 thread title so I created this one. I didn't mean to duplicate anything.
As someone who doesn't fish, but does take out my young children on the boat I'd have to disagree. Although I only use the livewell for storing fenders, I appreciate the fully enclosed back due to the safety factor it adds. My kids are still too small to leave back there alone when at any speed, but it is still a heck of a lot safer feeling than any type of open/Euro style transom.
 
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Don Davis

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Time will tell regarding this new 218 design but a little voice keeps reminding me that even smart people can make bad decisions in regards to dropping the 208, 226 and 228 models in favour of the 218. My 228 will be passed on to my kids and grand kids so it will be around for a long time.
 
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sturgstev

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Don

My wife's sister lives at Fanny Bay. We drove up from California to there five years ago and stayed at the Campbell River Resort, stayed at Victoria and drove to Sooke and then stayed Ucluelet and drove to Torfino.

Did not get my act together to go fishing which was sad. All of these places were very interesting fishing spots. What it like boating around in your 228 with those monster tides?.

Looking forward to going up there again. I have a 228 as well.

steve
 

Mustang65fbk

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While I agree with you on this 100% , I think some marketing nerd at Grady says the Eurotrashom sells better to moms and families than fishing oriented design which you and I appreciate. Grady is in the business of staying in business and their bent towards families and sandbars means you get a 218 Adventure.

Also, I didn't see a 218 thread title so I created this one. I didn't mean to duplicate anything.
No worries, or at least not enough to lose sleep over. Lots of good information and opinions on both threads.

 

Mustang65fbk

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As someone who doesn't fish, but does take out my young children on the boat I'd have to disagree. Although I only use the livewell for storing fenders, I appreciate the fully enclosed back due to the safety factor it adds. My kids are still too small to leave back there alone when at any speed, but it is still a heck of a lot safer feeling than any type of open/Euro style transom.
I agree completely. I’ve got parents in their early 70’s as well as a niece that’s almost 7 and wanted the fully enclosed transom for a multitude of reasons, but one of the biggest was for safety. They’d have to be acting pretty reckless to be able to fall out of my boat with the transom bracket on the back, imo. I also like how the 228 Seafarer, as well as the other smaller boats, don’t have any steps or stairs and it’s an all level floor so that you can’t slip while walking up or down on them.
 

Mustang65fbk

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Time will tell regarding this new 218 design but a little voice keeps reminding me that even smart people can make bad decisions in regards to dropping the 208, 226 and 228 models in favour of the 218. My 228 will be passed on to my kids and grand kids so it will be around for a long time.
I find it very interesting how when you click on the GW website that on their main page they don’t have anything even indicating that they have a new model. It’s not until you click on “models”, go down to “walkarounds” and then see the 218 Adventure until you realize they even have a new model of boat out. You’d think they’d have it advertised all over their website, and especially on their home page. I think that tells the story about the lack of how many people are interested in a WA boat like this anymore, and I’m thinking it won’t be as successful as it needs to/could be.
 
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Don Davis

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Don

My wife's sister lives at Fanny Bay. We drove up from California to there five years ago and stayed at the Campbell River Resort, stayed at Victoria and drove to Sooke and then stayed Ucluelet and drove to Torfino.

Did not get my act together to go fishing which was sad. All of these places were very interesting fishing spots. What it like boating around in your 228 with those monster tides?.

Looking forward to going up there again. I have a 228 as well.

steve
Hi Steve, I just use common sense and run during the slack tide when out in those tricky areas north of Campbell River like Seymour Narrows where it seems like half of the Pacific Ocean funnels through a 400 yard space. Most of the east coast of Vancouver Island south of Campbell River is fairly tame waters but the wind will come up and can make the ride home a little bumpy. The 228 is a dream ride as compared to my older Campion 542.
 

Mustang65fbk

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Hi Steve, I just use common sense and run during the slack tide when out in those tricky areas north of Campbell River like Seymour Narrows where it seems like half of the Pacific Ocean funnels through a 400 yard space. Most of the east coast of Vancouver Island south of Campbell River is fairly tame waters but the wind will come up and can make the ride home a little bumpy. The 228 is a dream ride as compared to my older Campion 542.
Whatever happened with Campion? I heard that they got bought out a few years ago but I still see new ones for sale at my local GW dealer.
 

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Whatever happened with Campion? I heard that they got bought out a few years ago but I still see new ones for sale at my local GW dealer.
Turmoil at Campion currently, sounds like the family sold the business and kept the land/building and now the building is for sale or something like that. Hope they get it sorted, they are good boats and a great family business, locally built boats.
 
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Mustang65fbk

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Turmoil at Campion currently, sounds like the family sold the business and kept the land/building and now the building is for sale or something like that. Hope they get it sorted, they are good boats and a great family business, locally built boats.
Thanks! I’d seen them over the years but the last couple I really hadn’t seen much action at all from them. Then I took my boat to my local GW dealer to have it winterized last October and they were selling brand new ones.