SS Drink Holder Upgrade

[Fishtales]

Hi

I wanted to change out the white plastic cup holders with the newer stainless steel design. I thought I'd share as it wasn't easy to locate them.

GW gave me the part number 10-1087 The SS with the drain hole at the bottom is about 3.25" deep. They are manufactured by Research Design Innovations in CT. They come with a cap for the bottom for non drain locations. The website is www.rdillc.com. They sell some with LEDs around them and some other unique things too.

FP Marine (appears to be Sea Ray Parts distributor) sells them on the net for $7.50 each. Www.fpmarine.com. So for my cockpit transom cup holders I plan to connect the drain hoses and install. For the 2 helm and the 2 cabin locations, I will use the drain caps on the bottom so no water leaks out.

Pretty inexpensive upgrade FWIW.

 

[Greatty]

Did this to my '180 a couple of years ago for the transom drink holders, huge difference, they'll look great!

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

I bought ten of them from FP for my Formula project, they look great.

 

[Capt Bill]

Does anyone here know if they are 316 grade stainless, or will they rust after prolonged exposure to salt air?

 

[Greatty]

Bill, don't think they are 316, as they do oxidize slightly. But I've found using a polisher (can't remember the name!) keeps them looking good.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Collinite metal wax #850 works great.

 

[REBThunderroad]

I have a 2005 Marlin 300. Are they an exact fit tot the original plastic design? I would like to replace the plastic ones.

 

[Fishshoreman]

If it is't too much trouble can someone post up a pic? I would love to see them, especially the LEDs lit up!!

 

[Fishtales]

Hi
They are a bit smaller than the plastic ones so you would need to add some gorilla tape or caulk in place. The one difference I noticed was the lip that overhangs the hole is smaller too. I wish it was bigger. Suggest you buy one and see how it fits and ifnyounlike it.

 

[Greatty]

My stainless cup holders were just about an exact fit. If anything, were just a bit snug going in, had to lubricate them to seat all the way down. Definitely not coming out! I'll try to get pics, they are a nice upgrade, the plastic ones age/weather quickly.

 

[Strikezone]

Has anyone used these in a 2000-era Grady? I'd like to change out my plastic ones but want to make sure they're a decent fit.

 

[zimm]

I swapped mine out. They are little loose- had to run a bead of clear silicone RTV under the lip and set them in place. Worked great.

 

[GOA]

I have a Grady 180 with two plastic cup-holders...are there drain tubes attached to those cup-holders?
GOA :?:

 

[Strikezone]

Just received mine today. They look great. There are designed for drain tubes.

 

[REBThunderroad]

I have now replaced all in my 2005 Marlin 300 and added two SS holders to the left side of my steering wheel at the helm (similar to the express models). Used a hole saw and taped the area real well before drilling. Came out perfect.....Also add drain tubes to these. Holds a tervis tumbler well. I also aded drain tubes to the transom cup holders and ran them to an impact drains (not sure why GW doesn't do this at the factory). It keeps water out of the bilge. Works great.


2005 Marlin 300 w/ F250's

 

[OldCarolina]

I wish those cup holders would fit my Escape. That's a great deal. My cutouts are for the smaller 2 7/8" variety.

Hopefully I can find some from the same company with those dimensions.

SJ

 

[LB2141]

I'm interested in purchasing these cupholders for my 2000 208. Is this the right part number?

http://www.searay-parts.com/product-p/1016rdipolcuphldr.htm

It doesn't match the part # that you provided but it is the only stainless steel cupholders that I could find on that website.

Thanks.

 

[NOTHING ELSE MATTERS]

Yes, those are the ones.

 

[Grady Gator]

I did some additonal research on this b/c I noticed that comments posted on this site as well as hull truth and even reviews on amazon had mentions of the new stainless cup holders not fitting perfectly in the cutouts and requiring duck tape, silicone etc. I had also read that some had rusted and became concerned that they may not be of the same quality. I figured that folks may not be getting the right ones so I called GW to confirm whether the info posted on this thread was correct. The manufacturer listed on the first post, Research & Design Innovations, is indeed the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and supplies Grady with these SS cupholders. They are now making LED illumniated ones for Grady which sounds real nice but I'm not handy enough to wire that up. Anyways, as mentioned correctly in the first post on this thread, their website address is: http://www.rdillc.com. However, the ones sold at FP marine appear to be of 316 SS grade not the higher quality 316L that Grady has been using.

Given that, I called RDI directly and spoke with Don, the owner. They manufacture these SS cup holders in 304, 316, and 316L. He said they were all good but that the 304's can stain/rust when scratched or cleaned with citrus based cleaners. He went on to say that 316L was the highest quality. I asked Don which ones were being sold to grady and he confirmed they were buying the 316L's. He does not do retail sales but suggested I call a distributorship he is partnered with, Prime Industries, at 1-800-446-1144, ask for Bev and order model # 1014 which is the one he sells to Grady White. Their website can be found here: http://www.prime-industries.com/products.html. You can download the marine catalog however you will not find model # 1014 in there. That's why you need to call Bev, she will take your order (I gave her my AMEX) and then get the product for you.

I'm not saying the one at FP Marine is not the right one but I felt more comfortable going direct and assuring the 316 L grade of stainless. Considering the higher SS grade and the authenticity of getting it straight from the OEM, I felt that the $8.25 was a very fair price.

I hope to receive them soon and will provide an update when I install them. Hopefully, they will fit like a glove--Don said Grady has been using the same cutout hole for quite some time. Pray he is right--I hate duck tape and silicone.

Hope this helps those of you who are out there trying to upgrade your Grady White cupholders to the newer Stainless Steel finish. Now I'm going to get to work on upgrading my cockpit shower lid from the old plastic to the newer stainless.

Proud Gulfstream 232 owner

 

[Fishtales]

The couple I got were too small and didn't leave in. I ordered the ones above from Bev. Hopefully they will fit better. Thanks for the info.