Talk me into it..

[fordfisherman]

Or talk me out of it… ThinkIng about moving up to a GW 305 from my current 248.
The 248 is paid for, repowered and pretty much does what I need.
The 305 is a lot more boat and the wife wants the creature comforts. It would open up a whole new range of boating possibilities, but at a cost.
Not sure how I feel about feeding the twins and the added maintenance.
Anyone make a similar move? Thoughts?

 

[Late Again Grady]

All I can say is you will never regret getting a bigger boat. Go for it.

 

[DennisG01]

Your wife is onboard with it? End of discussion.

If that was me, and she said she was good to move up... you would have seen a lifesize hole in the wall in my shape where I ran thru it on the way to the dealership before she even finished the sentence.........

 

[kirk a]

Moved up from a 23 Mako to a 33 Express. No regrets. Back story is that I took my wife on a day trip to Martha's Vineyard. We were looking at the boats in the harbor, and she asked if all the moorings were transient. I replied no, those other ones are for overnights. "Why don't we do that?" She asked. "Our boat is not big enough" "We should get a bigger boat" She said.

If you have the means, the larger boat opens up a lot of possibilities for you.

 

[Ekea]

its a matter of if you can afford it and will the bigger boat bring you more joy than what that money would otherwise be spent on?

only you and your wife can decide that.

bigger boats are pretty awesome though...

 

[family affair]

I didn't go quite that big, but went from a 248 to a 270. Most of the time I don't regret it, but I think it depends on how you use the boat and how it hits you financially.
If you can easily afford it and you will realistically use it, you won't regret it. However, if the move causes you to miss out on other things you want or want to do and you don't use it any more than you do now, you'll wish you hadn't.
For my situation, Dad's health is bad, kids are near to be or in college, none of my friends fish, wife had foot surgery this year, and the list goes on. I do solo trips when I get some free time, but it's a lot of boat to handle solo, especially for trailering! The 248 definitely would be easier to handle.

 

[seasick]

Longer may not be better but wider often is is. I wanted twins for control at the dock and wider beam to aid with the rolling that my wife didn't like. I also have Ride tabs.
An example of longer but not wider is the 275. Lots of owners comment on the excessive rolling characteristics'
More than a few boaters at my marina who have a pretty large boat but also a smaller one. Sometimes you just want to jump in and go. In addition you are not happy with the per hour cost to run a large boat

Maintenance and operating costs are additional concerns that you may want to understand especially if you are or were the type of boat owner that did the maintenance yourself
Point is that larger is not always better. It depends on your needs which may change as you get older or you requirements change.

 

[MA208]

Everyone’s situation is different. I went from a 208 to a Marlin 300. It opened up a whole new world of offshore fishing, overnighting and cruising. Had the Marlin for 5 years and sold her. The F225s were near end of life and a repower wasn’t in the budget.

Storage costs both summer slip and winter were exponentially larger on a 30 footer. Paying for haul outs and being on the marina schedule for service and launch got old. Also realize that all of the more complex systems require a whole other level of maintenance. Air conditioning, generator, water heater, bow thruster. I had a 2005 and had to replace or provide major service to all of them. In addition to a transom rebuild.

I kept a smaller skiff and found myself using that more than the 300. Too easy to just jump in, throw the dock lines off and go.

But if you have time to deal with maintenance and storage costs aren’t too bad then there’s no doubt the 30 footer is a great riding hull.

 

[drbatts]

Go for it. I love my 305. I jumped up from a 265 and don't regret it. it was a few more systems to maintain and a little more for winter storage and of course fuel.

 

[TikiCharterFishing]

Or talk me out of it… ThinkIng about moving up to a GW 305 from my current 248.
The 248 is paid for, repowered and pretty much does what I need.
The 305 is a lot more boat and the wife wants the creature comforts. It would open up a whole new range of boating possibilities, but at a cost.
Not sure how I feel about feeding the twins and the added maintenance.
Anyone make a similar move? Thoughts?

 

[TikiCharterFishing]

I owned a 2007 Grady 305 Express and I loved it! However, I am only 5’11 and I could not sleep across the mid-berth. Other than sleeping I liked everything else about the boat. Twin F250’s are adequate power for this boat but newer F300’s would be better.

It needed the below waterline hoses replaced and they are deeply hidden in the hull. It’s a major job to replace these hoses and the boat will sink if one of them breaks. I sold it but probably should have spent $10,000 getting the hoses replaced.

 

[LimpetMine]

Or talk me out of it… ThinkIng about moving up to a GW 305 from my current 248.
The 248 is paid for, repowered and pretty much does what I need.
The 305 is a lot more boat and the wife wants the creature comforts. It would open up a whole new range of boating possibilities, but at a cost.
Not sure how I feel about feeding the twins and the added maintenance.
Anyone make a similar move? Thoughts?

I went up from a 30 marlin to a 33 express and while the differences are not as marked, it still rides better, has more room and I haven't ever regretted it for one moment. Neither boat was being trailered... when in doubt make the wife happy as long as it means boating....