Thinking about a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

blancokt

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Hi All. I went to my dealer yesterday and with the "Grady Days" promotion, I was thinking to trade in my 2006 257 Advance for a new 300 Marlin. The boat is getting rigged with two F300 engines. I did a sea trial on a Marlin with F250's but I was wondering if any of you out there can give me some feedback on the F300's? How well do they run? Any feedback, especially on a Marlin, would be greatly appreciated.
 

Ed Bukala

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Congratulations!
I do have a Freedom 255 with the new 4.2 300 hp motor. I know that it is not 100 percent comparable with your boat but I can tell you that I love this motor. We have finished our second season and for a number of reasons have not boated as much as we like so have 110 hours on her. Just did the end of season maintenance and all checked out well. This motor has fantastic low end torque which you will get great benefit from getting your boat up on plane and going. Our boat literally pops up on plane and I do not ever have to "gun it" , just give her gas and away we go. She runs very smoothly and with the digital controls, it is just great. The fuel consumption is almost bang on with what you see on the Grady site for our Freedom 255. On a boat your size, I think you can not go wrong with the 300's. Give us real world feedback when you have your new boat in the water.
Bukster
 

blancokt

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Thanks Ed. I appreciate your note and the experience. Sounds like I made a good decision on the engines. The boat was a leftover, so I didn't have a choice. I will definately post my experience and some pictures in April.

Kevin
 

JiminGA

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Please PLEASE post pics of your new Grady!!!

Congrats!
 

Motivator

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Congrats on the new ride and engine package. I have a 282 Sailfish with F250's and couldn't imagine the boat with any less HP or them on a Marlin. Sounds like a great set up. Just a little jealous.
 

devildogdad

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

I recently took delivery of the exact boat. The 300's are great. I am still in the break in period so I do not have any firm numbers for you. The weather down here has been too windy every single weekend so I haven't had a chance to really use her.
I think you will love the 300. It is a big, heavy boat which makes it ride so well, but it does need a bit of horsepower to move it.

I have a 2012, and the only difference I can see is that they changed the brand of dvd player. (came with the boat, I didnt order it). Otherwise not one other difference.
 

megabytes

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Mine turns 8 years old next week so I am jealous. I'll bet that new Marlin just sparkles. Welcome to the GW board and especially the 300 lovers club.
 

Ed Bukala

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Hi Larry
You asked about prop on my 300 Yamaha, it is the Yamaha stainless 3 blade 15 3/4 x 15. I think it is the salt water series, but it is the stock prop that came with the engine. I spoke with Yamaha people at the Toronto boat show last January about the motor and prop and they said they did a ton of testing before that became the prop of choice and with the performance so far, can not argue with that. There seems to be a fair bit of discussion on various props, 3 blade, 4 blade etc.etc. so it is always good to hear peoples real life experiences as it seems to me experimenting can be costly and time consuming. On the other hand with the price of gas at the docks, squeezing out .1 or .2 extra miles per gallon can pay off, especially up here in Canada.

Bukster
 

SmokyMtnGrady

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Congrats on the new boat! I like the Marlin and it is on my wish list for possible bigger Gradys. Lucky!!!!
 

lgusto

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Bukster,

That's definitely the right prop and the reason your boat jumps up on plane. My boat came from Grady with a 17 pitch and was a dog until I went to the 15 pitch. Amazing how much different the right wheel makes. And it would be interesting to see what Kevin's new Marlin shows up with.
 

blancokt

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

devildogdad said:
I recently took delivery of the exact boat. The 300's are great. I am still in the break in period so I do not have any firm numbers for you. The weather down here has been too windy every single weekend so I haven't had a chance to really use her.
I think you will love the 300. It is a big, heavy boat which makes it ride so well, but it does need a bit of horsepower to move it.

I have a 2012, and the only difference I can see is that they changed the brand of dvd player. (came with the boat, I didnt order it). Otherwise not one other difference.

Great to hear you love the Marlin. I am going to take some pics of my new boat this weekend and I will post on Sunday. The weather in the Northeast can get similarly windy, so I am optimistic I will be happy with the new boat over my existing 257. Good to hear there are no material changes in the 2012 model. I can't wait for Spring. Where do you do your boating/fishing? Sounds like you are in the Southern US, but just curious? Thanks to all for the wonderful feedback.
 

blancokt

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Here are some fresh pictures of the new 2011 Marlin under shrink wrap. Let me know what you all think. Is it April yet?

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Fishtales

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Congrats on the 300. I think you will really like the boat. I moved from a 282 to the 300 and found it to be much heavier and substancial. I can only say it felt like moving from a boat to a yacht. Amazing the difference between the ride given that it is only 2 feet.

If you look at the curves on GW website, you can get the performance information. The 300s look a bit better in mid rpm range for the mph than the 250s, but I can say that the 250s are fine on the boat too. Good luck with her!
 

devildogdad

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

I am on the west coast of Florida but the weather never seems to cooperate. Will you putting a Christmas tree in there so you can spen more time on her until spring :mrgreen:
 

Gman25

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Looks GREAT!! Congrats..your gonna love it! Im glad to see they finally changed the design on the rear deck above the genset to allow easy fold up access :goodjob

'05 300 Marlin w/F250's
 

blancokt

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

devildogdad said:
I am on the west coast of Florida but the weather never seems to cooperate. Will you putting a Christmas tree in there so you can spen more time on her until spring :mrgreen:
Now that is a great idea. I need to think about that. Maybe wire my little Honda generator and light up the tree. :)
 

Motivator

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Re: Just purchased a 2011 GW 300 Marlin

Beautiful Boat...to bad we can't smell the newness as well.