thinking of buying a 1989 25' sailfish with twin 2003 yamaha 200's on a bracket looking to do both inshore and up two 75 miles offshore can some one tell me how it rides, handles in rough seas is there any problems with older grady's like stringer rot or anything of that sorts. and what kind of fuel mileage do they roughly get any info you could share about this boat would be great as this will be my first grady thanks for the help shawn
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thinking of buying a 1989 25' sailfish could use some input
- Thread starter firstnten
- Start date
fearnofish
Active Member
i have a 1990 with 2001 mercs not optimax i get around 1.3 mpg full load full tank, ice,gear,bait, 4guys etc. it can pound in a head sea tons of cockpit space. check for rot in the stringers and at the helm bulkhead i had a bit but replaced it. also change the plastic through hulls to bronze a bit of a pain the butt. over all i love it. i put in new bolsters recessed all electronics in starboard. New seats looks awesome. cruise at 4000 does 29kts WOT 48
richie rich
Well-Known Member
I have an 88 and even though its not a SV2 hull...it still works great....I get around 1mpg loaded but only do around 30+ MPH as I have twin 150's not 200's.....with any old boat, the stringers and transom will come into play at some point....replacement of the wood structure as well as the gas tanks will come to fruition sooner rather than later, so get a good price for it and plan accordingly....other than that...its a great fishing boat!
JeffN
Well-Known Member
I have an '83 and love it. Mine does not have OBs so I can't comment on fuel use. I have found the hull to ride fine. I repowered for the '07 season and had to have the transom replaced so check all the areas mentioned in the above posts. The holes for the cockpit drains had never been sealed from the factory and caused leakage. Older boats require more work but if you are handy and enjoy that part of ownership the Sailfish is a great boat to put the effort into.
lewis_levin
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Yet another example of poor construction and non-existent Q/C. Grady drills a hole through the plywood cored transom (nothing wrong with that--it's strong) but fails to seal the edges of the holes to seal the core.
Tell me again why anyone thinks Grady-Whites are well built? This is the pro-Grady forum (unlike The Hull Truth) and the forum is full of cases of serious construction quality lapses.
My experience with Grady customer service is they brush off these problems and say it doesn't matter:
I pointed out unglassed plywood stringers below the cockpit sole; A: Well, you know that's not where water is supposed to be... ....anyway it was "sprayed" with resin before it went in." (Grady customer service) Seriously, that was the repy--water is not supposed to be in the bilge. Well, the point of proper construction is when water does get into "places it is not supposed to be"--which it will--then no damage will be done.
I pointed out delamination in the covers over the fuel tanks. A: "Well, the hull structural warranty doesn't apply to that--it's not structural. Besides, if it's not flexing it doesn't matter so don't worry about it." (Grady customer service) Just deny there is a problem and make sure there are no warranty claims--that's the Grady way.
I pointed out the risks of a cutaway transom with 8" of freeboard above the waterline and suggested that perhaps the "gate" could be more secure and gasketed for safety. A: "Have you ever had any water actually come over? We've never had a problem with it." (a Grady dealer) Evidently Grady has had a problem with cutaway transoms because on newer designs they have replaced the cutaway with a motor well and full transom, even on smaller boats like the Tournament 195, which has an excellent transom design. So, the good news here is that over the long haul Grady makes meaningful improvements in the boats. I have gasketed the transom gate on my 226 and will replace the hinged folding gate with a drop board that can't just be pushed open.
Some other boats are worse to be sure, but Grady has cultivated this quality image reinforced mostly by nice folks who answer the phone and who work for Grady at their plant, not outsourced. Having your own employees answer the phone is a very good thing and too few businesses do it, but it doesn't substitute for product quality.
Tell me again why anyone thinks Grady-Whites are well built? This is the pro-Grady forum (unlike The Hull Truth) and the forum is full of cases of serious construction quality lapses.
My experience with Grady customer service is they brush off these problems and say it doesn't matter:
I pointed out unglassed plywood stringers below the cockpit sole; A: Well, you know that's not where water is supposed to be... ....anyway it was "sprayed" with resin before it went in." (Grady customer service) Seriously, that was the repy--water is not supposed to be in the bilge. Well, the point of proper construction is when water does get into "places it is not supposed to be"--which it will--then no damage will be done.
I pointed out delamination in the covers over the fuel tanks. A: "Well, the hull structural warranty doesn't apply to that--it's not structural. Besides, if it's not flexing it doesn't matter so don't worry about it." (Grady customer service) Just deny there is a problem and make sure there are no warranty claims--that's the Grady way.
I pointed out the risks of a cutaway transom with 8" of freeboard above the waterline and suggested that perhaps the "gate" could be more secure and gasketed for safety. A: "Have you ever had any water actually come over? We've never had a problem with it." (a Grady dealer) Evidently Grady has had a problem with cutaway transoms because on newer designs they have replaced the cutaway with a motor well and full transom, even on smaller boats like the Tournament 195, which has an excellent transom design. So, the good news here is that over the long haul Grady makes meaningful improvements in the boats. I have gasketed the transom gate on my 226 and will replace the hinged folding gate with a drop board that can't just be pushed open.
Some other boats are worse to be sure, but Grady has cultivated this quality image reinforced mostly by nice folks who answer the phone and who work for Grady at their plant, not outsourced. Having your own employees answer the phone is a very good thing and too few businesses do it, but it doesn't substitute for product quality.
JeffN
Well-Known Member
Calm down there Lewis/Jimmy! First off take your first opportunity to sell your Grady, you will never be happy with it. Just move on to one of the other boats you have researched. Lot of brands out there and they make boats every day. Plenty of choices.
My boat is 27 years old and all in all I am happy how it has held up. I have owned it since 1987 so I know what I have had to fix. I am around boats quite a bit and have seen how other brands do or don't last. I did have the issue with the transom and if I were to buy another boat of any brand I would probably take apart every and all hull penetrations and redo them. Any production boat would be suspect to me. My boat is getting along in years I have been in rehab mode the last couple of years. I have removed all the cabin windows and put in new "kitty whiskers" and moldings. New plexy in the front cabin windows and recaulked and reinstalled all of them. Redid the teak, changed all the through hulls and hoses which unlike many boats were accessable. I believe I would have had to do this with any brand. What for me sets Grady and a couple of other brands apart from the rest is that personally I would not put the money into just any boat. My boat has seen a lot of use over the years and I have been into almost every area of it. All is sound - there are no bulkheads coming adrift, glass is still good, I don't know of any delaminations at this point, stringers are fine, all the stingers are covered in glass, is the bilge gellcoated - no but I don't think that has effected anything over the years.
I have not shopped for boats in a long time but the last few times I have been to shows I have not been impressed with boat construction. Features Oh yes lots of great features not available when my boat was born. But construction not so much. I was thinking about moving up in the 90's and remember being at a boat show where a high end 31' sport fisheman was displayed. The whole hull had print through and you could see on the outside of the hull where each interior bulkhead was. I have been on late model Gradys and while I have not turned them inside out they seem to present well. One of the big differences between then and now is the wiring. No comparison, todays electrical systems are so much better along with layout and as mentioned above features. For now I am going to putt along with the boat I have but so far I have been happy with it and the quality of the Grady is such that I will continue to maintain and improve the boat and not feel that my money and effort is wasted. Many years ago a friend told me when I was looking at boats to walk down the docks and see what 10 year old boats still looked good and what boats were falling apart. There are lots of good looking old Gradys around at least in my neck of the woods.
And seriously think about moving on you will never be happy with the brand. Go try another, it appears you have done the research and must have favorites. Move on.
My boat is 27 years old and all in all I am happy how it has held up. I have owned it since 1987 so I know what I have had to fix. I am around boats quite a bit and have seen how other brands do or don't last. I did have the issue with the transom and if I were to buy another boat of any brand I would probably take apart every and all hull penetrations and redo them. Any production boat would be suspect to me. My boat is getting along in years I have been in rehab mode the last couple of years. I have removed all the cabin windows and put in new "kitty whiskers" and moldings. New plexy in the front cabin windows and recaulked and reinstalled all of them. Redid the teak, changed all the through hulls and hoses which unlike many boats were accessable. I believe I would have had to do this with any brand. What for me sets Grady and a couple of other brands apart from the rest is that personally I would not put the money into just any boat. My boat has seen a lot of use over the years and I have been into almost every area of it. All is sound - there are no bulkheads coming adrift, glass is still good, I don't know of any delaminations at this point, stringers are fine, all the stingers are covered in glass, is the bilge gellcoated - no but I don't think that has effected anything over the years.
I have not shopped for boats in a long time but the last few times I have been to shows I have not been impressed with boat construction. Features Oh yes lots of great features not available when my boat was born. But construction not so much. I was thinking about moving up in the 90's and remember being at a boat show where a high end 31' sport fisheman was displayed. The whole hull had print through and you could see on the outside of the hull where each interior bulkhead was. I have been on late model Gradys and while I have not turned them inside out they seem to present well. One of the big differences between then and now is the wiring. No comparison, todays electrical systems are so much better along with layout and as mentioned above features. For now I am going to putt along with the boat I have but so far I have been happy with it and the quality of the Grady is such that I will continue to maintain and improve the boat and not feel that my money and effort is wasted. Many years ago a friend told me when I was looking at boats to walk down the docks and see what 10 year old boats still looked good and what boats were falling apart. There are lots of good looking old Gradys around at least in my neck of the woods.
And seriously think about moving on you will never be happy with the brand. Go try another, it appears you have done the research and must have favorites. Move on.
BobP
GreatGrady Captain
- Joined
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Having motor(s) on a transom cutout even a wide cutout like the one on my old Mako 20 footer with only a splashwell doesn't make it unsafe, unless you figure it has to be idiot proof.
A splashing wave at the transom means nothing more than some wet feet.
It's not Grady's fault, just wear boots or get a different boat.
Splash gates are a mistake since they fool people to think they are good as solid bulkheads to stop anything - wrong! That's how the idiots get into trouble.
Look at commercial lobster boats, no transom at all above deck level.
The captain is responsible for his crew and passengers incl young children, and protecting the transom from huge waves overtaking the stern and motor(s). Even the bow of said boat will have a problem in handling those seas. Better off staying at the dock on those days.
A splashing wave at the transom means nothing more than some wet feet.
It's not Grady's fault, just wear boots or get a different boat.
Splash gates are a mistake since they fool people to think they are good as solid bulkheads to stop anything - wrong! That's how the idiots get into trouble.
Look at commercial lobster boats, no transom at all above deck level.
The captain is responsible for his crew and passengers incl young children, and protecting the transom from huge waves overtaking the stern and motor(s). Even the bow of said boat will have a problem in handling those seas. Better off staying at the dock on those days.