What's too old to consider?

[Timbo54]

I'm in the market for a used Grady-white dual console in the 20'-23' range. Freedom, or Tournament would work. My question is with regards to age, what would you consider too old to for you to consider purchasing? Also, not looking for a project boat. Thank you.

-Tim

 

[dingbat]

I'm in the market for a used Grady-white dual console in the 20'-23' range. Freedom, or Tournament would work. My question is with regards to age, what would you consider too old to for you to consider purchasing? Also, not looking for a project boat. Thank you.

-Tim

Not sure what year they started building the Freedom and Tournament, but anything older than 1992. The year Grady went to the SeaV2 hull

 

[mr 88]

Not sure what year they started building the Freedom and Tournament, but anything older than 1992. The year Grady went to the SeaV2 hull

I think you meant anything newer than 1992 . The GW is known for having bad transoms , possible stringer issues and gas tanks replacement as well. So buyer beware , survey should be done depending on your hull knowledge. Facebook has a Grady Life- Grady White Owners Club ,,,Grady White Only groups or names to that effect , spot on specific knowledge there .

 

[Scott Danforth]

My question is with regards to age, what would you consider too old to for you to consider purchasing? Also, not looking for a project boat.

if your not looking for a project, buy a new boat with a warranty.

fiberglass recreational boats are designed to last 15 years with minimal maintenance. yes, while many boats have a service life that is longer, expect to start to have projects at 15 years as systems start to fail.

 

[dingbat]

I think you meant anything newer than 1992 . The GW is known for having bad transoms , possible stringer issues and gas tanks replacement as well. So buyer beware , survey should be done depending on your hull knowledge. Facebook has a few Grady White Only groups or names to that effect , spot on specific knowledge there .

Newer is correct.
Don’t believe everything you read. Lots of envious haters out there...

Im a 30 year, 3 boat Grady owner.
I know where the “bodies” are hidden...lol

While transom where a problem in the 80’s early 90’s, they went to Greenwood (lifetime warranty) in the late 90’s.

Have never seen or heard of soft stringers. Probably misconstrued soft hatch covers as stringer issues.

Great Grady is a good source of information from actual owners like myself.

 

[CapeMarineSurvey]

I'm in the market for a used Grady-white dual console in the 20'-23' range. Freedom, or Tournament would work. My question is with regards to age, what would you consider too old to for you to consider purchasing? Also, not looking for a project boat. Thank you.

-Tim

It all comes down to how well it was taken care of, how many holes/screws an owner might have driven into the hull, and if the owner maintains all the caulking/thru hulls on the vessel. I've seen 30 year old boats in great condition, 10 year old boats in poor condition. I really don't survey any boat older than 25 years now. I used to, but they all end up being cans of worms, with bad news after bad news after bad news etc.

 

[roffey]

My father had a 40 year old boat. It spent its summers in the water and never trailered other than to the marina at years end. He changed the oil but that was it. The boat had bubbles in the fiberglass hull (osmosis) but other than that it was in good condition. What I mean is, as mentioned above its all about condition.

 

[JimS123]

A guy down the street from me bought a brand new boat. The wife didn't like boating. It sat beside the house half uncovered for 5 years with very little use. It looked like crap.

Then one day I see him power polishing, with a friend inside working on the upholstery. Then they changed the oil (probably the first time). On and on. Then they put it in the garage.

I saw the ad in the paper - showroom condition, always garage kept, professional maintenance, yada, yada. It sold in 1 day. I bet the stringers were already half rotten.

You never know. Buy new, enjoy the warranty, take care of it and it'll last a lot longer than 15 years. I know, I know......depreciation. Truth is depreciation is the cost of personal satisfaction and peace of mind.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

To old you say, somethings never die..1983 Glastron GT....007.5

 

[Captain Caveman]

The inner-teenager in me wants to cow-tip that boat.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

The inner-teenager in me wants to cow-tip that boat.

Actually, the correct description would be Skiff. quite an elegant solution to the "No Wake" issue i must say.

 

[Scott Danforth]

The inner-teenager in me wants to cow-tip that boat.

To old you say, somethings never die..1983 Glastron GT....007.5View attachment 330440

The inner-child in me wants to jump the thing over a levee....... at speed.

 

[Grub54891]

If you can't fix it yourself, its to old.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

The inner-child in me wants to jump the thing over a levee....... at speed.

LAMO..well she is only 1000 lbs 16' feet and extremely shallow to sit in, going airborne would mean a high probability of the wet wallet phenom and more than probably knee surgery pulling your teeth out of them.
She's quite resilient on glassy water make no mistakes, I've place a 70hp johnson on her and a 4blade SS, just enough hp and lift for her to give her tail a sassy little wiggle at wot.

 

[Texasmark]

To old you say, somethings never die..1983 Glastron GT....007.5View attachment 330440

I heard that they bought 20 of these boats from Glastron in Austin, Tx. (was stationed there when they were in production....the co., not necessarily that boat) to shoot the Bond film. Didn't get up on how many it took to do the job. If you just want to sport around, maybe with a cuddle bug across from you, that is one beauitiful boat.

 

[tpenfield]

I'm in the market for a used Grady-white dual console in the 20'-23' range. Freedom, or Tournament would work. My question is with regards to age, what would you consider too old to for you to consider purchasing? Also, not looking for a project boat. Thank you.

-Tim

The Freedom line is fairly new, so age may not be a problem. Not sure about the Tournament line.

There is a small forest in each Grady-White and in the early 2000's they started using pressure treated wood panels (Greenwood XL) in their production. Still, there can be moisture issues, but at least the newer ones (2004 ish and newer) won't rot away on you.

I would go 2005 and newer.

FWIW - A few years ago my brother intended to get a 33 foot Grady, and his budget put him in the 1998-2000 model years. He had several boats surveyed and each one had some water retention issues. He finally got a 2010 Grady 305 for a bit more $$$.