quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
That dual console I posted is damn close to being my perfect boat. If it was 21 feet and had a bench across the back or a little more seating I would be sold on Grady White. I love the idea of having a 300hp Yamaha outboard rather than a V8 Mercury I/O.

Here's what you really want...It's a 21 footer, AND it's kinda in your neck of the woods - 2019 Grady-White Freedom 215

https://www.boattrader.com/boa...freedom-215-8953383/

It's NOT cheap, but it's VERY Nice!

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Here's what you really want...It's a 21 footer, It's NOT cheap, but it's VERY Nice!

That is a very nice ride. Motor is sized appropriately as is the gas tank. I do believe it will sell quickly. 4 year old boats are valued higher today than when they were new, which is insane.
Billy

A friend of ours has a 25’ Chaparral with that the Yamaha 250 that is on the Grady White posted just above and we hit just over 50 knots (assuming that was the measure of speed showing) with six adults aboard and our stuff.

This was on the calm day with smooth water.

On a another outing with rougher water it rode nicely on the bay (Wildwood Crest, NJ) with some decent chop on the water and capably handled the ~3’ +/- 1’ swells out on the ocean, just off-shore.

We wanted to stay out on the ocean a bit longer but my wife was starting to turn green and looked like she was about to barf.

I bought a New Bayliner 175 with the Mercruiser 3.0 back in 2004. Didnt have a big budget at that time so it was the best I could get. The quality was actually pretty good and I had years of problem free boating with it (I only ran it in freshwater lakes and it was stored in a garage). I sold it for almost as much as I paid, mainly because I kept it mint.

I probably would avoid buying a used one as there is so much wood in them, if they are left wet all the time they can rot out faster than the other brands with more synthetics or better encapsulation.

I am looking at new Yamaha's as I like the idea of twin engines in their 22 foot,along with their spacious interior because of the low profile jet engines.

I would pick the Grady White, good quality plus the outboard.


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quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
That dual console I posted is damn close to being my perfect boat. If it was 21 feet and had a bench across the back or a little more seating I would be sold on Grady White. I love the idea of having a 300hp Yamaha outboard rather than a V8 Mercury I/O.

Here's what you really want...It's a 21 footer, AND it's kinda in your neck of the woods - 2019 Grady-White Freedom 215

https://www.boattrader.com/boa...freedom-215-8953383/

It's NOT cheap, but it's VERY Nice!

Oh man. What a boat! I was 100% sold until I saw the price. I could buy a fleet of Regal 2100 LCR’s for the price of that Grady White. Dammit that thing is expensive. It is perfect though.

If the price was of no consideration that is the boat I would buy.

I could buy about 7-8 Regal boats I’ve been considering for the price of that GW.

Some mentioned Stingray, I had a 23’6 center console with a 250 Suzuki. The boat had a lot of bang for bucks, rode great. Could seat 10 and had everything you could want on it. I sold it because it was too big for the wife and I. Ended up with a Tidewater 21 bay boat which does the intercoastal better. https://stingrayboats.com/models/#dualconsoles

Yeah, at nearly 50% more than the 19 footer, that Freedom 215 certainly does leave one with sticker shock! That's quite a premium for 50 HP and an add'l two feet in length! Of course it does have upgraded (and much better!) seating, an upgraded deck and a bunch of accessories the Freedom 192 does not, plus it comes with a trailer!

That said, based on your last post it seems there's still a pretty huge delta between the price of the Regal and the 19' Grady-White anyway, even w/o considering the cost of a trailer! So much so, it's really not a fair comparison between the two. Regardless, even if the add'l cost for the Grady-White can be justified, it means nothing if the budget can't justify it. The price of admission on the Grady-White(s) comes at a substantial premium, which 'could' require one to consider divesting themselves of some other toys in order to get a seat at the helm. Hmmm, decisions decisions...

Anyway, you might be surprised to know that Grady-White is quite well known in Northern New England. Their boats have a VERY good reputation and an extremely loyal following among fisherman up here, especially those that fish for Striped Bass, a.k.a. 'Stripers'. Honestly, I didn't even know they made dual console boat until I read your OP. Of course then I went down the rabbit hole to see this previously unknown to me offering from Grady-White.

All that said, my initial thoughts after reading your OP still seem valid...While the Grady-White may be a better boat, that Regal may be a better boat for your family. Good luck in your quest!

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Oh man. What a boat! I was 100% sold until I saw the price. I could buy a fleet of Regal 2100 LCR’s for the price of that Grady White. Dammit that thing is expensive. It is perfect though.

If the price was of no consideration that is the boat I would buy.

I could buy about 7-8 Regal boats I’ve been considering for the price of that GW.

Yeah... I might be able to justify spending that much if I lived on the water and it was something I was going to use almost every day like you do a car. But for occasional use, trailering it to lakes, I think the Regal will meet the needs/desires of your family.

87,000 dollars? Yikes. I had no idea a boat under 20 feet could cost that much. Better to have friends with boats and give them gas money. 87,000, I thought that had to be a typo.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
87,000 dollars? Yikes. I had no idea a boat under 20 feet could cost that much. Better to have friends with boats and give them gas money. 87,000, I thought that had to be a typo.

All boats have had insane prices the last several years. If you want to see crazy, go look at 21-23 foot wakeboard boats. A top of the line Nautique is pushing 300k. But if that’s not special enough, you can order a custom Pavati for $400k+


Hell, many pontoons are north of $100k these days.

quote:

Originally posted by jgerge222:
Stickman: Do you know how they get the boats up on those wooden runners/skids shown with the Grady White? Don't want to derail your thread, just interested in how it is done.

They store boats that way at marinas.
https://youtu.be/1mZnPTY7kxI

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:

quote:

Originally posted by chbibc:
Forgive me in advance for muddying the waters, but have you considered Chapparral or Stingray?

Also, do you have a preference for outboard or I/O? (I think I see both types in your photos).

That being said I like Regal and Grady White over Bayliner.

Yeah I’ve considered Chaparral and have looked at a few of them. They are $$$$ but they are great boats. My preference is for outboard personally but as a fun family lake boat that will be used for tubing and cruising on lakes we would be fine with an I/O as long as it isn’t Volvo Penta.

The 5.0 fuel injected Mercury I/O that is in that Regal should work perfect for our intended purpose of fun on the many lakes I live near.

I really don’t see us taking it out on the ocean, the prospect of towing it 5 hours to the coast is not at all appealing.

I love the Grady White we looked at but I can’t help but wonder if something like that Regal might be a better fit for my family. The Regal 2100 LCR is certainly more affordable and allows us to get a bigger boat for our money and they seem to have a good reputation.

You'll find just as many, perhaps more, that won't own a Merc engine as won't own a Volvo.

IMO, boat engines are all good and they're all bad. Getting good performance and life out of one than is more a factor of meticulous maintenance than the name on the side.

quote:

Originally posted by KDR:

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
87,000 dollars? Yikes. I had no idea a boat under 20 feet could cost that much. Better to have friends with boats and give them gas money. 87,000, I thought that had to be a typo.

All boats have had insane prices the last several years. If you want to see crazy, go look at 21-23 foot wakeboard boats. A top of the line Nautique is pushing 300k. But if that’s not special enough, you can order a custom Pavati for $400k+

Hell, many pontoons are north of $100k these days.

Those Nautiques are just RIDICULOUS...For half the price (maybe a little more for a nicely appointed one), you could have a Scout 240 Dorado!

For your drooling pleasure...

Some of this guys vids are a kick.

Ok you guys who mentioned Chaparral and Cobalt, I found one interesting prospect from each of those brands not too far way too. I’m not having too much luck finding a 21-23ft bow rider with an outboard as they seem to be mostly newer boats with that set up and in the $30-45k+ range.

Ideally I’d like to get something around $12-20k but might spend more for a 250-300hp Yamaha outboard hanging off a beautiful bow rider.

Im in the process of kicking a hell of a cold that sapped my energy bad but as soon as I get back to feeling good again I am sooooooooooooo looking forward to looking at some bow riders.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: stickman428,

Both Sea Fox and Sea Hunt have some nice bow riders. Both mid tier boats

Don’t be afraid to look at slightly older pursuits, Whalers or Everglades (upper tier builders)

This is my first boat. I still have it but my family has outgrown it and she needs a bit of TLC. It’s a fun boat and served me well as an Elizabeth River runabout.

I need to get it restored.

There is no way I’m getting my wife and four kids on this and being safe and having fun but for days when it’s just me and one or two other people it’s a blast.

If you were a good friend and you asked for my honest opinion on that Regal, I would say:

“That’s the worst looking boat I ever saw. You buy a boat like that, I bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh?” Al Czervik

How about the 2200 LSR instead?

Really, you need to get out and look at some boats.

I ran a Four Winns H1 OB with a Yamaha F150 for 30 miles in 1-2’ chop on Charlotte Harbor today. My 13 year old son and his friend were with me and we had plenty of room in the cockpit. We didn’t even take the bow cover off. It was my first time on this boat. With the outboard, there was plenty of room for a family of 5. You’d lose a ton of space with an I/O. On the other hand, an IO would have a larger, unobstructed swim platform.

Looks are subjective. I like the funky windshield and stepped hull. The new Regal bow riders are gorgeous but I’m not spending $40-50k on a boat that’s gonna get torn up by kids.

This one is about the same price as the Regal but the layout is a little different inside.

^^^I like that one. The Regal 2200 has the stepped hull and I thought I saw some for under $30k. For example, this one in Texas for $19,750 with 55 hours on its Mercruiser 5.0 MPI: Link.