[Dave M]

I have a 1991 GradyOffshore 242GT, Ive heard that that Hydras have a better ride in my waters (Tampa Bay) and gulf.
Im talking Walk-around cuddys

What do you guys think?

Give Up Fishing ...Nah

[Keyskid]

I used to own a 25 Grady walk around. I now have a HS 25' center console. The HS is top notch.

"Everyone should believe in something. I believe I will go fishing" --- Henry David Thoreau
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[robalocc]

I have a 1991 hydra sports 2500 walkaround,like I mentioned before I fished many times on friends grady 25.There truly is no comparison in the ride, hydra sports hands down,Like keyskid said they are top notch.

Fish on !!

[Montauk Joe]

The Hydra-Sports Vector series has the best hull if you want a deep-V and a smoother ride.

[moklodge]

All the Grady's you've mentioned are the old hulls, not the newer Ray Hunt designs. The HS may have ridden better then, but not anymore. The JD survey shows that HS owners were not very satisfied with the ride. Maybe hyped up a little?

[robalocc]

Moklodge, the survey also takes the sea horse line in consideration.We are talking vector hulls the older hydra sports were only vectors.I would take the older vector hull (as far as ride goes) over any new or used grady in the same length.just my .02

Fish on !!

[Mako Madness]

An excerp from Power Boat Reports:

We sea-trialed the 2800WA at the Miami International Boat Show in February. Conditions were moderate—about a 2-foot chop in the channel, with a swell of about the same height in the ocean. Government Cut was closed for security reasons, so we ran through a channel just to the south to reach open water.

Our crew of four endured an unpleasant amount of pounding throughout our sea trial. The boat came down hard, and we heard a good deal of rattling and shaking. We were surprised, because on paper the boat appears to have the makings of a smooth-riding monohull. Its waterline length-to-waterline beam ratio is about 4:1. Deadrise at the transom is 23 degrees. Deadrise amidships—which is critical since that’s where the boat lands on the water—is 26 degrees.

Our rough ride surprised Sid Lanier, who designed the boat for OMC about three years ago. “The boat’s solid as a rock,” said Lanier, a naval architect. “It has more deadrise from stem to stern than most boats of its kind.”

Lanier offered an explanation. He said the boat doesn’t like to run with everything tucked in—with the tabs up and the drives down. But we operated it with tabs (mounted to the hull bottom's integral recessed pockets) and drives in varying positions, and it pounded throughout.


Mako Madness
www.sfmoc.org

[DOUBLE DOWN]

It takes a little bit of experience with the big Hydra walkarounds to know how to drive them. Wiley could have given those guys a better sea trial for the article. I know I would rather have those deep vee W/A than the flat bottom W/A like pro line or Scout. That being said, the Grady 33 was a better ride than the 339 Intrepid when we ran them in April.

[Mr MOT]

Was there another model besides the vector series built in the mid 1990's say maybe 1995 or 1996? I know they began using the neptune hulls which became the seahorse line but that wasn't until about 1998. Was there another line of Hydra-Sports hulls besides the vector built in the mid 1990's?

[chiefmike58]

Dave M, I find the original statement very hard to believe.

25grady

[kingrafter]

Mako how fast were they going? I've owned and been in both Grady and Hydra-sports boats and the HS has a far better ride. The hardest thing I've had to deal with on my new HS is to slow down. A 2' chop will beat you to death at 39 knots. Also a 3' swell at the same speed will launch the boat making for uncomfortable ride. If I slow down to a Gradys pace the ride is much more pleasent. The nice thing about my HS is that I'm not straining the moters to ride at these speeds even when I'm loaded down. Where is the report on a similar Grady on the same day at the same speeds. Your response is very one sided. Any one whose been in both boats will say the same. THere are other features that make Gradys more attractive to people ride isn't one of them. Bo [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] th are great boats and I'd be proud and happy to have either.