Grady White 258 Journey

[Catch Five]

Anybody own or have any experience with this boat? I currently own a 226 Seafarer and absolutely love it! I will never buy anything than a Grady from now on. My dealer is trying to talk me into a leftover 2004 258 with twin 150 4's, but I would like some input before buying this winter. I have a 225 Yammie 4 now and love it, except i need it to troll down a little slower for these monster King Salmon here on Lake Michigan and I think the trolling on a single 150 would do it. Need some input... Thanks

[ocnslr]

Can't address your question directly, but we have a 2002 Islander 270 and looked pretty seriously at the 248 before buying this one.

If that beautiful 258 meets your needs, and the dealer is giving you a good (fair) deal on the move up, then go for it and never look back.

As to the twin F150's, all I can say is that I wish I had them!* Also, a 25-foot boat on our dock (sorry, can't remember model, but a heavy hard top boat) has twin F150's and he loves them.

Brian*

[Sennie II]

I bought this exact rig in May and couldn't be more pleased. I just got back a couple weeks ago from a 106 mile trip to the South Ledge off St Simons Island, GA. We encountered 6-8 seas in the stream and felt safe in the Journey. The fuel economy for this setup in awsome. Did 228 miles that day with 50 % of it in rough seas and only burned 128 gallons of fuel. I have rigged my boat for serious offshore fishing and there is only 1 complaint thus far: The lack of a true fish box. I don't know what GW was thinking when they installed the punny box behind the starboard chair. Any fish over 4' long have to be bent into the box! Other than that this is an great rig.

[NJ208]

I trade up from a Grady 208 to a 258 this spring. The boat is everything I expected and I am very happy with it. I have the twin F150s and they are great. The motors are quite, use very little fuel and have been trouble free so far.

Good Luck

[Catch Five]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sennie, I totally agree with you on the issue of the fish box. I noticed that my 226 has a bigger one than the larger 258! A couple of times this year I've filled my 198 qt box all the way to the top with king salmon, so it looks like I'll need another cooler on board. Other than that, it looks like a great boat. Anybody install outriggers on this boat?

[troll]

All the ones around the coast have outriggers. I cannot speak to great lakes fishing but IMHO the are mandatory on a fishing boat. They make a boat look like it was made to fish (-:

BTW: I agree about GW. They are all I have ever owned (3). Onlhy twin diesels would get me in another brand (Cabo perhaps).

[radioshop]

I wonder why it is Grady won't build an inboard anymore? They had one briefly. A 300 Marlin with twin diesels would be irresistable.

[troll]

They have experimented with diesels but their customers seem to prefer outboards. I never considered a Marlin until the F225s hit the streets a few years ago. Given a choice of diesels I would still take the four bangers. The best comparison I know of is the 30 Pursuit which has a gas, diesel, and an outboard model. The gas is WAY behind but the F225s are very close to the diesels in economy although the diesel fuel is less.

[son of a butcher]

I have the same hull on my 257 with twin F150's and love it