captmike28
Well-Known Angler
Roccus makes a number of good points about Outboard powered hulls and I do agree with them too. Total disclosure here, I owned and fished in 2 different Grady 's for a total of 25 years. The 24' I mentioned earlier was the traditional, classic design with the cut out transom, a drop down splash well and a reasonable amount of room to fish around either side of the single engine. Next I bought an I/O Grady 25 thinking I needed to have a full transom to keep the constant wave action out of the cockpit while drifting the Gut and the Race. Although it kept my feet dry I have to admit it was the worst choice I ever made in terms of restricting the overall cockpit space and mucho expensive on some repairs.
However, as space consuming as the I/O was, once again, I have to agree with Roccus in regards to the current generation twin console boats with the eurotransoms. While I do love Grady's a lot (obviously), last summer I was invited on a friend's 275 Dual Console and was shocked to see how little actual deck space there was on a vessel with almost the same LOA as my Albin. First the transom with the live well and fold up seat made it tough to fish directly off the stern. Then he had the combo sink/tackle center in the cockpit barely enough room for 3 anglers there.. Moving forward you have the molded in seats in the bow with a fairly narrow channel between them. So, fishing the bow I had to stretch my arms out uncomfortably far or stand on the seats to get close to the water. This guy is a pretty hard core fisherman who used to charter with me but I do know he now does a lot of other family related activities too. So I guess the compromise was good for his purposes. I also have to say that with twin 250 Yamahas that boat really flies.
Once again, on the side of the outboards it the significant increase in speed one can achieve, assuming you don't mind paying the fuel bill and actually have the sea conditions to allow it.
While I love my boat and it is perfect for it's mission of hard core fishing and charter operation, I must also say I am jealous of your ride, Roccus. It too is perfectly suited to your needs and location. And I sure would love to have your overall cost of operation as compared to my own!
BTW, my rig tops out at 27 kts with the throttle firewalled and that only happens once a season as I check her out on the spring shakedown run. I am very comfy cruising along at 17 kts.
However, as space consuming as the I/O was, once again, I have to agree with Roccus in regards to the current generation twin console boats with the eurotransoms. While I do love Grady's a lot (obviously), last summer I was invited on a friend's 275 Dual Console and was shocked to see how little actual deck space there was on a vessel with almost the same LOA as my Albin. First the transom with the live well and fold up seat made it tough to fish directly off the stern. Then he had the combo sink/tackle center in the cockpit barely enough room for 3 anglers there.. Moving forward you have the molded in seats in the bow with a fairly narrow channel between them. So, fishing the bow I had to stretch my arms out uncomfortably far or stand on the seats to get close to the water. This guy is a pretty hard core fisherman who used to charter with me but I do know he now does a lot of other family related activities too. So I guess the compromise was good for his purposes. I also have to say that with twin 250 Yamahas that boat really flies.
Once again, on the side of the outboards it the significant increase in speed one can achieve, assuming you don't mind paying the fuel bill and actually have the sea conditions to allow it.
While I love my boat and it is perfect for it's mission of hard core fishing and charter operation, I must also say I am jealous of your ride, Roccus. It too is perfectly suited to your needs and location. And I sure would love to have your overall cost of operation as compared to my own!
BTW, my rig tops out at 27 kts with the throttle firewalled and that only happens once a season as I check her out on the spring shakedown run. I am very comfy cruising along at 17 kts.
