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Ok boys - just crazy Scott again.

I have an opportunity to pick up a 1986 Outrage 25 Center Console Cuddy with twin 1999 Mercury 150's - Lets just say it would be a good deal.

To pull this off I would need to sell (not to buy but I couldn't keep both) my 1992 Grady White 25 Dolphin with twin Yamaha 200's - For those who don't know the Dolphin model its a Sailfish Hull with the smaller Gulfstream Cabin.

We primarily lift keep this boat and use it for inshore and bay fishing and some cruising. At the end of the day I would be putting some money in the bank if I made this switch. I got a killer deal on the Grady too.

Anyone have any positive or negatives associated with this kind of swap. The one negative I can think of is my Grady offers a nice enclosed driving area under the hardtop and full walk around fishing access.

Whaler is an 8 foot beam - Grady is 9'6" Beam.

Im open for suggestions, comments... or just tell me Im nuts. :D:D

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One more thing - Outrage is NOT whaler drive - My Grady is bracketed.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/sraab928/Grady%20White/S6000801.jpg[/IMG]

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Being as how I'm kinda ignorant about Grady and boats in general, I have a couple questions that may or may not help.

Are the people on Grady websites as cool as the people on this one?
Does your Grady have a bunch of cool looking wood like the classic Whalers?

I looked at a couple of Outrage Cuddys when I was looking but decided to go with the open Outrage. Also, Mike just cut the cuddy off of his Outrage.

I'm trying to be helpful. Hope I'm not just being annoying. :|

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Not annoying at all......

Lets see - The Grady site is ok - its just not the same as here.

The grady has some wood - but mostly its fake. It does have the new SeaV2 Hull which rides like a tank. The cuddy is primarily a potty room for the wife and kids. My kids do like to go hang out in there when its not too hot as well. You can stand - barely - in the Grady cabin. Not sure of the Whaler cabin as I have only seen the boat - havent gotten to crawl all over it yet - hoping to do that tomorrow.

As you can see from my signature - I love boats - I really love Whalers... and this is the one reason I am considering this. With that said I do love my Grady too. She is a real nice boat, great ride, excellent fishing layout.
Keep em coming.

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Sounds like you really like the Grady and it appears to suit your needs by your description...My buddy has a 27 Grady Sailfish. It is a nice boat but he goes offshore with me in my 25 Outrage. His complaint with the Grady is the poor wiring and the plastic trim that has cracked or come loose. Other then that his boat is very nice, very beamy and now has new electronics.

Regarding a 25 Outrage with cuddy, the cuddy is pretty tight. No room to stand, you'll have to crouch down. Nice storage space and the V-berth is nice to lay down on. You can get a small porta pottie that will fit inside the cuddy, and slide under the deck into the storage area (out of the way). Going forward of the cuddy will not be as easy as your Grady. While the cuddy is very strong its a little awkward to move across. Anchoring was abit of a chore but not impossible. If your boat has the bow pulpit may be much easier, don't know. The seam around the cuddy cap and forward gunnel may leak abit into the cabin but was not a big deal. I primarily fish so the cuddy on my 25 was mainly for rod storage and powernaps...Now that its removed, I prefer the open bow as it suits my fishing needs even more, and the boat feels bigger...

The 25 Outrage - Cuddy is a rare model and always gets looks and compliments but if you really use the cuddy on your Grady the cuddy on the Outrage maybe a disappointment. You'll miss the closed transom on your Grady as well........

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Sounds like tough decision. My two cents worth...

25' Outrage is a great fishing boat. In Texas, many of the cuddy cabins have been removed to improve fishing capabilities. I have never owned a cuddy because I was only interested in the open center console. Does the one your looking at have a T-Top? Some shade is nice on the hot summer days.

Grady White's are good boats as well. My guess is your wife and kids might prefer the Grady if they like the cabin.

Let us know what you decide.

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Its a tough choice. I do love my Grady. I know I would miss the closed transom but to be honest I am not a huge fan of the bracketed outboards. They are a bit harder to handle in close quarters, the motors definitely take a lot of water to the back if you need to slow down from plane quickly and working a fish around them can be a pain. With that said the cockpit space is amazing and the lockers across the transom are a welcome addition.

I am taking my family to look at the 25 this afternoon on our way down to Ocean City. I guess that will be the tell tale moment. We plan on crawling all around her and getting a feel for her.

She does not have a T-Top - I would be adding one - She does have some goofy setup with bars sticking straight up from the console and one bar going from side to side - Not sure what that is all about - She says there is a Bimini - but I wouldn't want a Bimini on the center console as that negates good fishing access.

Thanks for all the posts - I do appreciate input. I will be making this decision this weekend. I still welcome any input until then.

Thanks!

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The bars on the center console might be part of an old "removable" T-Top. I looked at a 25' in Galveston that had one.

Wise move letting the family/kids crawl around on it. Of course, my kids wanted the 46' Bertram because climbing on the tuna tower was fun.

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The Outrage with twin 150's should be more economical to run vs the Grady with twin 200's..Probably easier to trailer too with Outrage 8' beam vs Grady 9' 6" beam...Just a thought.

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Scott,

I even though would you rig the 200 yamahas on the whaler and sell the Grady with the mercs?

Sorry we keep playing phone tag today. Last I checked you're it though.

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Well guys.. sorry for putting you all through this... I took someones word for the condition of the boat and well lets just say I wont be doing that again anytime soon.

For starters Im not sure the layout of the boat will work for us. You are all correct - The cabin takes up alot of forward space and offers very little room. Its really quite deceiving to be honest. Lets put that aside for the moment. The boat was a mess. The hull would need to be completely reconditioned. It was on a roller trailer which was trash. The Mercs were a mismatched pair - Different cowling decals - and the lower units were a different too - I assume maybe they were different years. I popped the inspection plate for the gas tank to find water all the way up to the plate - I cant imagine that is a good sign for the tank to be sitting submerged in water like that. The wiring was a mess, wood a mess steering wasnt working and god knows what else.

TexasOutrage - you were right - it was a removable t-top - The frame work was there - the canvas was in shreds.

As some of you may already know - Im currently working on two project whalers - I simply just dont have the time for a third project (boat was told to me as turn key beautiful condition). My Grady is turn key and beautiful. When I told my son what I was thinking I thought he was gonna kill me. He's like, Dad your gonna give up our Grady for this piece of junk? I wont let you! - At 11 he already knows it all...LOL.

Well thanks guys! Im sure this wont be the last time this happen - but it is nice to know you are all here to support a fellow addict in need.

Jeff - Thanks for calling back - it was great to talk to you. After dinner we took a nice cruise on the Grady - it was beautiful out. We will talk soon about the solution for the hull blister problem. No rush. Thanks!

Here is a pretty pic from last weekends early morning fishing trip.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/sraab928/Grady%20White/0608080604.jpg[/IMG]

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Scott,

Sounds like you made the right choice. On a positive note atleast you went to check it out and really see the layout of a 25 Outrage-Cuddy. Sounds like an odd ball boat with different engines. It may have been pieced together or a victim of an engine theft? Has this experience turned you off the 25 Outrage all together?

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seabob,

I am sorry you were led astray and wasted your time to go look at junk. To look on the bright side, at least you were able to understand the layout of the 25 Outrage Cuddy.

Definatley, a beautiful Grady is the keeper- good call on not picking up a semi-trash boat, even if it is Whaler 25. Its way more fun to use a nice boat than work on a junk boat.

Doug

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Now you understand why the boat was such a "good deal". I looked at a few dogs before I found my Whaler. It is amazing how some people abuse their boats.

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Well I cannot blame the seller on this one - I had a basic piece of paper with features and a picture. The paper was given to me by someone who said it was a nice boat and could be had for a song. The lady recently lost her husband and knows nothing about the boat - He husband had bought it last year and then took ill and the boat has just sat. I hold no ill feelings towards the seller or the person who lead me to it at all as neither of them are boating people. He was just trying to help someone out who needed help. Its all good no empathy required. I just got myself all excited and thats my fault, I should have taken the situation into account before involving my emotions.

I dont think a 25 Outrage would be a good replacement for my Grady - I think a 27 Full cabin might do or a 31 - They are the two that would give me the kind of cockpit space I have now. I enjoy my larger beam - I only trailer it twice a year - other than that it sits on a boat lift behind my shore house.

Thanks again for being such a great group of guys & gals. I truly love this site and what its about.