On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 05:55:15 GMT, bo jangles wrote:

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 17:19:41 -0500, John H
wrote:

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 20:38:26 GMT, bo jangles wrote:

Thanks Tom and John H for taking the time to reply. A local dealer
handles Trophy which appears to be OK and I've located a 2 year old
Grady White for what appears to be a reasonable price. I shouldn't
have so many choices - reminds me of buying my first stereo system!

Well, let us know what you come up with. Tell us more about the Grady. I've
talked to a couple Trophy owners, and they have seemed pretty satisfied. I like
Grady's, but think they are ridiculously priced.

Well, the Grady is an 18' 2003 with full electronics, trailer, and 4
stroke Yamaha for about the same price as a 19' Trophy.

Just took in the boat show in (near) DC and saw what appeared to be
a decent alternative for my needs. It was a 21' Sea Fox with
GPS/depth and VHF, trailer, Merc 150 optimax and other options for
significantly less than the 21' Trophy. Any ideas on this boat??
Only other "good deal" boat I saw were several Sea Pros but little
things like funky locker handles etc. made me a bit leery - but 2
lookers commented that their friends that had them thought they were
good boats. Anyone???

Sea Fox and Sea Pro used to be different boats, but they are both
owned by Sea Pro who is now a part of Brunswick who owns Mercury.

I've had the opportunity to look at one up close and personal - a tree
fell on it and the owner and insurance company opted to repair the
boat and replace the engine - it was fairly new. The shop that I hang
out in did all the repair work.

They are nicely built boats - solid - this was not a small tree. It
rides ok - I'm was not terribly happy with the hull shape as it takes
time to come up on plane and the ride was acceptable. The boat is
fairly stable - I'm kind of a big guy and when I stood on the gunwale
the boat tilted and I could make it bounce, but it took some effort.
As a comparison, I can stand on the gunwale of my Ranger and it won't
move at all.

You didn't mention if it was a cuddy cabin or center console. The one
I played with was a cuddy cabin model. The cabin had a reasonable
amount of cabin space, but I thought it was a little cramped. Then
again, not a lot of people are 6'3" and 250 either.

You could do worse than a Sea Fox. It's not a top of the line boat
but then it's not exactly the pits either.

It's a good choice if money is a consideration.

Later,

Tom