Canadian Yachting - April 2011

Length
Length Overall
Beam
Weight
Fuel Capacity
Water Capacity
Waste Capacity
Base Price

33' 6"/10.21 m 35' 10"/10.92 m 11' 7"/3.53 m 14,577 lb. /6612 kg 350 gal./1325 L 44 gal./ 166 L 10 gal./ 37. 91 L $380,000

Test boat provided by Grady-White Boats
www.gradywhite.com
Price quoted by Capstan Marine
www.capstanmarine.com

Yamaha 350 V8s. Those were simply fabulous: smooth, quiet and powerful yet economical too. They are still a great choice, but the twin Yamaha 300 hp V6s hit 44. 6 mph, cruised at a brisk yet economical 29. 9 mph revving 4200 while getting 1.25 US mpg according to Grady-White. The standard 350 US gal (1325 liter) fuel tank offers plenty of offshore range at cruising speeds.

Remember this is a relatively large cruiser with a very social bridge area, a spacious cockpit, and a cozy but accommodating cabin with standup head, well-equipped galley and even a mid-cabin to expand the sleeping accommodations. The rig weighs in around 14,500 lbs. with fuel, gear and passengers.

Last year, we were impressed by the lusty performance the twin Yamaha F350s delivered but the new V6s felt almost as quick in the hardtop version. The F300A V6s are a totally new design from Yamaha with big 4.2 liter displacement and Yamaha’s next-generation engine block featuring plasma-fused sleeveless cylinder walls for the lightest weight in their class.

As we noted last year, compared to inboard or sterndrive power, the Yamaha F300A, 300 hp outboards offer worthwhile benefits. Instead of the complexity of inboard mounted engines, the outboards are much lighter, fully self-con-

Grady-White put the emphasis on the cockpit and exterior areas for family fishing action but the full fiberglass inner liner and well-proportioned spaces make this an effective and comfortable cabin. The teak and holly flooring adds a nautical feel.

tained units that can be tilted to minimize corrosion and fouling problems.

All the mechanical complexity is outside of the boat leaving much more interior space. When running, engine vibration, exhaust and noise are left behind although the hardtop does reflect a little more noise than the original Express version did.

The new F300A Yamaha V6s have fully electronic controls with a single key for the two engines and a “Start All” button. Press that and both engines instantly spring to life. They idle silently, the gear change is quiet but positive and dockside handling is fairly easy with the

This transom fish box is huge and features a gasketed lid and gas struts to keep it open as you slam in a trophy-sized game fish. That’s what the Grady-White people had in mind when they designed this fast express cruiser but the boat is very adaptable to many other uses, especially with the new enclosed hardtop.

twin engines plus our test boat had an optional bow thruster to make things even easier.

Out on the open water, the Grady White hull design delivers remarkable turning ability and its seaworthiness in big water is well-proven. We ran through a little ocean chop around Biscayne Bay in Miami and we barely noticed it.