Sunday, July 5, 2026

Grady-White New Web Site

Grady-White presents its new web site.  Grady-White was founded by Glen R. Grady and Don F. White in 1959, two persons of different backgrounds yet similar inspirations.  Glen Grady was a boat builder who made his apprenticeship at Thompson Boats, working first with Racine Boat Works, he will move to Chris-Craft and then at Cruisers Inc in 1953.  Don White started up as a hardware store owner, he expanded into automobile dealerships, then in real estate development building the Holiday Inn in Greenville, and then becoming a boat dealer.  The boat dealership and Don becoming a Cruisers dealer will eventually set a meeting with Glen Grady.  From this first meet things will evolve and in 1958 GandW Boat Inc is created with Don White as President and Glen Grady as the boat builder. In a very short time GandW Boat Inc will become Grady-White Boats as it begins its business in the old Star Warehouse No. 2, a former tobacco storage facility on Albemarle Avenue in Greenville, South Carolina.  As Glen will move from Oconto he will bring Ronald Peterson an alumni at Cruisers as designer and engineer, with Grady-White debuting with the clinker built 17-foot Hatteras, and the 16-foot Pamlico runabouts.  The first four models produced were the 17' Hatteras sold in February 1960, and by that year the company employed 38 persons, launching the 20-foot Atlantic offshore capable boat by the year end, and set up a plan to produce up to one thousand boats a year.  By 1965 Grady-White will be building thirteen models up to the 3300 Caribbean Custom Cruiser, it's biggest model for some decades.  Following financial difficulties in 1968, Grady-White is purchased by Eddie Smith Junior.  In that year Grady-White also debuted its first fiberglass boat with the Capri, a seventeen foot trimaran, this is followed by the 21 Chesapeake and the 21 Nassau.  The seventies are all about transformation for Grady-White as it fully switches to fiberglass construction, with focus staying on entry level runabout fish boats added with integrated creature comforts in the design.  Worth of note Grady-White will in 1978 introduce the Tarpon 190, the first dual-console boat.  In the eighties Grady-White expands its cabin feature sportfish cruising boats, and in 1989 presents the SeaV² hull as designed by Raymond C. Hunt.  For building a bigger boat to the ten meters 3300 Caribbean from the mid sixties Grady-White will have to wait four decades and till 2005 as it debuts the Express 360, overtaken by its evolution the Express 370 in 2014, and its current flagship the Canyon 456 in 2019.  As dual console's boats Grady-White will not only introduce the genre to boating in 1978, but also make it as important as its gets building the biggest dual console with the Freedom 375 in 2014 and the Freedom 415 in 2024.  Today Grady White offers thirty models, divided into five lines; Center Consoles, Dual Consoles, Walkaround Cabins, Express Cabins, and Coastal Explorers with the line starting from the Fisherman 180 and goes up to the Canyon 456, with its latest model being the 321 Coastal Explorer which debuted in early 2026.  Grady-White new website takes you around with the following buttons; Models, Build, Why Grady, Owners, and Locate Dealer.  Grady-White is also on social media with bottom page buttons taking you to its Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube pages.
Production History; *cabin boats only
20 Atlantic 1960- *Ronald Peterson design *wood clinker build
22 Chesapeake- 1961-
27 Catalina 1965-
28 Gulfstream 1965-
3300 Caribbean Custom Cruiser 1965-
1968 Eddie Smith Jr ownership
21 Chesapeake 1969- *fiberglass build 
21 Nassau 1970-77
204 Overnighter 1975-1992
240 Offshore 1980-90
Seafarer 226/228 1982-92
255 Sailfish 1986-89
Gulfstream 232 1987-2018
280 Marlin 1989-94 *Raymond C.Hunt design
255 Sailfish (ii) 1990-92
244 Explorer 1992-95
208 Adventure 1993-
Seafarer 226/228 (ii) 1993-2011
272 Sailfish 1994-2000
268 Islander 1995-2001
Tournament 223 1995-2002
Marlin 300 1995-2018
248 Voyager 1996-2002
F-26 Tigercat 1997-2000
265 Express 2000-05
270 Islander 2001-05
Express 330 (i) 2001-07
Sailfish 282 2001-08
258 Voyager 2002-08 *258 Journey project
Express 360 2005-13
Express 305 2007-15
Express 330 (ii) 2008-14
Canyon 336 2008-
Chesapeake 290 2009-15
Freedom 307 2009- *Tournament 307 project
Canyon 366 2010-14
Freedom 335 2013-
Express 370 2014-
Freedom 375 2014-
Canyon 376 2015-24
Express 330 (iii) 2015-25
Freedom 325 2018-
Canyon 456 2019-
Freedom 415 2024-
Canyon 386 2025-
Express 340 2026-
Grady-White third model is the 20 Atlantic, it's first cabin boat

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