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In the spring of 2001, I spent two days fishing and testing the Grady-White 330 Express on a tempestuous ocean off Ocracoke, North Carolina. Grady's then-flagship boat ran impressively in the slop, and I was even more impressed that we were able to comfortably fish in the six- to eight-foot-plus seas. Shortly after I returned, a PMY reader wrote and asked me what I thought about the 330. I wrote him back my thoughts, and he eventually bought one. Moreover, he came from my neck of the woods in Long Island, New York, and invited me out fishing. (You don't have to ask me twice.) I've crewed on Blinky II ever since.
So having spent four years and 500-plus hours onboard the 330, I felt I had the background to see what her big sister, the 360 Express, had to offer when I ran her out Morehead City, North Carolina, last May.
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A quick two-foot ocean chop greeted her five-man fishing crew and me as we exited the inlet on our way to capitalize on a reported hot tuna bite some 40-plus miles offshore. Grady-White's Joey Weller firewalled the two single-lever Teleflex electronic controls, bringing the standard triple 250-hp Yamaha four-strokes to 4500 rpm, then tabbed down the 360's nose, allowing the fine entry to dispatch the chop with authority. (During testing on flat water later in the day, my test boat made an average cruise speed of about 32.5 mph while burning 31.5 gph, which equates to 1.03 mpg based on her 370-gallon fuel capacity. Anytime you can get a one-to-one ratio (one gallon burned for one mile traveled) or better on the water, it's a great thing. At WOT, the 360 hit an average of 45.5 mph while burning 61.5 gph and earning 0.74 mpg.)
Such performance can be attributed, in part, to four-stroke power, but also to the 360's C. Raymond Hunt-designed SeaV2 hull, which has a continually varying deadrise from bow to stern, a sharp entry, and modified aft sections that provide lift and allow this boat to get up and go.
The 360's hull is also built tough, comprised of solid hand-laid fiberglass below the waterline and Baltek balsa core in the hull sides, which adds rigidity but not excessive weight.
While our solid boat boogied offshore, I got caught up in those single-lever Teleflex controls and how two of them managed three engines, particularly pondering their effectiveness at slow speeds and in close quarters. It turns out the controls' computer detects when the levers are opposed a certain number of degrees from each other at slow speeds and automatically cuts out the center engine, which makes for easier maneuvering in close quarters. With plenty of horsepower, she handles just like an inboard and spins easily by opposing the controls. Her Teleflex SeaStar hydraulic power-assist steering is equally smooth, letting her turn on the proverbial dime at cruise speed. The optional Lewmar bow thruster should only be needed on really windy days, in big currents, or both.
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