Grady-White Tarpon 190

Grady-White Tarpon 190
t's amazing how much you can do with a pan 190 (called the Tourn ament beginning
small boat. Rick Davis and his wife, Lind- in 1984) in 2011, replacing another favorite
say, along with their 5-year-old daughter, small boat, a IS-foot Boston Whaler Sport
Cate, certainly get enough fun per foot w ith a 50-hp Johnso n. "We took that little
ou t of their Grady-White Tarpon 190.
boat everywhere, and it was grea t for just the
"Midcoast Maine is great," says the 37-year- two of us," he ays.
o ld Bath, Maine, firefighter.
With the ir d a ug hter get"Bath has great boat lalUlches,
t ing older, they wa nted
and the waters are wonderful.
something a little bit bigger
We go from Bath to Boothbay
while staying under 20 feet.
Harbor an d hit many restau"My vision was a few budrants along the way. Our fadi es out catch in g fish and
vorite p lace is probably Five
havin g fun, " Davis says.
" Lindsay's was a nice rid e to
Islands - good food, easy to
Lindsay, Cate and Rick Davis
a wh arf for lunch and shopget to and just a great ride.
pin g. I told her no carpet, and
We also hit Robinhood Marina
guite a bit. They have a great place to eat called she told me comfortab le sea ts and a Bimini."
The parameters were set.
the Osprey Restaurant with great fish tacos."
O n e day, he and his shift from work
They located the Tarpon 190 d ual console,
hopped in the boat and headed to Sebasco powered with a 2003 Mercury 135-hp OptiHarbor for golf and then back to the Osprey Max V-6, in New Hampshire using craigslist.
for dinner. "Four guys, four sets of golf clubs There was bow seating w ith cushions, two
and a huge cooler in the boat," Davis recalls. cush ioned seats at the stern next to the enThat's getting a pretty good bang for the buck gine well, two pedestal sea ts and an open
fun-w ise from a boat that's not even 20 feet.
deck for fishing. Davis could reach over the
Davis bough t the 1983 Grady-White Tar- gunwale to grab a fish, and the h ull sides are
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hi gh enough th at a toddl er would be safe.
"So, padded seats for the wife, dual console,
no carpet," Davis says. "I was sold ."
Seeing the boat firsthand was important,
too. "Honestly, it was nice to meet the owner
and see his home," Davis says. "He kept everything in great shape, and he had a clean
garage. I know that so und s odd, but yo u
could tell he was the kind of guy who took
good ca re of things. When we looked at the
boat it was perfect."
That left just a few cosmeti cs to take care
of. Big add itions have bee n the Bimini top
and a Gannin GPSMAP 440s GPS / sounder.
"I love thi s thin g," Davi s says. "Ma in e is
very rocky, and this thing is a lifesaver. The
sounder is great when going for baitfish." He
also added a remo vable live well.
The 8-year-old, Qil-injected OptiMax 135
needed little more than routine maintenance. It
has delivered perfect performance. Davis runs
at around 27 mph (4,000 rpm), and although he
doesn' t keep exact numbers the fuel economy
" is better than expected," he says.
The Gra d y-White goes fishing when
some boats don ' t, too. The bluefish were
in, but the seas were rough, Davis reca ll s.
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA: 18 teet , 11 inches
BEAM: 8 teet
DRAFT: 1 foot , 2 inches
WEIGHT: 2,075 pounds
HULL: deep-vee
POWER: single outboard to 150 hp
FUEL CAPACITY: 40 gallons
BUILDER: Grady-White Boats , Greenvi lle,
N.C., (252) 752-2111 . www. gradywhite.com
[ USED BOAT ]
"I was nervous and stopped at the mouth
of the Kennebec River, " he says. "As I sat
there, a guy in another Grady-White went
by and headed out. We fo llowed him and
were taking 4- to 5-footers for the entire
trip around Small Point. The boat did
great. We were soaked, and a few times J
thought it was over. When we got around
[the point] the other guy came up a longside of us and said, 'You wo uldn't have
done that in [another brand of boat]: "
Even little Cate loves the Tarpon 190. Trips
to Five Islands for lunch, catching mackerel,
anchoring off the beach - these are just a
few of the things the 5-year-old likes to do.
"It's a great boat for kjds," her father says.
"She can walk all over the deck, and she's
taken naps on board after a long day. She
feels safe in it."
Davis also enjoys seeing his daughter " turn
on" to the water. "J feel I am passing on
the love of the water to her," he says. "It is
nice when you ask your 5-year-old what she
wants to do today, and she says go boating."
The Tarpon 190 has done everything the
family co uld have asked of her. Memories
include landing a 38-inch striper, a crazy
day of fishing for blues, Cate holding a
mackerel and looking as if she'd caught a
swordfish, and Lindsay behind the wheel,
BACKGROUND
In the 50-plus years since Glenn Grady and Don White opened their North Carolina shop,
Grady-White has focused on outboard-powered fishing boats. Today, the builder offers a variety
of express, center console and walkaround models from 18 to 36 feet. Eddie Smith Jr. took over
the company in the 1960s and, under his direction, built a reputation for seaworthiness and quality construction.
Grady-White introduced the outboard-powered Tarpon 190 in 1980. It was renamed the Tournament 190 beginning with the 1984 model year, and it has proved popular over the years, remaining in production through 2003. It was replaced by the Tournament 192 with Grady-White's SeaV
hull. Retired in 2004, the 192 was reintroduced in 2010, and the dual console line is now called
Freedom. The 190s can readily be found on the used-boat market, and prices for early models
generally are less than $10,000.
throttle wide-open. "One day as we tied up
in Boothbay, a guy from Arkansas came up
and sa.id, 'Does it get any better than that?'
I could on ly answer no."
When it comes to boats, good things can
come in small packages. "We do love our
boat," Davis says. " It is almost part of the
family. J guess that is because so many of our
best moments are when we are out on it. "
WALKTHROUGH
The Grady -White Tarpon 190 rides a
deep-vee hull with a sharp entry and moderate Carolina flare. The single outboard is
mounted in a well, leav ing room for a half
swim platform on the transo m. The dualconsole layout mean there's seating for at
least s ix, with a pair of padded seats aft,
cushioned seating in the bow, and matching helm and companion pedestal seats.
The helm is to starboard, with a destroyer
wheel, an instrument panel and space for
electronics. There's storage in and under
both consoles. The cock pit takes up most
of the boat, w ith plenty of room for fishin g or entertaining. There's und er-gunwa le
storage for rods and other gear, and th e
aft seats are removab le. The layout a lso includes a cooler under the bow cushion and
an anchor hatc h forward. _
• Enclosed Shower
• Extended cockpit seating
• Fuel efficient Volvo d iesel
• 20+ knot cruise speed
• Keel stepped hull
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