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Inspired in part by new, more powerful and efficient premium outboard engines and, to a greater extent, by customers' requests for a bigger boat, Grady-White has culminated a two-year design project with the introduction of the largest Grady-White in the company's 46-year history-the 36-foot Express 360.
"We are very excited about our new flagship!" says Kris Carroll, president of Grady-White. "Considering length, width and volume, we don't know of a larger production outboard offered today. With the speed, range and efficiency of today's outboards, and thanks to our design team, we expect this express cabin boat to create a whole new category. With the triple engine outboard configuration, this boat is
the first and best real alternative to inboards in the 35- to 50-foot range. The Express 360 is roomier than most of these inboards, faster, every bit as comfortable, loaded with more features and just as fuel efficient-if not more. We are confident that the Express 360 is really going to redefine the outboard sportfishing category."
"Our painstaking development process with the Express 360 involved countless interviews with Grady-White owners, dealers and associates, culminating in a wish list of features that have simply never been put together in a production boat before, much less in an outboard," stated David Neese, Grady-White's vice president of engineering and point man for the Express 360 project. "And, believe it or not, the wish list is substantially all standard! The 360 comes with all the goodies."
"The cabin is magnificent," continues Neese. "We certainly borrowed some features from our very successful 33-foot Express 330, like the handsome teak and holly cabin sole. But the interior of the Express 360 is at an entirely new level. The space that results from not requiring an inboard engine room allows a cabin size that compares to the interior of a much larger sportfishing yacht. The 360 cabin offers every amenity to make the family comfortable, and the entire boat certainly entertains guests graciously in a very handsome setting."
The cabin centerpiece is an attractive dinette area including a height adjustable teak table with booth-style seating for four. The king size forward vee berth is not only well appointed with lights and shelving, but closes off with a privacy curtain. The bulkhead between the forward vee berth and the main cabin area is accented with a teak divider and lighted glass etched art of a blue marlin. There is ample storage in the teak tambour enclosed cabinetry both above the dinette and over the galley. The entire cabin, from the vee berth captain's quarters to the 56" x 84" aft berth (also with privacy curtain), is cooled with a 16,000 BTU air conditioning unit with zone cooling. There is also variable lighting throughout the cabin. The entertainment area features a 15-inch flat screen TV with DVD player and cable TV inlet, plus a stereo/CD system and Sirius satellite radio capability.
The Express 360 galley includes an electric glass top stove with two burners, a roomy freezer drawer with ice maker and a nice refrigerator drawer (similar to the refrigerator/freezer drawers found on custom yachts), and a deep, divided stainless steel sink. There is also a very good quality microwave oven. Countertops are surfaced with durable Corian®.
The enclosed, ventilated head area on the Express 360 is appointed in great style. There is a full-length mirror on the backside of the door plus a lighted vanity over the sink. Counters are Corian® surfaced. There is plenty of storage including teak shelves, and the shower area features a deluxe curtain and a teak floor drain cover. The VacuFlush® head system includes a 10-gallon holding tank.
The cabin area also has a custom yacht quality AC/DC electrical distribution panel that has precision color-coded wiring, line voltage and load meter with reverse polarity indicator, and an auto circuit trip feature. A reliable 8KW Panda-Fisher diesel generator ensures comfort whenever the double 30 amp dockside power service outlets and power cords are not in use.
There has never been a helm area on an outboard powered boat that is so comfortable and easy to operate. The deluxe captain's chair adjusts both vertically and horizontally. The helm itself features a big stainless wheel, power-assisted tilt steering and Teleflex throttles that are electronically programmable with engine synch mode, making the triple engines as easy to run as a twin engine configuration. Grady-White's electro-mechanically controlled electronics enclosure keeps electronics and instruments at just the right height, and locked away when not in use. Grady-White's surround seating enhances the social aspects of the boat, and a slide-away side table is a nice touch. A chart storage area and deluxe cushioning on all seating add to the luxury.
Like every Grady-White, the Express 360 is born and bred for big water and big fish. This great SeaV2® hull will take you anywhere the fish are biting and back again in safety, comfort and faster than comparably sized diesel inboard boats. It is evident that fishermen designed the cockpit arrangement. The hardtop offers side rod storage and convenient yet out of the way horizontal rod racks, so rods are easily accessible. The amount of tackle space is truly amazing. The cockpit features a complete rigging station with freshwater sink, an insulated bait box and lockable tackle drawers. There's a 48-gallon lighted livewell with Grady-White's full column water distribution inlet and an 1100 GPH pump (which means live bait stays alive).
The transom is all about fishing. There's Grady-White's patented fold away aft bench seat, deemed by many "the best seat in the house." Storage and catch-all areas are everywhere. The centerpiece of the transom is a cavernous 269-quart aft deck refrigerator/freezer fish box. This monster box and the 55-quart refrigerator/freezer aft helm port box are controlled by separate digital thermostats and are just an example of the many standard features found on this boat. Refrigeration coils located in the walls of the foam-insulated boxes increase efficiency and greatly reduce the need for ice. Grady-White overboard draining boxes and decks ensure that clean up is extremely easy.
There is a freshwater shower on the transom, too, that is great for cleaning sunglasses and reels or for a quick rinse off. The starboard side of the transom features an extremely nice fiberglass door with an oversized, super heavy duty positive locking latch. The transom door provides access to a nice, wide swim platform and new super sturdy telescoping swim ladder. An excellent standard raw water washdown system with hose makes cleaning up a snap after that big catch.
Factory rigged triple Yamaha 250 HP 4-stroke outboards are recommended for the Express 360. These quiet-running, powerful and efficient engines get the 360 up on plane fast, run smoothly all day at cruising speeds and give you 44 MPH-plus top end performance.
The new Express 360 walkaround cabin boat is one of 21 Grady-White models ranging from 18 feet to 36 feet, created through customer input and built by craftsmen in Greenville, NC.
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