Dock News

Grady-White Boats Is “15 for 15,” Receiving NMMA CSI Award for Top Customer Satisfaction Ranking Fifteen Times in a Row

Here at the Boat & Yacht Report, we have always been fans of Grady-White. And here is just one more reason why this quality boat builder has earned our accolades as well as the loyalty of its owners throughout the years.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) has once again awarded Grady-White Boats the marine industry Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) award, the trade association’s top recognition for customer satisfaction with new boats. This is the 15th year the association has conducted studies of customer satisfaction among boat and boat engine owners. Grady-White has received this top award in the category of fiberglass outboard boats all 15 years.

The Grady-White Canyon 306 Center Console. Photo Courtesy of Grady-White.

The marine industry CSI Award program honors participating manufacturers that actively measure customer satisfaction and pursue continuous improvement to better serve the customer. Award recipients achieved and maintained an independently measured standard of excellence of 90 percent or higher in customer satisfaction, based on information provided by customers purchasing a new boat or engine during the period between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2016. Participating manufacturers must survey all new boat buyers during the designated period, with results compiled by a third party. For this reporting period, the program surveyed more than 122,000 consumers.

Award recipients were acknowledged during the annual marine industry breakfast at the Miami International Boat Show, February 17, 2017. “Fostering a culture of excellence in customer satisfaction not only builds exceptional brand loyalty, but creates an outstanding boating experience, ensuring that today’s boater remains the boater of tomorrow, and promotes industry growth by developing boaters into lifestyle advocates,” notes Robert Newsome, vice president of engineering standards and membership for NMMA. “We congratulate these manufacturers for their commitment to their customers and for creating an incomparable boat ownership experience.”

Grady-White Freedom 225. Photo Courtesy of Grady-White.

Shelley Tubaugh, vice president of marketing for Grady-White Boats, remarked, “Receiving this recognition from the NMMA for each and every year of the award, an incredible 15 times in a row, makes all of us at Grady-White Boats very proud. This affirms that our dedication to paying exceptional attention to every detail leads to our customers’ complete satisfaction and sets us apart. Grady-White Boats and Grady-White dealers believe this award is an acknowledgement of our combined commitment to achieving the very highest levels of customer satisfaction by providing the ultimate boating experience attainable only through owning a Grady-White.”

Grady-White Boats’ Shelley Tubaugh (l), VP of Marketing, and Mark Doggett (r), Executive VP, accept the company’s fifteenth consecutive CSI customer satisfaction award from NMMA President Thom Dammrich. Photo Courtesy of Grady-White.

 

For more information regarding the NMMA CSI program visit www.nmma.org.

Grady-White Boats was founded in 1959 and builds 26 boat models from 18 to 37 feet at its plant in Greenville, NC. The company has been under continuous private ownership by NMMA Hall of Fame member Eddie Smith and the Smith family since 1968. Grady-White welcomes visitors to the company’s award-winning factory to see first-hand the process the company uses to create the very best family-and-fishing boats, and to meet the dedicated team that builds them.

PO Box 1527, Greenville, NC 27835

(252) 752-2111

WWW.GRADYWHITE.COM

 

Yacht Spotting and New Launches

New Category, Same Quality

With the introduction of its 251-CE, Grady White expands its line up of boats with a versatile performer.

By Capt. Ken Kreisler

A long time favorite with both inshore and offshore boating enthusiasts as well as with families, Grady White has enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for building an award-winning, well-engineered line of boats.

Every inch a Grady White, the new 251-CE is the first in the Coastal Explorer series.

The Greenville, North Carolina-based company, established in 1959, and still owned by Eddie Smith and his family since 1968, offers four different models comprising 28 different boats; Center Console, Dual Console, Express Cabin, and Walkaround Cabin. And now, with the introduction of the 251-CE, the first of the Coastal Explorer series, you can make that five models and 29 boats in sizes covering 18 to 37 feet in length.

The 251-CE is the first of its kind from Grady-White, and is designed to provide peace of mind on big water and a piece of heaven for practicality, utility, ease of use and comfort around back waters, beaches, waterways, sounds and inlets. Here’s the Grady-White answer for off-the-beaten-track coastal family fun and versatility in skinnier water. And even though it is created for use inshore the 251-CE is not a “bay boat,” offering more offshore capability and versatility than any other kind of boat in the so-called “bay boat” genre.

It’s easy to see how quickly the action can switch to fishing with this kind of equipment.

Featuring low gunwales to provide very easy access to the water, and a bow ladder for beaching, the 251-CE’s low profile is all new for Grady-White. And like all Grady’s, she

With her top rigged and ready, your 251-CE is a no-nonsense fishing machine.

offers performance to match her style. Transformable seats forward and aft go from bench style to lounge, and make the boat perfect for playing and relaxing plus fun for socializing. Add rods and tackle and you have a fishing boat that is truly without peer. There is something for everyone in the family on this boat.

The 251-CE is every inch a solid, proven center console backed by over 50 years of heritage and design success that only Grady-White can offer. Her loaded features will further add to satisfaction levels earned from a reputation for quality, reliability, safety and craftsmanship.

251-CE Specifications
Beam Amidships: 8’6″ (2.59 m)
Bridge Clearance: 6’9″ (2.06 m) w/T-top: 7’9″ (2.36 m)
Center Line Length: 24’7″ (7.49 m)
Cockpit Depth: 20″ (0.51 m)
Hull Draft: 14″ (.36 m)
Maximum HP: 300 (224 kW)
Outboard Shaft Length: 25″ (0.64 m)
Standard Fuel Capacity: 80 gal. (303 l)
Transom Width: 8’3″ (2.51 m)
Weight w/o Engine: 3550 lb. (1610 kg)

If you are in the Greenville, North Carolina area and wish to see the 251-CE, along with all the other Grady White boats on the assembly line, visit the company at www.gradywhite and make an appointment. If this is your kind of boating, you will not be disappointed.