Thread: GB 32 and 36
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Old 02-02-2012, 09:04 PM   #5
Marin
Scraping Paint
 
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 13,745
GB 32 and 36

Quote:
bluenorther wrote:
Having looked around a bit, it seems the GB 32 and 36 are good smaller boats that offer a lot for the money.*
The first thing you need to do if you haven't done it*already is join the Grand Banks owners forum.*http://www.grandbanksowners.com/index.php

The GB forum is the best place on the planet to get info on anything to do with GBs, wood and glass.

Like a Colt revolver, you pay a premium for the GB name and there are other makes that don't have the "image" that are as good, better,*or nearly as good for less money.

However, Grand Banks did not get the reputation it has simply because it has a nice name.* The main thing Grand Banks brought-- and still brings-- to the party is consistency.* Where many makes of cruising boats in the 70s and 80s, particularly some of the makes from Taiwan, had build quality that ranged from very good to really sloppy within the same models and even between hull number 507 and hull number 508, Grand Banks from outset set a high*standard and every boat they made/make adheres to it.

Of course a neglected, abused Grand Banks can be as much a piece of crap as any other make that suffers the same fate.* But looked after, a GB can go a long, long time.* Ours is one of the first fiberglass 36s made and is*39 years old now.* And while it's definitely not perfect, particuarly cosmetically, due mainly to the*California sun that beat down on it for the first 25 years of its life,*it still has its original teak decks and they are in pretty good shape, everything works, and the hull is built like a tank (overbuilt, really).

But get on the GB owners forum and ask any questions you may have.* There are lots of woody and glass owners who participate regularly and some of them have a ton of maintenance, repair, and upgrade experience.* Bob Lowe, for example, one of the forum's founders for years owned and managed Oak Harbor*Boatworks, one of the most experienced yards in the country when I comes to Grand Banks boats, wood and glass, and there isn't much about the boats or shipwright techniques that he doesn't know.

The archives on the GB forum is very useful, too, with easy-to-find discussions on everything from maintaining or replacing teak decks to the care and feeding of Ford Lehman engines to the best way to*replace a water faucet.*

*


-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 2nd of February 2012 11:09:37 PM
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