They say it takes some soul-searching to figure out who you truly are and I say it takes some bilge-searching to find out what a boat really is, but every once in a blue moon I step from the gunwale to the deck and a boat’s core identity is obvious right from the start. That’s exactly what happened at this year’s Annapolis Powerboat Show when I got aboard the Grady-White Canyon 386 at the Tristate Marine display: I could see in a blink that it strikes a balancing act between serious fishing and pleasing the boating family.

grady white 386
The Grady-White Canyon 386 is one beefy, brawny center console fishing and family machine. 

It's a Grady-White, so I already knew it rode on a SeaV2 variable-degree deadrise deep-V hull and would cruise through the seas as soft and stable as one could hope. I already knew it was built tough by one of the most experienced teams in the boat-building world and hadn’t left the factory before going through an exceptional quality-control process. And I already knew that the boat would be designed to please both anglers and family boaters without sacrificing fishability or comfort. What I didn’t know was that when I went poking through the cockpit, in mere moments it would become clear that the fishing/family balance that this boat strikes was perhaps the best I’d ever see.

 

 

Look at the back of the leaning post module and you’ll see six rocket launchers plus a knife/pliers/tool holder. Flip up the lids on top and you’ll find a sink, an electric grill, and a wastebasket compartment. Slide out the drawers below and you’ll find plenty of room to stow everything from tackleboxes to Tanqueray. Now turn around and gaze aft. The wide-open fish-fighting arena is lined with comfy coaming bolsters, four flush-mount rodholders are in the gunwales, there are fresh and raw water washdowns, an easy-to-manipulate swing-up transom bench seat, 35-gallon lighted and insulated livewells with full-column inlets on either side of the transom, and in the middle there’s a 72-gallon fishbox which is a digitally controlled refrigerator/freezer.

Does a fishing-friendlier, family-friendlier cockpit exist? If you can think of one, let me know.

Same goes for the bow cockpit. In social-mode there’s a huge doublewide lounger with flip-down arm rests atop the console cabin, a convertible dinette/sunpad forward, and electrically actuated backrests for forward-facing seating. Under-gunwale rodracks are to either side, there are fresh and raw water washdowns up here, too, and if you strip off all the cushions you have a forward casting deck.

Setting aside having a place to crash between bites on overnighters at the canyons, one might assume that the console cabin would be a purely family-friendly area. One would be wrong. Even down here Grady-White goes an extra angling mile and incorporates rodracks, so you can lock the big rigs down below between trips. The forward dinette converts into a full berth; there’s a mini-galley with sink, microwave, and refrigerator; and a full stand-up head with shower. Naturally its climate is controlled with a 10,000 Btu air conditioning system, which also pipes a cool breeze in at the helm.

grady white 386 canyon cabin
Inside the console cabin on the Grady-White Canyon 386 you'll find both comfort and... rod holders!

The Canyon 386 we saw at the boat show was blocked in by other boats so running performance numbers wasn’t possible, but Yamaha has a published test report on the boat with triple F450 XTO outboards and we’ve always found their reports to be right on target. Most efficient cruise was at 3300 rpm and 30 mph, producing one mpg. Running at a common cruise of 4500 rpm the boat clips along at a hat-stripping 44 mph, or, at least it would be hat-stripping if this boat didn’t have a full three-sided enclosure around the helm. Nail the throttles on those big outboards, and you’ll break the 60-mph mark.

Wait a sec—what about all that bilge-searching? Go ahead and look down there and you’ll spot yet another feature that will be enjoyed by anglers and boaters alike: a Seakeeper 4.5 gyroscopic stabilization system comes standard on the Canyon 386. The ultimate balancing act, indeed.

Grady-White Canyon 386 Specifications

  • LOA – 36’6”
  • Beam – 13’2”
  • Displacement – 14,950
  • Draft (min.) – 2’4”
  • Transom Deadrise – 20 degrees
  • Fuel Capacity – 410 gal.
  • Max. Power – 1350 hp
  • Area Dealers – Norfolk Marine, Norfolk, VA, (757) 895-7432; Taylor Marine, Milford, DE (302) 251-2506 and Ocean City, MD (443) 647-8265; Tristate Marine, Deale and Annapolis, MD (410) 867-1447.