One of the things we boaters love most is the feeling of freedom that comes with cruising across the Bay, as the wind whips your hair and the sun warms your skin. And that feeling of freedom grows as a boat’s capabilities grow. You wish you had the liberty to weekend aboard? To run out into the ocean and fish at the canyons? To invite a dozen guests or more aboard for a cruise? You’ll enjoy all of these abilities—and more—aboard the aptly named Grady-White Freedom 415.
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As are all boats in the Freedom lineup, the 415 is a dual console model, with an angling-appropriate stern and a relaxing cushy bow cockpit. Unlike the others, however, this boat stretches the tape to 40 feet, seven inches long, and 13 feet, eight inches wide. That’s not just big for a DC, that’s downright massive. In fact, Grady-White says it’s the biggest boat of its type they’ve ever made and is currently the largest outboard-powered dual console boat on the market.
Sheer size is what delivers a lot of those aforementioned freedoms. With a footprint this large Grady-White could design in a stand-up head compartment with shower in the helm side console and then add on an air-conditioned cabin with a settee that converts into a berth for two (plus an aft berth for two more), a fold-down dinette table, and a 24-inch TV into the portside console. Considering that you’ve got an outdoor galley with an electric grill, refrigerator, and sink, the 415 Freedom clearly fits the bill for long weekends spent on the hook.
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Should you choose to go fishing instead, again, the Freedom 415’s grandiose nature delivers. The cockpit is huge and is strikingly similar to the cockpit in Grady-White’s Canyon 456. There’s a 115-gallon fishbox with an integrated digitally controlled refrigerator/freezer in the transom flanked by a pair of 35-gallon livewells, four flush-mount rodholders in the gunwales, four rocket launchers on the hard top pipework, four horizontal rodholders, and a retractable raw water washdown. And remember, this boat has the beef to fish anywhere from Baltimore City to Baltimore Canyon.
When it’s time to entertain a crowd, you’ll have no problem accommodating a large one. Pull a fish or two out of that transom box, grill up some fillets, and the feast can take place at the passenger’s side helmdeck dinette, which has a pair of massive outdoor settees facing each other across tables that rise and lower at the press of a button. If that’s not enough space for your crowd, head for the bow where two more electrically actuated teak tables sit between the U-shaped seating.
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OMG—a bunch of boats just zipped past and now there are wakes about to hit you broadside, potentially sending your platter of freshly grilled mahi-mahi crashing to the deck?! Chillax, the 415 Freedom is going to remain perfectly placid because this boat comes standard, yes standard, with a Seakeeper 6 system already installed. In fact, just about everything you can think of is included as standard equipment on this boat. The air conditioning, underwater lights, an electric self-cycling outboard freshwater flush system, you name it. We were so impressed when checking out the features list that we did a count: there are 64 standard items (and several are multiple features combined, such as the hard top with 12 different features of its own). The entire optional features list has a mere seven items on it, and two are certification and electrical tweaks you’d only want if you were taking the boat overseas.
When we saw the Freedom 415 for ourselves, alas, it was at the Miami International Boat Show and running the boat wasn’t an option. But considering that it’s powered by quad Yamaha F450 XTO outboards and rides atop Grady-White’s Raymond Hunt and Associates continuously variable-degree deep-V hull design, we don’t think we’re going out on a limb to predict that if you took one for a sea trial, you’d be pleased with the results. And if this boat piques your interest, setting up a sea trial is exactly what we’d suggest. You are, after all, at liberty to make it happen.
By Lenny Rudow
Grady-White Freedom 415 Specifications:
LOA: 40’7”
Beam: 13’8”
Draft (min.): 2’10”
Displacement (approx.): 22,950 lbs.
Fuel Capacity: 520 gal.
Water Capacity: 55 gal.
Max HP: 1800
Local Grady-White Dealer: Tri-State Marine in Annapolis (410.562.6247), Deale/Shady Side (410.867.1447), and Middle River (410.574.3988)