All the way back in 2006 Grady-White reinvented one of its eminently popular center console boats, the Bimini 306, and it became the Canyon 306. Large enough to take on just about anything the Chesapeake can dish out as well as handling a wide range of conditions on the open Atlantic, it proved more popular than ever. And since then the boat has been upgraded and tweaked in a number of ways. For 2025 more changes are in store on the Canyon 306 and it’s a fair bet that countless anglers will once again find it to their liking.
This year’s changes are focused at the helm, starting with a new laminated safety glass windshield. It conceals the hard top supports to provide a nearly unobstructed view with no cross-supports blocking your vision, and wraps all the way back around the top of the console to boost your protection factor at the helm. Grady-White also shifted the helm station around, moving the switch panel and Yamaha display lower, so the electronics can now be mounted closer to the captain’s line of sight.
Neither of these changes are huge, nor would they warrant calling the Canyon 306 a “new” model (something some less scrupulous builders try by merely slapping a new sticker on the hullsides), but they improve the boat and demonstrate Grady-White’s never-ending efforts to make their boats better—even the uber-popular ones.
Speaking of making boats better: the Canyon 306 has all the standard Grady-White fare that’s made the company one of the most successful boatbuilders on the planet, including their trademark SeaV2 variable-degree hull, which tapers back to 19.5 degrees of deadrise at the transom. We think the best way to judge it is to go on a ride on a Grady-White for yourself, but note that J.D. Power and Associates has ranked this hull’s performance at number one in all of the eight marine studies they’ve done.
Fit and finish, meanwhile, is unassailable. Same goes for the boat’s equipping. Look at most boats and you’ll see a short list of standard features followed by a long list of cost-adding options, sometimes even absolutely critical items like a raw water washdown or a set of rocket launchers for the T-top. Check out the specs on a Canyon 306, however, and you’ll see the exact opposite. In fact, the boat has just 11 listed options yet 66 standard features—and they lump plenty of items together, such as the T-top, which also includes a radio bow, stowage net, tri-color LED recessed lighting, fore and aft spreader lights, four rocket launchers, and reinforced mounting points for outriggers and radar.
On the fishing front, the Canyon 306 has a 47-gallon livewell in the transom, a rigging station with a sink and cooler box, eight flush-mount gunwale rodholders, four more launchers in the leaning post, under-gunwale racks, integrated tackle stowage, and a total of 150 gallons of insulated fishbox capacity split between three boxes. Family anglers will be happy to hear that the console head compartment has a sink, shower, and additional stowage, and unlike many rather Spartan center console heads, this one boasts a composite cherry/holly sole. Additional comfort-boosters include a freshwater shower aft and freshwater washdown forward, a folding aft bench seat, a Bluetooth stereo with four speakers and a subwoofer, USB ports, and coaming bolsters. One item that will also make the captain’s life a little more leisurely is the engine flush system with hose attachments. Oh, and speaking of engines: With max power, a pair of F350 Yamaha outboards, the Canyon 306 cruises at right around 40 mph at 4500 rpm while getting 1.4 mpg. Goose the throttles and top-end is in the mid-50s.
In a day and age when new (NEW! NEW!) tends to garner all the headlines, sometimes it pays to take a step back and reassess the existing options. And one that’s not exactly new but certainly is better than it was before is the Grady-White Canyon 306.
Grady-White Canyon 306 Specifications
- LOA – 30’6”
- Beam – 10’7”
- Displacement – 6950 lbs.
- Draft (min.) – 1’9”
- Transom Deadrise – 19.5 degrees
- Fuel Capacity – 290 gal.
- Max. Power – 700 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.