Grady-White 340 Express Review, the Successor to a 24-Year Icon

Grady-White 340 Express, replacing a boat that sold 1,200 times

The Grady-White 340 Express had a hard act to follow. The Express 330 debuted in 2001 as the first outboard-powered express cabin boat, according to Power and Motoryacht, and Grady built more than 1,200 of them over more than two decades. Boating called it Grady's most popular model. Its successor was introduced at the 2025 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show as a 2026 model, and Grady describes it as the ultimate offshore cabin boat.

The 340 keeps the 330's broken sheer and classic profile but changes almost everything under it. It has a bigger cabin, more storage, more luxury materials, a raised starboard helm instead of a centerline one, a centerline cabin entry, and boarding doors on both sides of the cockpit. Christian Carraway, Grady's senior product designer, told Power and Motoryacht that owner feedback drove much of the redesign.

Why the helm moved to starboard

Moving the helm off centerline is the single biggest change from the 330. It frees space on the bridgedeck for a port-side wraparound companion bench with an electrically adjustable table that drops to form a lounge, and it lets Grady put the sliding cabin door in the middle of the boat for easier flow from the V-berth to the transom. The operator still has clear sightlines forward and aft.

The raised helm has an electromechanically adjustable seat with a flip-up bolster and fold-down armrests that swivels for conversation at anchor, room for two 19-inch Garmin displays, flush switches with individual circuit breakers and a wireless phone charger. The hardtop was redesigned with less pipework, a sunroof hatch, an electric center vent, rod storage overhead and SureShade standard. Boating noted that the helm deck is fully air-conditioned with the optional 18,000 BTU unit.

Two side doors and a full fishing transom

Grady replaced the transom door with port and starboard hull doors, each with a boarding ladder. That lets owners board from whichever side they are docked on, gaff a fish through either door and, as Carraway pointed out, refuel from either side using the boat's port and starboard fuel fills. A single 340-gallon tank removes the need for a fuel selector valve.

With no door in the way, the transom becomes a proper fishing station: a 30-gallon insulated livewell with full-column distribution, a 166-quart aft fish box that can be refrigerated, an 87-quart insulated box plumbed with fresh water, tackle storage and a foldaway bench. On the port side, a mezzanine seat with a flip-up bolster folds down to reveal a Dekton prep counter, with drawers and a 120V outlet below. A wet bar with a Dekton counter and sink sits to starboard, with an optional grill and refrigerator drawer.

A bigger cabin for four

Below, the 340 is wider and taller than the 330. The forward V-berth seats five around an electrically adjustable oak table and converts to a double, with the forward cushion powering up to become a backrest. The galley has a Dekton counter, sink, glass cooktop, microwave and stainless refrigerator. The mid-cabin under the helm is a real double with a memory foam topper, and testers from Boating and Salt Water Sportsman both noted that you no longer crawl into it on hands and knees.

The enclosed head has a Dekton counter, VacuFlush toilet with a 10-gallon holding tank, a separate shower head and a fold-down teak seat. Air conditioning of 18,000 BTU, a 6-gallon water heater and a 24-inch television are standard, and an 8 kW diesel generator with its own 13-gallon tank runs it all.

Triple 350s or twin XTO 450s, the test results

Grady offers two Yamaha packages. With triple 350s, Boating and Salt Water Sportsman measured 56.9 mph at 5,950 rpm on hull number one, with a most economical cruise of 29.8 mph at 3,500 rpm burning 25.5 gph, good for more than 310 miles with a 10 percent reserve. Grady's own test of the same package recorded 57.2 mph and a 30.4 mph cruise at 27.2 gph, or 1.12 mpg, with the boat at 17,485 pounds as tested.

With twin XTO Offshore 450s, Grady measured 52.5 mph at 6,000 rpm and an optimum cruise of 29.5 mph at 3,800 rpm on 28.6 gph, 1.03 mpg. Power and Motoryacht's figures were in knots: a 26-knot cruise on about 27 gph with the triples, a top end just shy of 50 knots, and 45.6 knots with the twins. The triples are faster and slightly more efficient; the twins are simpler and leave more room on the swim platform.

Standard equipment, price and running costs

Boating's test price of $909,090 is a base number with test power, and the standard list explains much of it: generator, cabin air conditioning, bow thruster, Helm Master EX with Stay Point, Fish Point and Drift Point, SureShade, windlass with remote switches, hot and cold cockpit shower and the Yamaha Siren connected-boat monitoring system. Boating compared it with Boston Whaler's Conquest 365, reported at just under $1 million base, noting that the generator and remote windlass are options on the Whaler.

Budget $35,000 to $65,000 a year to own one, including insurance, a slip, service on two or three outboards plus the generator, air conditioning and fuel. The Boating test team's low points are worth noting: battery access could be easier, and the foam-filled hull limits in-floor fish box size.

Express 340 or a late Express 330

For buyers who do not need the newest boat, a late Express 330 on twin XTOs is the obvious alternative and costs far less. The 340 wins on cabin volume, helm deck flow, the two-door cockpit and the standard generator and joystick. If you will spend nights aboard or regularly fish with a crew, the 340's changes are worth the premium. If your trips are day runs, a well-kept 330 still does most of the job.