FWIW, are non GB owners welcome on the GB forum?
Yes. In past years there have been several participants in the forum who did not have GBs although they did not say what kind of boats they had.
Most of the things discussed on the forum have to do with boat systems, repair, upgrades, and so on and as such they can be relevant to just about any kind of cruising boat. There are also a fair number of members with wood GBs so there are frequent discussions on wood construction, repair and maintenance.
What would probably not be a good idea is if someone started talking about or asking about issues as they relate to another kind of boat. The discussions are obviously focused on GB boats and I don't think the forum would want people talking about their Bayliners or CHBs or whatever, particularly issues that are unique to those kinds of boats. One piece, aluminum framed windows, for example. It is most definitely not an "open" forum like this one in terms of the boats themselves.
The forum is free to join although they encourage making an annual donation (via PayPal) to help cover the cost of maintaining the forum and they acknowledge the people who have donated by a line in their avatar. There is a very good search function, similar to the one on this forum, so it's easy to go back and find discussions on finishes or deck maintenance or whatever.
There are actually two GB owners forums. The one with the most participation is the independent
Grand Banks Owner's Resources The other one is sponsored by Grand Banks themselves and is
GB Beacon | Home for Grand Banks enthusiasts across the globe.
The story of why there are two now instead of one is a long one, but the independent forum has the greatest participation. GB Beacon, however, has Mike Negley as a member and he is one of the two most knowledgeable people on GB boats, the other being Bob Lowe on the independent forum. It was great when there was just the one forum with both of them on it. I wish Mike would participate in the independent forum, too.
One of the best assets of the GB forum is the manuals section. There are manuals for engines, transmissions, etc. most of which can be downloaded. You have to be a member to access the manuals section.