COVID Boat Purchase - 25SC

[dgangwer]

Greetings to all and thanks for the tremendous amount of information provided on CobaltChat. I am a previous boat owner from the '86-'92 era (Sea Ray) and after a 30 year hiatus, am approaching retirement and want another boat. My research coupled with past experience led me to Cobalt.

Mine will be a salt water vessel in the Chesapeake Bay and South FL. There is a 25SC available that the dealer is willing to discount 30%. My research on this forum indicates that this is a good deal. However, I seek guidance on a few issues from those who have preceded me down this path.

Motor - is a Mercury 300 outboard. Yamaha seems to be preferred by boat people I speak with.

Foo-foo options - LED lighting, US flag (I am a 20 year Navy veteran but not sure $500 to fly the colors is worth it), Cobalt logo, Stainless foot tread, electric arch. It seems that the thousands that these options cost are unnecessary.

Colors - ok; but not what I would order.

Would you recommend I take the deal or order what I want? I could live with the available boat but for $100k+ am thinking it might be better to order exactly what I want. I look forward to your responses and joining the Cobalt Club.

[AsLan7]

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Hey dgangwer. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us! Thank you for your service.

I’m surprised you can get 30% off in this market. Dealers and boat sellers are getting unbelievably high prices for their boats.

We are at that stage in life where we will get exactly what we want if we’re going to drop that kind of six figure coin. That way there will be no regrets. Only you can make that decision on price vs compromise.

Either engine is nice. I do see quite a few more Yamahas over Mercs in the Bay Area. I like the Merc 300 Verado engine though.

Any pics of this possible purchase?
How about a Sea Ray pic? Nice boats.

Again welcome aboard mate!

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[Big Block Power]

Welcome. Merc is the only way to go!!
Also these options you can live without right. So if you order a new boat will you still get 30%off? Will the boat you order and now get it next year be cheaper. 1 good thing it will be a 2021
So for that kind of change get what you want unless it Costs more. But you may always say I just should have ordered what I want with a 400r on the back

[cmattj]

Welcome and I enjoyed that you already answered your question.

White Merc cowling? is great as Yammeys have a easy clean cowling too.

Electric arch? Marvy I quess but that extra $$ would be on a windlass anchor.

Color... Saltwater white I’m hoping ?

So if I could order what I wanted and got 20-25% I’d be tickled every time I looked at her.

I’ll leave you with this..

“Price is long forgotten after having what you Truly wanted is remembered “.

[dgangwer]

Thanks to all for the quick replies. No readily available Sea Ray pictures. It was was a 19' Seville. Great boat for skiing but I got orders to Key West and watched the sun and salt take its toll. Granted, we lived in base housing and the boat stayed in the water in my backyard. Had to have it reupholstered prior to sale. The rotten wood in the seats caused me to immediately identify with the "no wood" Cobalt.

Tried to create a hyperlink but may be in over my head. The URL for the potential buy is:

https://www.sundancemarineusa.com/inv/2 ... mi-N51023/

Dealer says boats are flying off of the lot BUT that deals are still to be had. Test drive this Saturday.

Boat has the electric windlass.

I'll ask Saturday about the discount on an order. Salesman was a great guy & upfront about everything. Said the 2021s will be 5% more.

[AsLan7]

Thanks to all for the quick replies. No readily available Sea Ray pictures. It was was a 19' Seville. Great boat for skiing but I got orders to Key West and watched the sun and salt take its toll. Granted, we lived in base housing and the boat stayed in the water in my backyard. Had to have it reupholstered prior to sale. The rotten wood in the seats caused me to immediately identify with the "no wood" Cobalt.

Tried to create a hyperlink but may be in over my head. The URL for the potential buy is:

https://www.sundancemarineusa.com/inv/2 ... mi-N51023/

Dealer says boats are flying off of the lot BUT that deals are still to be had. Test drive this Saturday.

Boat has the electric windlass.

I'll ask Saturday about the discount on an order. Salesman was a great guy & upfront about everything. Said the 2021s will be 5% more.

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Link worked.

Sexy colors with a sexy behind as well . Took a couple screenshots for ya’...

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[dgangwer]

Thanks, AsLan7! Technology is a never ending pursuit for me.

BBP - do I need the 350 if I place an order? I have enjoyed your exchanges in my short time on CobaltChat.

[Big Block Power]

Thanks, AsLan7! Technology is a never ending pursuit for me.

BBP - do I need the 350 if I place an order? I have enjoyed your exchanges in my short time on CobaltChat.

Have you ever heard anyone say I wish I bought the smaller engine. Nope!!!
I always say get the largest that's in your budget. That's a big boat. Power it the way it deserves to be powered. You will get the money back at resale.

[AsLan7]

Thanks, AsLan7! Technology is a never ending pursuit for me.

BBP - do I need the 350 if I place an order? I have enjoyed your exchanges in my short time on CobaltChat.

Have you ever heard anyone say I wish I bought the smaller engine. Nope!!!
I always say get the largest that's in your budget. That's a big boat. Power it the way it deserves to be powered. You will get the money back at resale.

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+1!

[tgrace98]

So I went through this same situation a little less than 2 years ago. Dealer had a stock R7 that had 97% of the things I wanted but had some things that I didn’t care to order. They ended up offering me 5% off more on the stock so essentially the stuff I didn’t want was free. I ended up taking the stock boat and 2 years later 0 regrets. Only thing I would change would I order now would I would have ordered windlass.

So to me if the better deal is on the stock take it and run. Build time is about 5 months right now so take that into consideration.

Ps get the flag pole. It’s one of the best features on Cobalt’s

[dgangwer]

Thanks to all for the prompt replies. I'll report back after the test drive.

[Texanforlife]

I just took delivery of a special order 2021 25SC with 300 Mercury White. Almost purchased a stock 2020 from different dealer at a similar price, as I was supposed to move to Florida in June. But the boat wasn’t what my wife or I wanted. It had tons of upgrades and we could have taken possession in early June. We felt comfortable waiting and glad we did. We were able to get the 2020 price and 2021 model. I guess every dealer is different but the cobalt site has not changed their prices yet.

I was going back and forth between Merc and Yamaha, and it seems dealers push the motor they have a relationship with. We decided that both were awesome but the white merc looked nice with our color combo.

My only regrets are the flag and mooring cover. The dealer can order and install, but it’s not the same discount as ordering through cobalt.

[AsLan7]

I just took delivery of a special order 2021 25SC with 300 Mercury White. Almost purchased a stock 2020 from different dealer at a similar price, as I was supposed to move to Florida in June. But the boat wasn’t what my wife or I wanted. It had tons of upgrades and we could have taken possession in early June. We felt comfortable waiting and glad we did. We were able to get the 2020 price and 2021 model. I guess every dealer is different but the cobalt site has not changed their prices yet.

I was going back and forth between Merc and Yamaha, and it seems dealers push the motor they have a relationship with. We decided that both were awesome but the white merc looked nice with our color combo.

My only regrets are the flag and mooring cover. The dealer can order and install, but it’s not the same discount as ordering through cobalt.

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Hey TFL. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

Great advice. Yes love that white Merc look. Classy yet aggressive.

Any pics? Feel free to start an intro thread only if you have the time. We enjoy them here.

Again welcome aboard mate!



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[BigGib]

I actually really like that color combo!

Like BBP said, get the most HP you can afford, you won't regret it

A lot of these options are just personal preference. I thought I needed a windlass, but quickly realized where I boat I usually tie up to a 40' or larger cruiser that has 200' of chain and line out already, so it just doesn't get used much. I love the look of the stainless docking lights, but have no use for them from a function stand point (mine doesn't have them), the stainless treads are nice but again mostly just for looks, and I do find they are hard on the feet after a 30min run across LOTO.

As far as new vs used, I guess just depends on how long you plan on keeping it, and how soon you want it? Do you want to wait for it to be built? Do you want to boat right away? If you skimp on too many options, resale may be a little tougher as so many Cobalt's have many of these options, and most people looking at Cobalt's consider them to be standard.

Either way, good luck with your purchase either route you go!

[Sebvelez]

Hey dgangwer!

I ordered a 23sc last month from that dealer; so far its been a great experience. I've been told in Fl Yamaha seems to be preferred but these Verados are also fantastic (in FL center consoles also rule so there's that). I ordered mine with a white Mercury 300. BTW, I've seen the boat you've been looking at and its a really nice build. For what its worth my salesman ordered a 25sc for a customer last year and he went with the 350 after much deliberation. He recently sold his boat as he moved states and the salesman asked him if he though the 350 was worth it and he said after having it for a year the 300 he took out on the sea trial before ordering would have been more than enough. Anyway, go figure... That said I ended up ordering the bigger engine available on the 23sc anyway.

Please make sure you report back on the sea trial!

best,
sebastian