HOPEFULLY, the 4th time is the charm. Techie's barn find
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 7:51 pm
Well, as some of you know, I have been searching for a boat for quite a while. For my first boat, I wanted to keep it from being too spendy, while still being large enough and stable enough to spend the weekend aboard and navigate our often sporty water here on the NE Coast.
Over the past 2 years, I've religiously scanned Craig's list, boat forums and boats-for-sale sites, and flown to what seems like every major airport east of the Rockies to look at boats...not to mention putting thousands of miles on my car. I've had 3 separate boats (located in 3 separate states) under contracts, and each one has failed due to a waterlogged hull.
As I may have mentioned on my other boat thread, I first was exposed to Cobalt by climbing aboard a Cobalt Condesa located in St George, NY. I've climbed around pretty much every Cobalt 1980-2000 cabin cruiser model between 23 and 29 feet....The only one that really 'fit' me was the first gen Cobalt 263...due it's standing headroom in the cabin and the aft cabin. Tho I LOVE the full composite builds and designs of the mid 1990+ models.
The problem is, Cobalt only made the 1st gen 263 for 5 years. So it is almost as rare as a Bertram Bahia Mar 25. Up until this spring, I had only seen advertisement for 3 of them. 1 in upstate NY (poorly maintained), 1 in NY (whose owner never returned my calls), and 1 on the other Cobalt forum that sold very quickly.
Until a few months ago.
While I had my previous contender under contract, I received a CL email regarding a 1991 263 in Minneapolis that looked incredibly clean due to it's life living on a trailer in a barn (when not under way). Since I had a boat under contract, I figured I would keep it as an option B. I was crushed when my other boat (a 28 foot custom lobster boat) failed survey. However, I swore that by hook or crook, I would buy a boat this season (particularly since I had a deposit on a slip in Boston Harbor). Since the 263 seemed, from the pictures, to be in such good condition I figured, what do I have to lose? So, I called the owner, and he was very forthcoming about his 20 year ownership history and the state of the boat, which was promising.
And that's when Cobalt Chat came to the rescue. John, our dear forum moderator, was willing to go look at the boat (before I jumped on a plane). He was kind enough to do this, and he deemed it flight-worthy. Luckily, I just so happened to be flying from Boston to California this week...so I planned a long layover on Monday to take a look at the boat. My brand new professional grade moisture meter deemed the hull to be dry as a bone, and the condition of the boat (stainless, upholstery, fiberglass/gelcoat) and trailer were both pretty darn excellent for a 28 boat and 20 year old trailer. So, even tho the Volvo engine has high hours (around 2k) I decided to buy the boat.
So, as long as the boat passes a mechanical inspection (hopefully in about 2 weeks), she will be professionally hauled back to Boston.
Here are a few pics and fingers crossed.
Over the past 2 years, I've religiously scanned Craig's list, boat forums and boats-for-sale sites, and flown to what seems like every major airport east of the Rockies to look at boats...not to mention putting thousands of miles on my car. I've had 3 separate boats (located in 3 separate states) under contracts, and each one has failed due to a waterlogged hull.
As I may have mentioned on my other boat thread, I first was exposed to Cobalt by climbing aboard a Cobalt Condesa located in St George, NY. I've climbed around pretty much every Cobalt 1980-2000 cabin cruiser model between 23 and 29 feet....The only one that really 'fit' me was the first gen Cobalt 263...due it's standing headroom in the cabin and the aft cabin. Tho I LOVE the full composite builds and designs of the mid 1990+ models.
The problem is, Cobalt only made the 1st gen 263 for 5 years. So it is almost as rare as a Bertram Bahia Mar 25. Up until this spring, I had only seen advertisement for 3 of them. 1 in upstate NY (poorly maintained), 1 in NY (whose owner never returned my calls), and 1 on the other Cobalt forum that sold very quickly.
Until a few months ago.
While I had my previous contender under contract, I received a CL email regarding a 1991 263 in Minneapolis that looked incredibly clean due to it's life living on a trailer in a barn (when not under way). Since I had a boat under contract, I figured I would keep it as an option B. I was crushed when my other boat (a 28 foot custom lobster boat) failed survey. However, I swore that by hook or crook, I would buy a boat this season (particularly since I had a deposit on a slip in Boston Harbor). Since the 263 seemed, from the pictures, to be in such good condition I figured, what do I have to lose? So, I called the owner, and he was very forthcoming about his 20 year ownership history and the state of the boat, which was promising.
And that's when Cobalt Chat came to the rescue. John, our dear forum moderator, was willing to go look at the boat (before I jumped on a plane). He was kind enough to do this, and he deemed it flight-worthy. Luckily, I just so happened to be flying from Boston to California this week...so I planned a long layover on Monday to take a look at the boat. My brand new professional grade moisture meter deemed the hull to be dry as a bone, and the condition of the boat (stainless, upholstery, fiberglass/gelcoat) and trailer were both pretty darn excellent for a 28 boat and 20 year old trailer. So, even tho the Volvo engine has high hours (around 2k) I decided to buy the boat.
So, as long as the boat passes a mechanical inspection (hopefully in about 2 weeks), she will be professionally hauled back to Boston.
Here are a few pics and fingers crossed.
