So who has owned a Cobalt boat the longest?

[Titaniumboy]

I have owned our 2007 240 now for 15 years. That seems like a long time to me, but there must be others here who have owned their Cobalts for longer.

And this could probably be broken out in a lot of different ways:

1. Longest ownership of your current Cobalt

Sea Cobalt (page 2) - Original owner, 1995 Cobalt 200BR with 5.0FiDP. Waited for fuel injection before moving to the Cobalt. As with previous boats, it has never been left uncovered overnight, so original carpet and upholstery is still as-new. Third generation of drivers now, with 3 grandkids always clamoring for "boat ride"!

2. Longest ownership of a previous Cobalt

3. Longest ownership of multiple Cobalts

4. Earliest Cobalt model year owned

5. Most number of Cobalts owned sequentially

Big Block - I've had a total of 10 cobalts to get me to my current dream boat of must haves.

6. Most number of Cobalts owned at the same time

[dsthomas]

First off, great idea for a thread!!! You have me beat for sure, as we just took delivery of our 2022 R8S in March. I’ve been a cobalt owner since 2011 when we purchased a 2012 242, so going on 11 years of memories

[Titaniumboy]

Thanks!

You just gave me ideas for two more categories.

[AsLan7]

Great thread TB.

[Big Block Power]

My first one was a 1999 200 in 2012
I've had a total of 10 cobalts to get me to my current dream boat of must haves. Some I had less then a month.
The one boat that got me hooked was my 2004 200 my 2nd Cobalt. I Loved that boat but it was just a hair too small. Owned 2 at the same time multiple times.

[Titaniumboy]

Ten ?!?

I think you’re the clear winner of Category 5 (Most number of Cobalts owned sequentially). Now it’s just a matter of who comes in a distant second, with dsthomas currently leading with four Cobalts.

Should there be a category for “Longest time in garage storage”?

[CobaltDeadHead]

My first one was a 1999 200 in 2012
I've had a total of 10 cobalts to get me to my current dream boat of must haves. Some I had less then a month.
The one boat that got me hooked was my 2004 200 my 2nd Cobalt. I Loved that boat but it was just a hair too small. Owned 2 at the same time multiple times.

First off EXCELLENT idea for a thread.

But it kinda made think about a college girlfriend asking me for my "number"

And if you replaced the words Cobalt or boat with Girlfriend in BPPs response above ........

[CobaltDeadHead]

My Cobalt "number" isn't all that studly. But how the stars aligned to find my first true love, a 2005 24SX, is a good story.

I'm new to boating, only my third season. Always wanted one and joined friends on a few occasions as a kid, but definitely didn't grow up around boating. Wasn't a lot of lakes in our area of Vermont. We swam in mountain streams and jumped off cliffs into really cool swimming holes.

But, the limited exposure I had as a kid made me know I would be a boater someday. Been telling my wife "someday" since our early days of dating. Would read about all the brands and see what various models cost. Cobalt always just stood out as having the best lake boats.

Pandemic started, doing really well at work, convinced my wife we should buy a boat. I bought a 19' Key West Dual Console with a 135 Honda OB. Great shape, nice more fishing biased boat . We started the season trailering to lakes. It SUCKED. The ramps were jammed. Waiting an hour to get on or off with a 4 and 1 year old in tow was a nightmare.

My dreams of being a boating family were crashing. Had to do something drastic and quick. Called like five different marinas on Winnipesaukee and none had slips or valet spots available. Finally found one and he said he had one valet spot left. Meet him in the morning with a check and see if you like it. I said the answer is yes already and I pay over the phone. Nope, all first leases are in person. Didn't realize it was a bitch to evict people from marinas, so he wanted to make sure we would be good members. Make sense now that I'm getting to know lake life a bit more. Not everyone is respectful like all aspects of life.

Signed off on the valet and saw a bunch of construction. Tells me he's expanding and adding more Cabana slips. Excuse me? What's that? Oh you get a slip with room for a deck behind that you can put up a 12 x 12 Cabana behind your boat and also have a place to keep a grill. You want on the waiting list? I said absolutely. He says it's about 100 people long, but not chronological with a wink.

We valet in the Key West for about 4 Weeknd's. HAVE a blast. HUGE turn around. Then the marina manager calls me and says you won't be able to put your deck and Cabana in until next season, but your slip is ready. Miracle Mile number 12. That made things even better/ easier for us with small children. Summer gets busy and on fourth of July weekend we never felt unsafe in the Key West, but we got rocked around pretty good. It also could only hold about six adults safely. I start looking at Cobalts around the lake and kept coming back to this great condition 24SX for sale in large part because it has the biggest head compartment of any Cobalt until you get to like an A29. Has a bench seat in addition to the slide away potty. My wife, 1 and 4 year old could all fit in there during bad weather, but its still a bowrider. The center driving position is also cool. Called the guy up, turns out he was good college buddies with a former coworker. I go for a ride. Fire it up and hear that captains call, take off like a bar out of hell smooth through windy chop. Grinning ear to ear.

That was it! Sold.

Had a dream season with the 24SX last year and our lakeside Cabana. 100% our favorite family activity. We are there every day off that there's decent weather. Family and friends want to see us in summer? They can visit us on the water.

[CobaltDeadHead]

I'll share one more part to my story. I know a lot of members of this message board are veterans and you will appreciate this.

While it wasn't hard to sell the Key West, it was our first boat with already some great memories. I wanted it to go to a nice family. I put it on Craigslist and this older gentleman named John calls me up. Says he and his daughter want to come check it out. I say sure, come up on Saturday. His daughter gets on the phone to ask a few questions about distance from parking to the boat launch etc. Says he's recovering from some ailments. I say no worries, the marina has gold carts and will shuttle you from the parking.

They show up and he's a late 70s, tough as nails vet. He had just beaten cancer, but also had half his foot amputated from diabetes 18 months prior and had a heart attack a year before that. But, prior to that, he and his daughter had a small fishing boat they used on the Merrimack for decades. Sold it after the foot amputation. He finally felt strong enough to be a boater again to cruise with his daughter. Even if it was for just one more season knowing his health history.

She's telling me this all as we wait for the ramp and her dad and walking around the boat and checking the trailer. We finally launch and cruise out to the channel. She's the driver of the boat. He prefers that. I'm sitting across from her and he's up in the bow. She gets up to cruising speed and he just turns around with the biggest smile. I look over and she's smiling, but also had a tear in her eye. It was just the coolest thing to be a part of their first time back out boating in almost five years.

We had a great ride. Agreed on a fair price. Less than what I could have gotten for it with the market rapidly heating up. They gave me a hug and pulled away. I hope that tough vet and his daughter are still out there making memories.

[Big Block Power]

My first one was a 1999 200 in 2012
I've had a total of 10 cobalts to get me to my current dream boat of must haves. Some I had less then a month.
The one boat that got me hooked was my 2004 200 my 2nd Cobalt. I Loved that boat but it was just a hair too small. Owned 2 at the same time multiple times.

First off EXCELLENT idea for a thread.

But it kinda made think about a college girlfriend asking me for my "number"

And if you replaced the words Cobalt or boat with Girlfriend in BPPs response above ........

That is hilarious. It works perfectly

[Titaniumboy]

CDH,

Those are two great stories. I really like your dock and cabana.

[CobaltDeadHead]

My first one was a 1999 200 in 2012
I've had a total of 10 cobalts to get me to my current dream boat of must haves. Some I had less then a month.
The one boat that got me hooked was my 2004 200 my 2nd Cobalt. I Loved that boat but it was just a hair too small. Owned 2 at the same time multiple times.

First off EXCELLENT idea for a thread.

But it kinda made think about a college girlfriend asking me for my "number"

And if you replaced the words Cobalt or boat with Girlfriend in BPPs response above ........

That is hilarious. It works perfectly

Especially the two at a time, multiple times part.

[CobaltDeadHead]

CDH,

Those are two great stories. I really like your dock and cabana.

Thanks. Stars just all kinda lined up. Now we have a killer spot and a great boat for God willing, years and years of family fun. Our kids are now 7 and 3. It's so fun watching them grow up around the marina and on the water.

[kbloom72]

I'm on my 2nd Cobalt. I've always been a motorcycle guy, but enjoyed boats. Just never owned one. I went for a ride with a friend on Lake Geneva and seeing all the Cobalts had me hooked.

I found a nice 2001 206 that was meticulously maintained by the previous owner. We live 1/2 mile from the Fox River and was able to get a slip and a boat lift that we can golf cart to from our house. We used the 206 for 2 summers and realized we really enjoyed boating. Where we boat on the Fox River / Chain of Lakes it can become very rough on the weekends so the 206 was a bit small. Plus we wanted to share it with more family and friends.

I started looking around and found a great 2011 262 in Michigan. I spoke to the owner over the phone, did a video walk through and agreed on a price / pickup date. I put the 206 up for sale and it was sold in 2 hours! Fast forward a week and get a call that the 262 owner is backing out. My guess is he got a better offer, but that's just my hunch. So it's now July 15th, 2020 and I don't have a boat. What I do have is a very upset family!

So I start scouring the internet and find a 2011 A25 in Lake Geneva. I head up there and it's great. Beautiful boat! Low hours with a trailer, but no head. That was a deal breaker for my wife. As I'm explaining this to the owner Mark, at Jerry's Majestic he tells me he has a 2005 262 coming in on trade in 3 weeks. He's just waiting on the customers new Regal Surf to come in. He tells me it's still on their pier down by the lake if I want to go take a look. I immediately say yes and it was my unicorn! Black with a yellow boot stripe, SS arch, 496 with captains call and only 380 hours. We came to an agreement on the price and set a date for pickup.

Well with COVID going on and supply shortages, it took a little longer than 3 weeks to get the boat but on Labor Day weekend 2020, my 262 was delivered! We have really worked to make it our own over the last year. I'm so happy to have been in the right place at the right time.

[Dudley67]

Hey Deadhead. Sweet setup..

This is all I can say that you are……..

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