Buying an open bow 27-30', potentially a 1993 Cobalt 272 ... opinions appreciated

[Hai Nhi]

Greetings everyone.

Brief story about my boating life & "ikes" first pls, hehehe:

I checked out the new Sea Ray 350 SLX and absolutely love it - DEFINITELY my DREAM boat. One problem: price tag is about $300K!!!
I also took my family (wife & 4 and 6 yrs old boys) to the Sacramento boat show (I missed the SF one in Jan). Loved the Yamaha jet boat (242 LS) and almost signed up for their 2.99% for 180 months.

And of course, I still own the 2002 Sundancer 280 (major tune up / maintenance right now) and a yamaha jetski.

What I really love to do is to either sale or trade-in my 280 for a 2007-2009 310 Sundancer. And get a much older bowrider boat (much less money since the upgrade to 310 is about 3 times the cost of my 280). Or, get a nicer/newer bowrider and a much older cruiser to balance it out.

That's why I'm constantly looking around for any part of my equation. And by looking around CraigsList & other major boat selling sites, I see:

- Sea Ray sundeck is nice, but mostly 18-21', rarely 24'. I really like the 27', or at least 24'.
- Chaparral: some nice ones too
- Yamaha 242 LS of course, but price seems steep for these - not many people want to sell them either.
- Cobalt: I ran across a 1993 272: but engine has about 800 hrs (7.4L volvo/penta) and it's carbureted. This style doesn't have that full swim platform (only the small pop down one). Asking price seems to be a bit high (to me) for an 1993 year with 800 hrs - around $12K.

So, questions:
- Is cobalt in the same line with Sea Ray in term boat built quality & value? If not, how far off/above?
- volvo/penta: anything bad? I'm used to just turn key & start with my EFI's, would I have any problem/inconvenience with carburator engine?
- 800 hours: seller said engine is "clean". I take it conservatively as an average condition. How much life I should expect out of it for continued well maintenance?
- Price: how close is a fair deal compared to nada price guide, in general - in percentage? This question applies to my own situation when comes to selling my sundancer 280 & possibly the jetski too. What would you pay for this boat?
- Have buying a good form & good condition old boat, then in later date changing out brand new engine done often? The boat layout looks good to me, even better than lots of newer boats from many other brands. I probably have to get a new/used extended swim platform, and a nice wakeboard tower.

If I go check this boat out, I plan to survey it myself. Other than checking out the hull condition, electrical functions, and engine compressions, anything else I should look for?

Thanks again.

 

[Gary Lewis]

I don't know much about the prices for boats that size. But, I do know about Cobalt, and their boats are in a class ahead of Sea Rays - IMHO. A for-instance: On the 23' Sea Ray we just bought the bow cushions lift out for access while the Cobalt has pneumatic assist cylinders. And on the Sea Ray the striker plate for the ski storage locker was a piece of aluminum angle with sharp, square corners - I know because it cut me. But on the Cobalt the plate is not only rounded but styled.

That doesn't make the Cobalt a better boat as the Sea Ray is quite solidly built. However, there is more attention to detail on the Cobalt. But, because of that a similarly-sized Cobalt is more expensive than a Sea Ray. And in many cases much more expensive.

 

[jakeiszues]

I have a 240 Sundeck I bought new last year. I did a lot of research and aside from the Sea Ray, the contenders were Cobalt and Regal. I agree the Cobalt is a better boat with a better reputation which helps for resale. That said, you pay for all of that. I purchased the SeaRay and have not looked back. I am very happy.

 

[Hai Nhi]

Thanks Gary & Jakeiszues.

I do love the Sea Ray too. Too much sometime hahaha.

Great to hear about Cobalt as well. I just made some offer on a Cobalt. Let see how it turns out. I should hear back from them by the weekends.

 

[chrishick]

My $0.02, stay away from Volvo. I don't think Volvo is any worse/better than Merc but when it comes to finding parts for repairs Volvo will cost a lot more and very few aftermarket parts are available. I had to replace my Volvo outdrive on a boat a few years back. New was around $7,000 and I found a few used for $3-4k but I could have bought a reman or aftermarket Merc for around $1-2k. I couldn't even find a mechanic who would/could work on a Volvo but Merc mechanics are a dime a dozen.

 

[dpmulvey]

Dos Centavos.....

Cobalt builds a fine boat. IMO a step up from SR. They are heavy but with a 7.4, you should be fine.

A 7.4 is a 7.4 is a 7.4.... they all start as BBC base engines. I like Volvo gas engines, especially the RWC pump. The impeller is a breeze to change compared to a Merc. I prefer a carb over EFI. In all honesty, unless you are running several hundred hours per year the cost differences in fuel is nil. Add to that, when a carb engine has a fuel system issue that breaks, they normally break cheap. Not so with EFI. The big question is which Volvo outdrive are you looking at? This is CRITICAL. IF the OD is the composite one....Run Forrest, Run. Great concept, rotten execution. Nothing but trouble. The old AQ series where the exhaust left the drive over the prop is a work of art in its simplicity. It's a shame they ever dumped it. The SX is nice. Had one for 3 years with no trouble. Just regular maintenance. I did have a bellows leak that went bad. My fault as I did not know enough about bellows to know to change them every few years as PM. The U-Joints may be tough to find. They cross reference to a John Deere Tractor. No BS. That was interesting! A "real" NAPA will have them.

In this soft market I'll bet you can get the seller off $12K.

Good Luck

HTH

 

[rggale]

If you're looking at an open bow in that size range, look at the 270 SLX. I have a 2005 w/ 100 hours on it that I just bought last fall. I love the boat so far (have only put an hour on it during a sea trial, but have spent probably 10 hours ON the boat in my garage tinkering with stuff and getting it set up for the season. It's really comfortable, and a great value on the used market. You can get one for ~$30-40k with low hours and in good condition. IMO, much like wives, it's always cheaper and easier to have one boat than two boats.

 

[KnotEasy]

The boat he is looking at has the older AQ duo prop sterndrive. Not a favorite of marine mechanics, but nonetheless, a good drive in it's day.
The newer DPS-A would be a better al around drive, but it was not even in production in 1993.
VolvoPenta did not make a composite drive in 1993.

 

[randmhall]

You mentioned sun deck not being 24' you should check out the 2003-08 or so 240 260 and 270 sun decks. I have the 240, which is 26' with the bolt on swim platform. Awesome boat, and very popular in this part of the country. Sea Ray renumbered the models a couple years ago, and everything got shorter. The old 240 is the new 260 in size.

 

[Hai Nhi]

Great posts as always everyone. The '93 I was talking about has a Volvo/Penta and that's all I know. I haven't had a chance to go check it out yet - 2 hours away. Camping at my youth group this weekends.

I heard loud & clear about having one vs 2 boats. Will narrow it down to one at later date. But as of now, I have some plans I'd like to try out that's why the search for open bow (and the sale of the Sundancer 280 as soon as I can).

As for Sea Ray, 270 slx's seem to be out of state/much long distant at the moment. I'm only willing to do long distant transaction if it's a deal/steal. I'll spend some more time looking at those more to see if I can find anything local. As I mentioned, I really love the 350 SLX (but the not the price tag). So its little brother 270 should be a good alternative.

Hope people can find time boating already. I'm still stuck at working on my twin maintenance/tune up. Maybe one more week.

 

[rggale]

Great posts as always everyone. The '93 I was talking about has a Volvo/Penta and that's all I know. I haven't had a chance to go check it out yet - 2 hours away. Camping at my youth group this weekends.

I heard loud & clear about having one vs 2 boats. Will narrow it down to one at later date. But as of now, I have some plans I'd like to try out that's why the search for open bow (and the sale of the Sundancer 280 as soon as I can).

As for Sea Ray, 270 slx's seem to be out of state/much long distant at the moment. I'm only willing to do long distant transaction if it's a deal/steal. I'll spend some more time looking at those more to see if I can find anything local. As I mentioned, I really love the 350 SLX (but the not the price tag). So its little brother 270 should be a good alternative.

Hope people can find time boating already. I'm still stuck at working on my twin maintenance/tune up. Maybe one more week.

You'll find a good deal on a 270. I wasn't really looking for a new boat, but knew what I wanted so I had some feelers out there online. This one came across my bow and I couldn't turn the deal down. You never know what kind of position the seller is in. Boats are obviously a luxury good, and they're the first to go on the market if someone comes on hard times. They're also not usually the first thing to sell since they're not exactly liquid...so sellers will take huge concessions if they need the liquidity. That's how I ended up with two boats for about 4 months.

Just keep looking, passively, and you'll find one when you least expect it. Wait until the off season.

 

[Hai Nhi]

I like the way you think Rggale.

The boat I offered on is a Cobalt and seller just made an addendum to the agreement. It's a fixer-upper kinda boat though. So I am really looking forward to closing it. I'd still keep my eyes open for Sea Ray deals too.

By the way, has anyone been using a good boat shipping service that they can recommend? I was checking out Uship to get some quotes but not sure how to go about how to pick a good shipping company & price expectation.

Thank you.