Just Added To My Fleet

[NorCal Boater]

Well I just added a 4th vessel to my fleet (counting the dinghy). I have just purchased a 1985 Cobalt CM 23.





I was a partner on this boat in Long Beach, CA from 1989 to 2000. It is a very rare boat as Cobalt only made the "C" series for a few years and the CM23 was the most rare. The "CM" stands for "Center Mount" for the location of the engine. It is a 260 Mercruiser mounted in the center of the boat and there is a drive shaft that connects to a Merc pre-Alpha drive. This boat has a fantastic ride and handles terrific. It has a wet bar and a cuddy cabin with a porti-potty.

She has been in salt water for all of her 30-year life and is in remarkable condition considering but far from perfect. I am planning a full restoration. I know I will never get the money out of this boat but my wife knows to just bury me in it. I sold my share of the partnership and regretted it every day. I have never seen a boat with more classic lines than this and I fell in love the first day I saw her.

I know its not a Sea Ray but like many old Sea Rays she deserves preservation. I will try and keep post going on the progress.

Shawn

 

[Havana Shamrock]

I'm not that familiar with older cobalts but the lines on yours are beautiful, I'll be following the progress and congrats on getting her back!!!

 

[Hifirush]

I like the lines, I think its beautiful. Good luck with and please keep giving updates.

Matt

 

[OldSkool]

As I said in a previous post, beautiful boat indeed. The restoration will be well worth it.

 

[Gofirstclass]

Very pretty. I really like the older Cobalts. The new ones aren't shabby, but I really like the older ones.

 

[HUMPH]

Sweet boat, congrats! You should bring it over to MWYC weekend after next when you have your chili cook-off. Rumor has it your members might have some competition. Weather permitting, I'll be bringing our boat there as we are having our annual Roast at your facility.

 

[sibnai1]

wow the lines on that baby are really sweet truly classic and classy looking!! Congratulations!!! Definitely more pix keep posting em!!!

 

[rondds]

Real cool Shawn! Classic lines indeed. Interesting engine set-up.
Good luck with the restoration!

 

[Mike Blake]

Cool lookin boat enjoy!!

 

[dpmulvey]

Very nice. Good luck.

 

[just me]

Nice

 

[Larry]

One of my favorite boats was my (1981) Cobalt Condesa, it was built like no other boat (Sorry Sea Ray). I remember reading article at the time that the seats we're were designed by Rolls Royce. The day I sold the boat in 1993, I had a few people scheduled to see at 30 minute intervals and a few ended up overlapping, and I ended up having a bidding war!! Ended up selling it for $5k more then I paid!! And what I was asking!

 

[MonacoMike]

Great boat! I love my near original SR 85 Monaco.

MM

 

[Tonka Boater]

She's a beauty...

 

[NorCal Boater]

Thanks for the responses guys. I always knew this was a rare boat but I wasn't really sure how rare so I contacted Cobalt Customer Service. They got back to me with this information.

The "CM23" was produced from 1983 through 1985. In '83 they made 35, 19 in '84 and only 15 in '85. The only available engine option was the Merc 260HP mounted in the center of the boat with a drive shaft extention to a pre-alpha drive. Cooling water was through a raw water pump off the engine and a through hull like an inboard. There was no strainer. The boat did have a cooling problem in that the engine was a bit low in the boat and it would ingest raw water into the cyclinders. We finally solved the problem by adding a closed cooling system.

The boat is not currently in the original color scheme. While the navy is correct there was also light blue and tan on the hull sides as well. My ex-partner changed the color and added the gold-leaf stripe and the name "Schoonin" as a reference to one of his dockside Long Beach, CA restaurants, Schooner or Later. This restaurants was featured on the Food Channel's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives a few years ago. I really like the current color scheme but I am torn about taking it back to original.

I am planning to go to Southern Cal next week to bring it back to Sacramento and I am really looking forward to starting the work on this boat. I'll try and get some more pics posted next week.

Shawn