/ Register

Welcome to Club Cobalt!

Club Cobalt is your online home for Cobalt boat discussions and the best place to interact with, and learn from, other Cobalt boat owners.
Register Now

Shoebox Split Apart @ Rear Starboard Hull-Deck Junction

Discussion in 'Gelcoat & Fiberglass Repair' started by Mayo_man, Jul 22, 2020.

  1. Jul 22, 2020 #1
    Mayo_man

    Mayo_man New Member

    4
    0
    Jul 21, 2020
    So. Cal.
    1995 COBALT 222
    VOLVO 5.8 FSI-DP... 275
    2004 FORD F-150 FX 4X4
    Found a 41" separation [about 1" separation - pictures attached] on my 1995 COBALT 222 May 1, 2020. Have been told repair is easy and inexpensive to fix without re-fiberglassing over the cracked area??? Not sure I agree, but I haven't fiberglassed anything since 1969 when I was repairing dings in my 9'6" Jacobs big gun long board. Appears to me that there may be additional areas of cracking on port side, but without separation YET. There is a plastic trim moulding covering the shoebox junction around the entire edge at bumper level terminating at the centerline of the transom. Seems like this level would be subject to damage with rough handling docking or loading on a trailer. The trim moulding appears to be one continuous piece by design. I have been told by one of the three boat repair companies I have tried to work with that this trim moulding is not available because the boat is too old. Will confirm with COBALT, but I suspect that may be correct. Any commentary on my problem and the best route back to functionality will be sincerely appreciated by me and my grandchildren who are devastated that we have lost the entire season at our resident So. Cal. lake. I would have thought the pandemic would have been depressing enough. Will keep trying, but right now cannot get an apt. to have a fiberglass repair outfit even look at my problem. To all on the site... Stay Safe and carry on...

    Shoebox Damage #1.jpg
     
  2. Jul 25, 2020 #2
    Muggsy

    Muggsy Administrator Founding Member

    217
    127
    Jul 30, 2017
    Covington, LA
    1985 Cobalt CM23
    Center-mounted 383 Stroker w/Alpha jackshaft drive
    2006 Ford F250 6.0 Diesel
    Pretty unusual to see that kind of a separation unless it took a big whack. Fortunately you live in an area with a lot of good fiberglass boat repair places. As for the molding there were 2 types used mainly. One was an extruded rubber/vinyl molding with a stainless insert and the other was/is an extruded aluminum molding with a rubber or vinyl insert. I can't tell from you pics which one you have. If its the rubber it could very well be one piece usually joined at the stern. The aluminum ones were almost always extruded in 12' lengths so if you can find it you would not have to do the whole boat. It's not a hard job and if you are handy at all you should be able to do it.

    Look at www.tacometals.com as they probably have the molding you need and if not they will have a replacement. In any case, you should be able to find something that will get you back on the water.
    Shawn
     
  3. Jul 27, 2020 #3
    Mayo_man

    Mayo_man New Member

    4
    0
    Jul 21, 2020
    So. Cal.
    1995 COBALT 222
    VOLVO 5.8 FSI-DP... 275
    2004 FORD F-150 FX 4X4
    Thanks so much for the reply, Shawn. You seem quite knowledgeable about pretty fine details on these older boats. Were you a COBALT employee at one time? ... and thanks for the pointer to tacometals.com. Will definitely check parts availability from them. Enjoy the site and really appreciate having an Administrator respond to a mere "grasshopper" COBALT wanabe. Stay safe and good luck in all your endeavors going fwd..
     
  4. Jul 27, 2020 #4
    Mayo_man

    Mayo_man New Member

    4
    0
    Jul 21, 2020
    So. Cal.
    1995 COBALT 222
    VOLVO 5.8 FSI-DP... 275
    2004 FORD F-150 FX 4X4
    One more question... just flapping about things COBALT. Are these boats [22 ft nice, not elegant] really over $100,000.00. This shrinks your target market to a pretty small demographic I would think.
     
  5. Jul 27, 2020 #5
    Muggsy

    Muggsy Administrator Founding Member

    217
    127
    Jul 30, 2017
    Covington, LA
    1985 Cobalt CM23
    Center-mounted 383 Stroker w/Alpha jackshaft drive
    2006 Ford F250 6.0 Diesel
    No, I never worked for Cobalt nor any other manufacturer. I did work at a friends shop for a summer in Huntington Beach though. However, I bought my first boat at age 15 and that was 55 years ago. About 3 weeks ago I sold my 1985 Cobalt CM23. I bought this boat in Long Beach, CA with a partner. Not sure what part of SoCal you reside in but my old partner, Denny Lund, owns 2 restaurants in Long Beach, one is Schooner or Later that was featured on the Food Network's hit show, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives. The other restaurant is Tantalum located in the Marina Pacifica Mall. Both are dockside restaurants.

    Denny and I bought the CM23 together in 1990 and owned it until I exited the partnership in 2000 and moved to Las Vegas. I bought the boat back in 2015 and did a 95% restoration/refurb on the boat. The boat was a fixture in Long Beach for many years and has been to Catalina several hundred times. Here are a couple of pics of it....
    IMG_1449.JPG IMG_0844.JPG
    I have been boating all of my adult life until 3 weeks ago and owned boats from 9' to 53' doing most of my own maintenance and upkeep. Boating has been the drug of choice in my life. Four years ago we left the Sacramento area and moved to the New Orleans area to make my retirement dollars go further and so my wife could be closer to her mother (85). She grew up here and is an LSU alum. Boating here is not like California and we found ourselves not really enjoying it we sold the boat and went back to passion # 2....sports cars.

    I hope my info will be helpful in getting your boat repaired. If you want, I can check with friends for a fiberglass repair shop in SoCal.

    To answer you second question, yes, a new 22' Cobalt can cost around or more than $100,000. But as far as the limited market I think I just heard there is about a 6-8 month backlog of Cobalts on order. I've owned a few Sea Rays, a Bayliner and a Taiwanese-built Motor Yacht and Cobalt makes one of the finest boats built. The future is a bit cloudy as about 2-3 years ago the owner of Cobalt, Pack St. Clair, sold the company to Malibu Boats. So far, the quality has remained steady. My Cobalt was a limited production model only built for 3 years (1983-1985) with a total production run of 84 boats. Mine was the last one built and there are maybe only about a dozen (+/-) left in the world. Nobody puts $30,000 into the restoration of a Sea Ray but a Cobalt? There is a group on Facebook dedicated to classic Cobalts and they are highly sought after. Your '95 is approaching that status.

    If I can do any more for you please let me know and I will do what I can. Stay safe in LaLa Land and if you get into Schooner or Later on a weekend ask for Denny and tell him I said Hi.
    Shawn Murphy
     
  6. Jul 27, 2020 #6
    Mayo_man

    Mayo_man New Member

    4
    0
    Jul 21, 2020
    So. Cal.
    1995 COBALT 222
    VOLVO 5.8 FSI-DP... 275
    2004 FORD F-150 FX 4X4
    Shawn...
    James [Jim] Brennan here. b. 10/20/47 ... am I 3 years older than you. [15 + 55] Where did you go to high school? My whole clan was SA brats [St. Anthony's High School] in downtown Long Beach. I know your name. [might be Irish] Are you a Long Beach kid/guy. I grew up in Long Beach, son of Dr. James Brennan [Chief of Staff @ St Mary's Hospital] and married [now 53 years] to daughter of Dr. Edward Wiater [Chief of Orthopedic Surgery @ St. Mary's]. Younger brother, your age named Tom Brennan went to SA and then Poly 2 years. Any of that register? Some might if you ar Long Beach raised. I definitely know Scooner or Later [241 Marina Drive]. Good Times for sure along with Jo Jost. Gotta Run right now... Thanks for the contact and the help. Have had Hallett, Omega, Skip Jack 32' Commercial Salmon, now COBALT. More will follow... thanks again...

    Now in Rancho Cucamonga, CA = San Bernardino County almost in the hills / 210 & 15. Have a cabin at Lake Arrowhead where the COBALT normally summers.
     
  7. Jul 27, 2020 #7
    Muggsy

    Muggsy Administrator Founding Member

    217
    127
    Jul 30, 2017
    Covington, LA
    1985 Cobalt CM23
    Center-mounted 383 Stroker w/Alpha jackshaft drive
    2006 Ford F250 6.0 Diesel
    Jim, I didn't grow up in Long Beach. I'm originally from Seattle. I moved to the Beach in 1994, lived in Mission Viejo for 4 years and then back to the Beach until 2000. There were 3 Shawn Murphys in Long Beach when I lived there. My single years were all spent in The Shore and my last home there was on Country Club Drive. Spent a LOT of time at Joe Jost and still meet friends there when I go to SoCal to see my daughters.

    Good luck with the boat. I hope you get it fixed soon.
    Shawn
     

Share This Page