2000 Cobra 850 & Merc 250 Diesel opinions ???

Nick1150 · 05 September 2009, 17:05

Hi,

I am new here. I am looking for the above boat. I am situated in Greece and I have found two Cobra 850 with diesel outdrives, which even they are 9 years old, still are in a very good condition. I have googled the specific boat to find any information, possibly reviews, opinions, videos, etc, with negative results.

I would like to know if anyone owns such a boat, to let me know about the pros & cons, where to be carefull at when I see in more detail those boats, possibly tommorow. Any points of interest ? Any reviews or videos ? What about the outdrive ? Generally any info would be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Nick

Nick1150 · 06 September 2009, 07:53

none ?

Nevertheless, I am going right now to see one of the two in more detail...

Will update soon...

Thanks

Nick

codprawn · 06 September 2009, 12:04

Cobras have very good resale values so they are generally fine. They were built in a factory not far from where I live. The company were building boats for the last 30 or 40 years. They sold out about 1 year ago. I remember the original owner Dave Picton saying that they sold a lot of their boats to Greece - on of their best markets.

They are a medium deep V - pretty good in rough weather. A good leisure boat but if you want one for extreme conditions then there are more rugged boats around.

No matter what boat you buy it is all down to condtion. Sometimes a 10 year old bpat can be better than a 2 yr old that has been abused.

I am sure that if the boats have been well looked after you will be fine. Good luck with your purchase and post some photos.

Here are some pics I took in the factory in 2003.

Nick1150 · 06 September 2009, 12:32

Hi,

thanks for the reply

I just got back from the first one. It seems to be in a good condition. Tubes don't give the impression of 10 years old use. I looked all tubes around the boat and no cracks or any kind of damage or repair is visible, except the stern where the owner has repaired both stern tubes, since as he said all cobras are very sensitive there. Is that true ? The hull has few small hits from the trailer, but nothing important, and no kind of cracks or serious damage has been seen. The engine is a Mercruiser 250 HP diesel with bravo-2 duoprop stern drive with aluminium propelers. The engine hours I've seen are 460 hours in total. I've had boats of that age in the past, but this diesel is in a way better condition. It seemed to me like a new engine !!! I even asked if this engine is new and not the engine purchased in 2000 with the boat. Indeed this boat must be loved by her owner, and she is very well mainted through the years.

I did not taken any photos, because of the heat today in Greece (almost 40 degrees!!!) but in two days I will arrange a survey with Mercruiser engineers late afternoon, so I will have more time to take some shots. I promise I post as much photos I can.

Yes this boat will be bought for leisure use in maximum BF 5 to 6 conditions, for island hopping in the Aegean. The bow and stern sun decks are what attracted me in the first place, since in the stern sundeck our family can rest in the sun, and in the bow with the tent included kids can take a nap. Yes in Greece Cobras have a good name and resale value too.

Will be back with more photos

Nick

PeterR · 06 September 2009, 19:04

You should get professional advice on the repairs done to the stern tubes,as they are the most difficult areas to do.I would say thats the area in contact with the water all the time.Engines of course are one of your main costs to replace.Take some photos and contact Paul Tilley on here he will give you good advice which you should take.good luck .Peter

Nick1150 · 08 September 2009, 18:18

Hi,

just got back again from the boat yard... The specific boat seems to had many repairs which I could not see. An eye of a proffesional though was enough to see those things, so this boat is out of my list. I am going to the next one.

Just curious... Where can I browse Cobras 850 diesel in the UK ? Any url ?

I will keep you posted

Thanks for your help

Jeff · 08 September 2009, 19:50

The new owners of Cobra are here:

http://www.cobraribs.com/

Nick1150 · 09 September 2009, 05:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff

The new owners of Cobra are here:

http://www.cobraribs.com/

Thanks

but I konw that...

I meant used Cobras except boatsandoutboards.co.uk, is there any other site that it is more specialised in Cobra Ribs ?

Jizm · 09 September 2009, 06:12

www.boatshop24.co.uk

www.boatshed.co.uk

there are two on ebay at the mo, a 6.6 and a 7.5.

Nick1150 · 10 September 2009, 05:51

Thanks Jizm

Have found one or two... will update soon

Nick1150 · 10 October 2009, 06:18

Hi,

I am coming back to this subject.

Last week I did a sea trial with a cobra 8,5 & diesel 250 Merc. The weather was a 4 to 5 BF and to be honest at the end I was not satisfied with her sea handling. I was expecting more from a 9 meter hull.

I am looking towards scorpion 850 at this time...

I will create a new thread about the comparison of these two brands.

Thanks for the info

Nick