I have been the proud owner of ‘Joy Ride’, a red and white 1978 19′ 6″ Cobalt Classic bow rider, for 25 years. I purchased her from the original owner with only 12 hours when she was five years old. My family and I enjoyed her for 22 years without mechanical failure at my alpine lake cabin in California as well as at various other lakes on the west coast before lightly restoring her 3 years ago. The sundeck seating over the engine well was removed, which opened up the cockpit for fishing and skiing. A new highly varnished engine hatch cover was fabricated and new carpeting installed along with custom canvass. She retains her beautiful original vinyl upholstery on the side bolsters, bow, and swivel captain seats, and the original teak still appears excellent, including the full-width swim platform. Needless to say, her quality construction stands out after 30 years and I remain proud to own her. Her Jim Wynne designed hull provides an ultra- smooth and dry ride in choppy water and the original 351 ci/240 hp Ford Cleveland HO engine pushes her to a top speed of 52 mph with the original 21″ aluminum propeller, although she also has 19″ and 17″ Stiletto SS performance propellers. A few years ago the OMC’ 800 out drive lower unit was replaced and several new components were added to the engine, including a new starter and Holly 600 cfm carburetor, but most everything else is original and in excellent working condition, including exhaust system, gauges, lights, and switches!
Since I am now retired, I equipped her for sport fishing by adding two Hummingbird fish finders, 12 pole holders, live circulating bait well, vhf-fm radiotelephone with 6′ antennae, am/fm/cd, CB radio, GPS, 24V 70 lb. thrust electric motor, rear swivel seat, raw water wash down, live circulating bait well, 4-place onboard battery charger, and two more 12V Optima batteries. Her 1978 EZ Loader tandem trailer with rollers was completely restored by Shadow Trailers in Cypress, California and repainted in red imron to match her hull trim color. Disc brakes, new axles, actuator, and lights were added along with 5 Penman 6-ply tires. She remains a standout at the docks and always gets admiring glances and comments. Last month she turned 340 original hours and looks like she just rolled off the assembly line, minus a few light nicks and scratches. I can’t imagine a more perfect boat under 25 feet for fishing in choppy west coast waters as well as in shallow lakes and reservoirs. She is easy to tow, launch, and retrieve and can be handled by one person with no problem; and she will remain in my family for another generation of fishermen to enjoy because she is in my Will & Last Testament along with her fully restored 1990 Bronco tow vehicle.
Great story.
I’ve had three Cobalts and enjoyed each one. Your a lucky guy, my wife has a fit if I get a fishing pole anywhere near the boat. Little does she know what happens on the “guy” trips.
Hi,
I just purchased the same model here in TN. Could you give me some pointers on restoring these boats. I did just upgrade to electronic ignition and that was huge. My side strip is badly faded and interior is rough.
Thank you,
Greg Young
I have a 74 that looks just like yours and love every time I take it out with the looks it gets with the wood trim everywhere. Does yours have the electric window in the front? I cant tell if it is an open or closed bow?
Your boat is beautiful.
My inlaws have a 1984 with red vinyl seats. The cloth has begun to tear…and due to the age of the boat, the material seems to be discontinued.
Any suggestions on where I could find a discontinued RED VINYL used for seats in an 1984 Cobalt?
This link to website is for the 1978 Cobalt 19BR I just bought: http://www.ozarkvillageresort.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=42
The previous owner was an exec. from Busch Beer and had it customized to match the “Head for the Mountains” theme…
It is in excellent condition from every angle you look.
There is one thing I need help with…
I just took it out for the first time last night. We ran it for an hour and a half or so playing around and everything worked perfectly.
When returning to the dock to retrieve it onto trailer, it started dying at an idle while putting it back into gear. Where we put in is busy sometimes and we have to wait to pull up to the ramp. I ran the bilge blower the entire time. In nuetral it ran fine. As soon as I put it in gear, forward or reverse, it would die every time. In nuetral, it throttled up fine but again, as soon as it was put in gear, it would die as it engaged into gear.
Anyone have any ideas on what could be wrong with it?
Thanks in advance for any help!!!