Here it goes again - 1999 Cobalt 292 Refresh

[baktasht]

Coming from a history of owning SeaRay boats we took our first dive into a Cobalt with our Cobalt 232. It was a great boat, we had a great time getting it into better-than-new condition, and we put probably 200 hours on it in the 1yr that we owned it. We started getting the itch for something larger and started our search for a 272 or 282. Our criteria was mainly that it needs to have an interior/exterior in good condition, single large engine (8.1 or 8.2), and not red. Surprisingly we had a tough time finding the right boat. I looked at some 293's as well, but we wanted an open bow since we don't overnight. We went to see a 292 a couple hours away and immediately knew it was the one for us. The size was intimidating at first, but that took just a few minutes to wear off as we looked over the boat in detail.

It is a locally owned boat that was purchased new from the Cobalt dealer here. I spoke to the dealership and both the sales manager and one of the service techs know the boat very well and vouched for how well it was taken care of and serviced regularly. So we listed our 232, it sold in less than 3 days for full asking. We needed a trailer for the 292, and found none. A member of the Lake Travis facebook group was able to point me to a friend of his that had a triple axle trailer he didn't need since he upgraded. I took the 3.5 hour drive to go see and buy the trailer. Then met the dealer we bought the 292 from the following day to swap it off of his trailer and onto ours. Had to adjust the bunks a little and it fit perfectly.

So far we have only spent about 5 minutes on the boat itself so we are not totally familiar with it, but here is where we are at for a starting point:

* Powerplant - Volvo 8.2 GSi
* Options:
- captains call
- updated stereo system - haven't looked much into what all is there yet
- Cobalt full snap on cover
- Cobalt oversized bimini
- Captains call exhaust - tested and is working
- Dual bilge pumps (front/rear) - tested, one is working for sure, will locate the other to see if it works
- 140gallon fuel tank
- Has two new-ish Duralast group 31 marine batteries - Will be replacing them with Duracell Marine AGM Group 31 batteries
- On board charger
- On board air compressor - have not tested
- Sink with high pressure water - have not tested
- Trim tabs, hydraulic - have not tested
- Hydraulic engine cover lift - not working, need to find/diagnose pump and relays
- All gauges seem to work except for tachometer, need to diagnose/fix tach
- All oem Cobalt snap-in carpet seems to be in very good condition. I pulled it ALL out and will be running them through a deep wash with carpet cleaner
- A couple interior light lenses are cracked, will be replacing all of them with new ones and LED bulbs
- Dash has no wood trim, thank GOODNESS!
- All upholstery seems to be in good condition, will check in detail later

Here are some photos, will post updates as I get into it.

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[kbloom72]

Congrats on your purchase! You're going to have fun time making that your own!

[AsLan7]

Enjoy bs!
I gotta say that’s a LOT of boat for a single screw. (no pun intended).

[dustinm]

Lots of very good options, great buy! Looking forward to some interior shots.

[CobaltRick]

Nice boat!! It looks RATHER huge compared to my very old but functional DV18..

[baktasht]

Congrats on your purchase! You're going to have fun time making that your own!

Thanks! It should be fun.

Enjoy bs!
I gotta say that’s a LOT of boat for a single screw. (no pun intended).

I was thinking the same, I have seen some 293/292's with single setups that were really too small (7.4 and 6.2's). But hoping that the 8.2 GSi will make for a balanced setup.

Lots of very good options, great buy! Looking forward to some interior shots.

Thanks!

Nice boat!! It looks RATHER huge compared to my very old but functional DV18..

Thanks!

[Holy Smokes]

Owned a 1999 293 for 8 years. Great setup and plenty of space for family & friends, even more so with the open bow version. Ours had twin 5.7GSi and I still found there was plenty of engine room space for maintenance. A single will be a breeze.

As mentioned above, it's a big hull that catches a lot of wind. Twins made it simple, but you'll get used to the size quickly.

[baktasht]

Owned a 1999 293 for 8 years. Great setup and plenty of space for family & friends, even more so with the open bow version. Ours had twin 5.7GSi and I still found there was plenty of engine room space for maintenance. A single will be a breeze.

As mentioned above, it's a big hull that catches a lot of wind. Twins made it simple, but you'll get used to the size quickly.

That is great to hear. We are looking forward to having it on the water next weekened.

[baktasht]

The labels are somewhat unreadable on the outdrive. I may need to get the dealership to look up what the boat came with when it was built. But incase anyone can visually identify, can you tell which outdrive this is? I've read that a lot of the 8.2GSi's came with the DPX, but looking at photos this looks more like a DP-SM.

Thoughts?

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[Holy Smokes]

I' d concur.... that's a DPSM.

Also, if you trailer much, find some new transom straps. That's nearly 8,000# of boat and those little straps won't give you the piece of mind you want.

[baktasht]

I' d concur.... that's a DPSM.

Also, if you trailer much, find some new transom straps. That's nearly 8,000# of boat and those little straps won't give you the piece of mind you want.

110% agree on straps and safe trailering. That was just to get it home, putting along at 40mph. I purchased the 292 without a trailer. Bought the trailer from another gentleman near the coast. And it was all pretty rushed to get lined up. I have 4x 2500lb test ratcheting straps for the transom, and a 3500lb test strap + chain for the bow that will be going on this weekend. Also will be moving the bow roller/winch arm forward by another 6-10 inches (need to do some measurements). And also ordered a heavy duty 2 speed winch, the existing winch is way too small. Going to put electric brakes on the two front axles as well in a few weeks.

[baktasht]

Here's what I have on order so far:


* New 2500lb trailer jack:

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* New air horn for emergencies:

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* Emergency plug for the keychain:

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* Some new pins for the bimini:

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* New stainless steel latch/pull for the compartment in front of the driver. The old one is the plastic white one from the factory:

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* New stainless steel cup holders to replace the factory plastic ones:

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[baktasht]

* Boat hook. My life saver anytime i'm docking or pulling out from a dock:

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* 3200 lb 2 speed Fulton winch for the trailer:

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[baktasht]

Also ordered a new 1200D Seal Skin cover, to cover the entire boat so it stays cleaner between uses.

[Titaniumboy]

* New stainless steel latch/pull for the compartment in front of the driver. The old one is the plastic white one from the factory:
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Are those Southco slam latches? They make a locking version that would help with keeping things secure.