Cobaltchat.com

New to the forum here. I am new owner of a 2006 Cobalt 323. It has twin Volvo Penta 8.1 Gx engines with 375hp. What drew me to this boat was the low hours on the engines. At this point, I am confident the broker that sold me the boat, the same marina that serviced the boat since 2006, sold me a boat they knew had many issues.
I have had issues every time I have taken the boat out on Boston Harbor since purchase - majority of which have been small parts replaced due to wear given age of boat.

Most recently, I was cruising at 2000rpm in the middle of the harbor (50 feet of water) when out of no where the boat jolted and I lost the hydraulic steering. I’m very confident I did not hit something submerged or snagged a lobster trap.

I am not mechanical at all. I have found a reliable mobile mechanic who has yet to make it to the boat to take a look, but I am curious if anyone has ever experience this issue?

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So glad you found us C323.

Sorry to hear about your steering woes.

Tough to diagnose with limited information over the internet. Did it become difficult to turn the wheel suddenly? Did the outdrives turn at all or were you without steering? When you say the boat jolted were you in a turn then it suddenly rolled out?

A little more information may help folks here diagnose.

And Welcome aboard mate.

Specifically, i was driving straight at a low speed, when a thud/jolt occurred. Although I am confident there was nothing that I hit, it really did feel like something pulled the boat backwards - again there was no lobster trap, and I did not see anything floating behind the boat after the incident. With in 3 seconds of that jolt, the hydraulic steering was lost. I could still turn the wheel, but with it was very very difficult.

Very strange. I’ll relay what I hear when my guy takes a look.

Hi, sorry for the hard time but every used everything has "issues" and your boat is like 16 years old. The dealer that sold you the boat may have been servicing it but they do what they are told to and paid for, and nothing else. This is why a professional inspection and sea trial is advisable and some folks even buy an extended warranty if it's offered. I have made some major decisions on boats and RV's based on a cursory examination and trial knowing that yeah sure, I know I am going to be putting X amount of money into this thing, but the price is so compelling that I am willing to take the chance. Not to lecture but while low hours can be a good thing, that can also be a bad thing. I just snagged a 2000 293 with twins with 700 hours, tons of cosmetics issues but I got the maintenance records and knowing well cared for motors will easily run to 2k hours or more, I got the boat for roughly half the market value. If you are choosing not to talk to the dealer about a future relationship and some concessions on service (highly unlikely) and you are moving on to a new mechanic ok fine. On your steering I would be happy to be proven wrong but it sure sounds like you hit something. I'd want to get that boat out of the water for an inspection. You can also check the obvious stuff like steering fluid and have someone look at the steering ram etc if you try to operate it...but I'd be really careful. Good luck.

Curious if you ever found the cause of this?