Which 226???

Vits

Recruit
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
1
Hi guys...need some help from those with Cobalt experience!

I am looking to buy a 226 and have a choice between two similarily priced but a bit different. Option 1 is a freshwater 1999 with the 7.4 Gi and DP. Has 650 hours and perfect pass and a wakeboard tower and needs a little TLC. Has a couple tears in the upolstery and the gelcoat needs some love to make her shine. Option 2 is a 2002 with the 5.7 Gsi and DP. It has less than 200 hours but is a salt water boat. The interior is very tight as the previous owner had some upostery work done. This one has some corrosion on the drive and a little rust run on the hull below the drive. The owner claims to have racked or garage kept the boat, however the woodgrain is pretty sun faded.

What will the major difference be in boat performance? Is the 7.4 substantially faster than the 5.7 or vice versa? The our difference does not deter me too much as the big blocks are pretty durable but is there any telltale signs to be aware of pending issues? How wrong can I go with a salty boat? I boat in the beautiful interior of British Columbia (Shuswap, Okanagan) in freshwater and always trailer. We just sold our mint 17'6" 1989 Donzi and have always wanted either a Cobalt or a Formula BR...time to move up and would appreciate any input!
 

dsiekman

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
798
Re: Which 226???

Hi guys...need some help from those with Cobalt experience!

I am looking to buy a 226 and have a choice between two similarily priced but a bit different. Option 1 is a freshwater 1999 with the 7.4 Gi and DP. Has 650 hours and perfect pass and a wakeboard tower and needs a little TLC. Has a couple tears in the upolstery and the gelcoat needs some love to make her shine. Option 2 is a 2002 with the 5.7 Gsi and DP. It has less than 200 hours but is a salt water boat.

What will the major difference be in boat performance? Is the 7.4 substantially faster than the 5.7 or vice versa?

Welcome to the forum! First off, if you are not a mechanic, have one give both boats a good going over. Second, the 7.4 Gi is listed at 310 HP. The 5.7 Gsi is listed at 280 HP. Not a significant difference. However, boating is often more about torque than horsepower. Third, hours don't always mean what you think they mean. In other words, if one boat was religiously used, maintained, and flushed, it may have more life left in it than a boat that was not maintained with far fewer hours.

My first boat was a 94 252 with a carb'd 7.4 and bravo III (330 HP). She'd do low 50's. At the time, I also tested an 05 (I think) 24SX (A short lived deckboatish creation) with a 5.7 DP (320 HP). She did low to mid 50's. What I'm getting at is that you probably would not notice a huge difference. That being said, the 5.7 should be cheaper to maintain and/or replace when the time comes. Do a quick search on long blocks and you'll see what I mean. In my experience, pretty much everything on the big block was more expensive.

If it were me, I'd go for the small block. 600 plus hours on any gas "speedboat" engine is getting up there. Granted, you will see plenty of fishing or big cruising boats with 1000+ hours on big blocks, but most of those are fresh water cooled and are probably not run above cruising speed for any length of time. For whatever reason, it seems like smaller boats seem to get run hard and not maintained quite as well. I'm sure I'll catch a lot of crap for that statement. :rolleyes: However, think about it this way: If you've got the money for a $300K yacht, you are probably not maintaining it yourself unless you really enjoy that sort of thing and know what you are doing. You are probably also less likely to say, "you want me to replace the impellor EVERY season???" or, "Come on, can't I get one more season out of ______". If you are buying the best boat you can afford (or maybe stretching it a little :D), you are more likely to take on projects a little over your head or "get by" with somewhat less than recommended maintenance. For example, I have to replace the manifolds and risers on my twins this year. Had to wait for the tax check to do it, too. It was a tough decision because that money could have gone for a lot of other things, but in the end, I'd rather spend $1100 now than ten times that if the risers failed. For the same reason - and strictly being stereotypical - it is part of why I would never buy an entry class boat used. My gut instinct is that the guy who buys a new Cobalt is probably more likely to maintain and more financially capable of maintaining his investment than the guy who buys a Bayliner. Is it always true? No. Is it true more than false? Probably. Just my two cents.

In regards to the faded wood, my 293 (and pretty much every other 293 I've seen) has faded wood. The finish just did not seem to hold up very well.

Sorry for the longwinded and probably not very helpful response, but I hope it will get you thinking. Good luck!
 
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