1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

[cowboybud]

howdy y'all, i just bought an old 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider. i have been in the U.S. Navy for 12 years and have plenty of experience with small boats, but, this is truly stumping me. where can i find information on what year this boat is, possibly owners manual, and repair manuals? i can't seem to find anything pertinent to this model. the boat itself is in fairly decent shape. i have my work cut out in replacing the flooring, but nothing i can't handle. any information y'all can provide on this would be greatly appreciated. thanks

v/r
GSM2 Kirch

 

[Ryanlewis2010]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

First off welcome to iboats,

Can you tell us what type of engine is in, it pictures would be good. is there an HIN on the right side of the transom that might lead to some info with year. Do you have the title? If so what is it listed as? Homemade? Also the engine should have a SN number on it right above the starter if its a mercruiser.

All the best

Ryan

 

[1973Chieftain]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

Welcome aboard!! A bit more info will because helpful...

 

[5150abf]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

Welcome to iboats and thank you for your service.

Anything pre internet cna be hard to find unless it has a huge following and at some pioint in the 70s companies were required to put serial numbers on boats so it depends which side of that you fall on if it has one or not and you will need to post what engine you have so we know what manual you need.

If you are redecking the boat you are going to be tearing out anyting covered by a manual anyhow.

 

[southkogs]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

Do you have and Aero Glass boat, or an Arrowglass boat? There's actually boat (according to ole' Google). Arrowglass was a company in Memphis, TN & they did have a Cobra. Fiberglassics.com doesn't have much on them ... but if you Google Arrowglass Cobra Boat, you get a few hits.

You won't find a manual for the boat itself unless you happen to find on floating around eBay. Owners manuals for fiberglass boats aren't great sources of information anyway. You'll want the service manual for the engine/drive. Your capacity plate might have, and depending on what year it is they hull might have the HIN number stamped in the stern (usually outside just below the rub rail). That HIN might help you nail the year down.

Welcome aboard.

 

[cowboybud]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

well, thank you all for your help on this. first, yes it has a manufacturer plate on the inboard side of the port console but i cannot read it. there is an HIN on the transom, what do i need off of it to determine year? no i do not have a title, only bill of sale, but i've known the fella i bought it from for my whole life and it's been in his family for many years so i'm sure it's legit they just lost the title. i'll re title it after resto. i don't have a motor on it right now, but plan on putting about a 40-60hp outboard on her. the emblems on the port and starboard hull says aero glass but the part of the manufacturer plate i can read a little says arrow glass and aero glass inc. i finished stripping everything off her last night and the hull is sound. the flooring is a different story. it's a hollow fiberglass floor running fore and aft at about a 1/2 inch deep fore and 5inches toward stern. there a few soft spots where the flooring is either cracked or worn thin. i am going to drill a few small holes today to borescope it and see what is going on under it. i figure if it all checks out good, i fill foam fill the void, and lay 1/2 inch marine ply over to re-enforce the whole deck. gives me a focal point to build from anyway, i'm going to build custom seating all around and install a few storage compartments under gunwales, seating and port console. as soon as i figure out how to post pictures i will. thanks again folks, i really appreciate it as this is my first restore boat i've ever done.

 

[cowboybud]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider


here are the pics i have so far. i'll take some more this afternoon once i'm done with the deck.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

Do not overlay the floor. Your new floor will rot out with a quickness if you do that. You need to cut out the old deck and see what's going on underneath with the stringers and also really check out your transom.

 

[Ryanlewis2010]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

Look at the last two digits of the HIN it will be XXXXXXXXXXXXXX75 and that would mean its a 1975 and vice versa and listen to ezmobee he knows what hes talking about once you have the rot it wont go away till you remove it like a tumor lol. and regardless of what you do if you have to pay for him to do it make sure you have them AKA PO (previous owner) file for lost title b4 you redo the boat because as long as there WAS or IS a HIN you have to have a title to transfer the ownership over to you and i would hate for you to dump 1000 on redoing the boat and have it taken away by the law.

Please post a section in the dry dock to show your work off as you do it once you get the title (unless your REALLY sure he will get you a title while your working on it)

PS nice looking boat welcome to the tri hull club (i have two at 18 lol there fun to drive)

Ryan

EDIT: im guessing thats an outboard so a no go on the engine serial

 

[JoLin]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

i've know the fella i bought it from for my whole life and it's been in his family for many years so i'm sure it's legit they just lost the title. i'll re title it after resto.

Depending on your state's requirements for titling a boat, waiting until you've dropped a ton of money into it could be a VERY, VERY bad move. The situation you describe would be a nightmare in NY at best, and at worst could mean you're stuck with a boat you can never register or resell. Get the ownership situation straightened out first...

My .02

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

As far as the title or lack thereof, it all depends on the state. Many states don't title boats, generally in that case all you need to do to obtain a new registration is get a bill of sale and the previous owners registration. If this state does require titles, then yes, I'd at lest start on getting a title before putting a bunch of effort into repair.

And as far as soft spots in the deck, as you will hear again and again, that's a sure sign of deeper issues. You MIGHT just get away with cutting out the affected section of deck, but I doubt it. More than likely you're looking at replacing the entire deck, foam, repairing stringers, and maybe replacing the transom. (Don't worry, it's FUN !!! ). There are plenty of repair threads here, spend some time reading through those to get an idea of what's involved.

 

[cowboybud]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

thank you all for the comments. here's what i've found, it is a 1973 cobra. i have about 90% of the deck tore up. the stringers are still firm, but are saturated and will not do. so, change in plan. i just picked up some treated ply and treated 2xs to use as stringers. the foam center is solid but i don't trust it. it's coming out tonight. next i have to finish fine cutting the old deck away from the hull. kinda tricky. it's really on there good. i've got a grinder with cutting wheel and guard that i've set to 1/2" so as to not cut through hull. i've reviewed quite a few different projects on here and came up with a few new ideas. would it be a good idea to install frame supports running port and stbd if they weren't there factory? also, if i don't re-fiberglass the deck, is the treated ply and new carpeting going to last as long? i'll post pics in a few minutes. i'm having so mugh fun with this. the wife isn't too happy though. lol. she'll get over it once it's done and we can go have some fun though.

 

[cowboybud]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

btw, probably a really dimb question, but!!!! i've been looking all over for a cheaper outboard to fix up as well but they are all ridiculous in price. does any of y'all know where i can find a cheap motor at? and if and when i find one, if it is a smaller model with a tiler handle, how do i convert it so i can use a remote steering wheel and throttle controls? thanks

 

[cowboybud]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider


here's what i have so far. work in progress, sorry. hope to have all of deck up by weekend at latest.

 

[cowboybud]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

i just got her registered too. no more worries there. lol. did y'all know btw that boats under 16' aren't titled in wisconsin? i thought it odd, but they wouldn't title it because it's not required. they use a bill of sale form only. easier for me anyway. pretty cheap too for a three year reg.

 

[Ryanlewis2010]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

Thats good on the titleing im glad it worked out. Did u figure out what ysar it is?

Ryan

 

[Harritwo]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

I had a 1974 Arrowglass Puma. They were excellent tri-hulls and were extremely stable. It had a 85 HP Johnson, owuld run about 45 mph and when you tuened, you could stand it on the edge at full throttle. One of the problems with these boats was the transom. The transom was made out of plywood and glassed on both sides. The top edge was not glassed, it had a chrome strip that ran across and was sealed with a caulk of some sort. If maintenance was not done on this piece, the caulk would dry out, and water intrusion would occur rotting the transom. If yours is an Arrowglass, pay attention to that area.

 

[tboltmike]

Re: 1970's aeroglass cobra tri hull bowrider

Here is a link to the Arrow Glass webpage. Some recent posts of cobra's
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Arrow_Glass_Boats/