Beauty & The Beast

Hello –

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!  

 

beauty2.jpg

 

 

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.  

 

5 Comments

  1. Mike D'Anna April 10, 2008
  2. Greg Young December 4, 2008
  3. Chad February 23, 2009
  4. J Slink March 18, 2009
  5. JJOHNSON68 May 23, 2009