Anyone remember Cobra Bass Boats?

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I think they are owned by Coral these days.  They are all under the same umbrella as Hawk, Ranger, Viper, Champion, et al. 

Ranger is now owned by White River Marine group... So Bass Pro owns Ranger, Nitro, and Triton (And Tracker, Regency, and Mako). They also bought Stratos, but retired it. 

03Panther said:

In reply to stuart in mn :

My wife grew up in Homestead, playing on air boats, etc. We both no longer care as much about speed as we used to, so we're good with it! She also had a 69 Z28 back in the early 70's. A lot of folks laugh at her when she tells 'em she had a chebby with a 302... "silly girl, that a ferd motor"  she just smiles.

Try owning a "383" Chevy.  Ford fans might give her some ridicule but Mopar fans act like you've insulted their religion.  

03Panther said:

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

I personally prefer a bow mount for fishing, but my boats pull a wide variety of uses.  Shore landings are a pain with a bow-mount electric.  For that reason I prefer a transom-mounted unit.  Any downside to control during fishing is more than compensated for in my multi-use scenarios.  Where I bass fish, the electric is mostly used to help a drift, or make one if there is no wind.  If I were a hardcore bass fisherman, I would want the bow-mount, but I'm not a hardcore anything.

I was thinkin' about the same, since it will not do much fishing... I'm too much ADD to be hardcore about anything. I'm sure you can relate!

In that case, transom mount would be fine. You're lookin at $400, tops, plus batteries. Most (all?) of the transom mounts are 12 volt, so you'd only need 1 (although depending how long you spend on the water you may want 2 in parallel).

Definitely curious to see what home-brew setup you come up with though.

Streetwiseguy said:

The 35 horse Johnson kind of takes the punch line away, but my favorite joke of all time ends, "Are bass a particularly speedy fish?"

They can't run but they sure can hide.  

In reply to A 401 CJ :

the firs few 383 chebbys I was around in late 80's had a bit of that, but by mid 90's they were so common, not as much. Its not ford fan ridiculing her, its typical "SBC or DIE" types that think they know something about cars. 'Cause the heard chebbys are the best. Hey, if Jesus and Dale Earnhardt drove a chebby, they must be great! Same guys that got PISSED at me because I painted the valve covers on the 350 the p.o. put in my 48 Ford COE Blue! Never did understand how there little minds got THERE!!!

Just found a friend with a 30 pound thrust trolling motor I can get, but I've been told that is too small, and I need at least 55?

In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :

Thats the thought... I couldn't find a picture of the smaller antiques done, and of course mine would never look that nice

That one actually ain't too bad...

stuart in mn said:

It'll probably go 25 or 30mph with that motor which isn't all that bad.

P.O. said 24 with just him, 21 with 2 and gear. Plenty for us, but not popular come time to find a new home

What speed would that hull need to "get on plane." I think a bit more? Maybe just bairly? - no tilt/trim or adj. jack plate

mtn (Forum Supporter) said:

As for weight, I would have exactly 0 problems towing this with a Highlander. If you were taking it up and down mountain passes maybe you would want more, but this won't be more than 3000lbs in the absolute worst case scenario (swapping the outboard, 36v trolling motor, way too many fishing stuff, full tank of gas, etc.

Yea, flat enough 'round here I'm not concerned about towing it around, just pulling it up at the ramp. I've had problems in VA with smaller boats and RWD. This is at least FWD for that, but not much low end with that AT. Never towed much with FWD, although I did abuse my Grandmothers 92 Buick Regal after I inherited it. (Still running fine)

In reply to 03Panther :

I know nothing about bass boats, but when I read "So, what he did was splash a Ranger 482...", I just assumed that he meant that he took a Ranger 482, flipped it over and splashed some fiberglass on it to make a mold for his knockoffs.

In reply to Woody :

That sounds about right! My mind knew what he was getting at, but was still confused.

Also, the tandem trailer with it is a tilt trailer; does it need to be tilted to load? Most I see are single wheel, and a bit lower. what is the better way?

And thanks to all y'all for the advice!

A 30 pound thrust motor will just move it, but absolutely downwind only. 

I have a 45 lb for my canoe, so that I don't have to worry about conditions.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Yea, bout what I assumed. bigger than that they start getting pricey. If Id ever fix my "spare" cars and trucks, I could afford a couple a hundred.

No, trailer does not need to be tilted to load on a ramp. That's for launching off unimproved lake shores. It is tall, but that was the era. The factory trailer on my 15 was similar. You just have to get it deeper to load/unload. Shallow ramps are gonna get you tow vehicle wet - easier with the truck. (Btw, I towed and launched a 300lb sailboat with an F250, talk about overkill)
 

my trihull ski boat will stay on plane down to about 19mph, but it can vary widely based on the hull and how the boat is loaded. Weighting the bow can help to a point, but too much will cause other problems. 
 

also, look at Torqueedo motors if you haven't yet. Spendy, but good inspiration. 

03Panther said:

Part of the reason for the "deal" is - it has a tiny 35 hp outboard on it. Kinda like having a Corvette, with a Chevette engine! but since we only want to putt-putt around, we're OK with that.

I have a 30 hp Yamaha in a big ole heavy 20’ pontoon boat.  While it’s not fast and won’t tow a skier, it’s a surprisingly peppy little ship.  I’m very satisfied with it.

In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks. The overkill doesn't bother me, as much as the fuel cost, my wife is literally allergic to the diesel fumes, and the dogs fit in the highlander better. Its all fresh water, so I don't mind the yota getting wet. I am looking at a couple ratty boats to trade some junk for... swap out for the lower trailer and a trolling motor - then move the hull on for whatever.

Torqueedo is some cool stuff, but obviously aimed at folks with a least a couple decimal point moves in their income than me!

I've seen a front wheel drive vehicle fail to make it up a boat ramp many times.

Shift most of the weight to the back due to the incline of the ramp, add a trailer and boat, and the front tires just spin.

I've seen a front wheel drive mini SUV roll backwards every time the driver got on the throttle. And all he was trying to pull out was a jet ski.

03Panther said:

What speed would that hull need to "get on plane." I think a bit more? Maybe just barely? - no tilt/trim or adj. jack plate

The bottom of that boat is pretty flat, so I'd expect the 35hp Johnson has enough beans to get it to plane.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

back in the 80's a friend had a 15' fisher marine aluminum, towing with a ford ranger rwd 4cyl. He did fine all over the place, except for the ramp at James River Pier. Not that steep, but it was always wet.He would always wait to take his boat out till there was at least one other person around. Sometimes he could spin his tires enough to get up the ramp, and sometimes he needed a tow. A yugo or VW Bug would pull him out, but wasn't happening on his own! There were no FWD suv's at the time, so I don't know it they would have helped like 4wd would have. Heck, the acronym suv had not even been coined yet! But the fwd tires would have at least been on the dry part of the ramp.

Def. a good point on the weight shift, though.

If I try the highlander, I'll just have to have the tow strap with me!!!

Newer style bass boat trailers are pretty easy to pick up used and they are much lower. They're also a good bit heavier though. Around here you can find a nice steel one for 600-800 if you are patient.

 I've got a galvanized roller trailer that I picked up dirt cheap. It's much larger than my boat needs but it launches so easily and it towed long distance with no worries. Spending a little time and some dough on your trailer makes the entire experience much better. Launching and recovery is always a faff. Spending the time to optimize the trailer and practice the process minimizes problems at the ramp. It's time well spent because the ramp is the worst part of the experience. 

I wouldn't stress about how many pounds of thrust.  Hardcore fisherpeople want to zip around fishing holes with or without wind, so bigger is better.

I had a 17 lb thrust on a 15' tri hull.  It was pretty helpless in a breeze, but I'm not in a rush.  If the wind is pushing me toward the rocks faster than the electric can pull me away, I just say heck with it and fire up the 70-horse and back out.  If I scare all the bass away, so be it.  There are other fishing holes, and the idea of my boat whacking the rocks is more pressing than the fish I catch.

In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :

Ive found that you can usually find a boat needed major work (I.E., thrown away) trailer and non running outboard cheaper than a boat trailer. put the the word boat in front of trailer, and prices start climing. 'Course they ask stupid money for utility trailers now too, so I guess that makes 800 look like a decent deal.(would be a good deal for a galvanized)

I hadn't realized the lower slung ones were heaver; I'm ok with that, but this small wheeled tandem ought to pull nice, and has a nice look too. I might look into rebuilding it with out the tilt part - get it a bit lower.

I had to look up faff to be sure, but in context I thought that's was what ya meant! Ive known folks that grab a 12 pack, and head to the popular river ramp just for the entertainment!

Thanks for all the help