Cobalt vs Skisporter

[gregdomzi]

I have been looking into purchasing a 16 or 18 (as some of you,who I have contacted know-
hope I didn't bug anyone too much yet/ special thanx to Eddie Eastwood.)Anyway,I've
become paranoid,do I need to be concerned about buying a Colbalt 16 by mistake on the west coast? How can I tell them apart? I certainly don't want to pay Donzi $$$ for a fake. Thanx for your opinion in advance.
Good Luck - Greg

[Len]

I'd be surprised if it was a Cobalt! This would be a very rare bird indeed. I'd be more concerned about it being one of the many "take-offs" virtually by everyone. If it is a Cobalt then it is probably worth some serious Collector Dollars.$$$ http://www.donzi.net/ubb/eek.gif If it is a "copy" then it is worth nothing in my mind, as this is what I have been dealing with now for a year and a half. If it is a "Real Donzi" then anyone here can tell you what to look for, lift strake length's, hook, interior, cockpit tub, serial number location if not the decal/molded # or felt pen numbers and locations. In general, I have found that people doing copies get lazy and when separating the deck and hull they cut away the ski-rack and forward gas tank area as it is too much work for the product they are quickly trying to reproduce. Or,...they cut the cockpit liner parallel to the height/depth of the dash and just do a radial perimeter cut to the same depth and then "carpet" the cockpit sides. (Hull). I would trust everyones judgement here! If it is a COBALT copy then you could probably get the same dollars again or more for the novelty concept.

[gregdomzi]

Thank You Len, for the info.I reposted this because I thought I'd lost it.oops!
Good luck - Greg

[Craig]

Hi guys! Haven't checked in for a long time. Noticed this Cobalt related question. One possible way to tell if the boat was (is) a Cobalt would be if you could discern, first off, if it has ever been painted or refinished in any way, since all of the Donzi copy Cobalts I've seen have had the color scheme like all the real old Cobalts. That is, they were green (or red or blue or yellow, etc.) about 6 ro 7 inches down from the rub rail at the stern, then white below that. This color stripe thinned toward the bow. With all the factory Donzi's I've ever seen, AT THE STERN, they will be a solid color all the way from the rub rail to the water line, whether they are a solid color or two tone, that will be the case. Being able to tell if there is, or was, a color just below the rub rail (again, at the stern) for say 6 or 7 inches BUT then white below that would be a real good tell tale indicator. I imagine it would be tough to get a seller to allow you to scratch the paint/gel coat just to check! BUT that would tell the story. There is also supposedly (probably) a slight difference in the fiberglass layers, but that would be even harder to detect. "Hey, I might want to buy this here boat; can I knock a big hole in the side before I decide?" Hmmmmmmmmmmm??
Oh yeah! One more thing, with the Ski Sporter look alike (the XV-200), there were only 40 produced so its pretty unlikey. Also, you mentioned the west coast. I've located just a few in the past 15 yrs. They've been in Kansas, Maryland, Texas, Virginia, Michigan, New York and, I believe, Indiana (This list includes some of the other Cobalt Donzi copy models).
Good Luck!
Craig

[Tony]

Craig...you should link your cool site with pictures for this guy. It's a lot easier to see what you're describing.

[Craig]

gregdomzi,
Try Tony's idea. (Thanks Tony; good to hear from you! Hope you're enjoying ole' red this summer). The first 4 or 5 pics on my Cobalt site show what I was describing very well. Check this link: http://www.homestead.com/cobaltclassic/index.html
(Hopefully that will work)
First 4 or 5 shots, coincidentally show the stern and side of 2 Cobalts and 2 Donzis. The difference I was speaking of is clear at a glance. Thanks again for the thought Tony!
This is off the subject, but cool: Had a visit from Lee Wangstad in my guest book. Pretty cool. He writes classic boat articles for Boating World mag.!!
Back to the subject, gregdomzi, if you, by chance, do find that the boat in question is a Cobalt, please let me know.
Good Luck (again!),
Craig