Twenty years ago my folks were on the hunt for a boat to replace their 17ft White Shark and had settled on a RIB. Their seaworthiness and practicality appealed but, at the time, it seemed as if most brands were still trying to shake off their commercial image in a bid to create something for the leisure market. Enter Cobra, who were building RIBs with comfortable seating, convertible sun pads, easily accessed deck storage and a look that didn’t give off the emergency services vibe of its more straightlaced rivals. For this reason, they settled on a Cobra 7.2m with a single 225hp Mercury outboard.
Twenty years later, the 9.2m that bobs before me at Sandbanks Yacht Company shares all of those alluring traits. Granted there is a £160,000 price difference (that’s 20 years of inflation for you and the fact the 9.2 has an extra 2m, one more engine and 375 additional horses than the one we owned) but the design and layout is just as brilliant. This particular boat, kitted out in black carbon-effect tubes and grey mouldings with contrasting diamond-stitched Silvertex upholstery in deep red, really did look the business. Quite menacing from a distance with those 300hp Mercs stalking its transom but chic and inviting when close up, where Cobra’s expansion into the world of superyacht tenders is paying dividends in terms of how high-quality everything looks and feels.
The elegant light pole on the stern, which incorporates a towing eye, and the decking atop the aft storage hatch are particularly classy additions. Of course, it should be a quality item given it’s knocking on the door of £185,000.
NIFTY DETAILS
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2021 من Motor Boat & Yachting.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2021 من Motor Boat & Yachting.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Lofoten or Bust- Part 4- Grandezza owner Per Harrtoft heads back to Sweden after an epic 3500nm adventure deep into the Arctic Circle to visit the mythical Lofoten islands
After ten memorable days in the Lofoten Islands in the far north of Norway, we are on our way back south towards Sweden. We have already made it as far as Trondheim, a charming place even if it was raining so hard we had to cycle round the city centre clutching umbrellas. But now we are back on board Deamare, our Grandezza 40 Fly, eating up the miles at a steady 31 knots.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YACHT TRANSPORT
As the name suggests it's a means of having your boat moved professionally from one location to another. It might be as simple as hiring someone to tow your RIB a few miles down the road or as complex as shipping a superyacht halfway around the world.
HANDLE A SINGLE SHAFTDRIVE BOAT PART 1
Single shaftdrive boats are relatively rare these days but the reduced costs of buying, servicing and fuelling such a simple but reliable drivetrain does mean they are making a bit of a comeback.
COCKWELLS MOTOR LAUNCH
There can be very few boats that have appeared three times at the Southampton Boat Show and been sold off the stand each time.
INSTALLING AN AUTOPILOT
Rick Channon makes solo boating simple with a Raymarine Evolution Autopilot
GOOD AS NEW
Why fit a brand new engine when Volvo Penta's remanufacturing service can rebuild you an old one to the same standard for a fraction of the price?
BENETEAU SWIFT TRAWLER 54
Alex Smith heads to France's Beneteau HQ for a UK exclusive on what might just be the best Swift Trawler yet
ΧΟ EXPLR 44
Can XO's all-new aluminium flagship really make it big in the Med?
BUYING OUR FIRST CLASSIC
Instead of whiling away their retirement playing bowls, Rob and Shona Adams decided to invest their time and money in a classic Silver gentleman's yacht. Would the gamble pay off?
PRINCESS S65
Torn between the V and F Class flagships? The new S65 might be the boat you've been waiting for...
