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The Boat Fanatic Thread


Yarbr

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I’ve been thinking about selling that for a while. I really don’t need to sell it to buy a boat, I’m not married any more.

I just don’t drive it hardly ever and honestly there are a few things that bug me about it that I’ll never be able to fix and wasn’t smart enough to spot when I bought it. I’ve had a lot of fun with it but I think maybe it’s time.

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I’ve had a lot of fun with it but I think maybe it’s time.


I had an FJ 60 about which I thought the same thing…. Right about until the time it’s new owner got to the end of my street and never looked back.

Of course, I didn’t have a new boat to turn to, so YMMV.
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On 8/2/2023 at 9:35 AM, Brew said:

That’s a harder pass than the Sunscape. That goes in the same boat grouping as the 28 foot pontoon with twin 450R’s selling for $325k.

Curious why you say this? Is it just a bad mashup of luxury and functionality? Or are there problems with the lower unit design?

I ask because the ability to surf behind an I/O interests me. We live on a lake and I keep my boat in the covered slip at our dock 95% of the time, but the water is not consistently deep enough for a real deal surf boat. And I'd have to get a new cradle for the lift to accommodate the drive shaft/prop on a surf boat. It looks like these Cobalts draft ~3 ft and that would work unless the water in the lake is way down and I'd be trailering then anyway.

We currently have a Hurricane deck boat with an outboard, which is great for our lake and for skiing/tubing/cruising and even wakeboarding for beginners. But I do think as my kids get older they would enjoy surfing more than anything else.

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1 hour ago, The Royal We said:

Curious why you say this? Is it just a bad mashup of luxury and functionality? Or are there problems with the lower unit design?

I ask because the ability to surf behind an I/O interests me. We live on a lake and I keep my boat in the covered slip at our dock 95% of the time, but the water is not consistently deep enough for a real deal surf boat. And I'd have to get a new cradle for the lift to accommodate the drive shaft/prop on a surf boat. It looks like these Cobalts draft ~3 ft and that would work unless the water in the lake is way down and I'd be trailering then anyway.

We currently have a Hurricane deck boat with an outboard, which is great for our lake and for skiing/tubing/cruising and even wakeboarding for beginners. But I do think as my kids get older they would enjoy surfing more than anything else.

Honestly, because I’m a wake snob and think all of these companies attaching “wake” to their products are full of it. I think if you really want to board/surf, buy a boat designed for it. If you want to cruise a lot, buy a Centurion that actually has a decent deadrise. The newer wake boats run much better than the older ones anyways and aren’t terrible in open water/long runs. I ran my Nautique 10-15 miles on the river occasionally and it was passable, so I would rather go that direction. I also paid $110k for it brand new versus the stupid numbers the R series are selling for.

Saying that, Cobalt’s design is as close to one that works as well as anything that I have seen. It comes with a massive price tag and it’s still an I/O that’s using some “smoke and mirrors” to get to a decent wake product, but if the goal is to cruise mainly with some surfing mixed in then it probably works. I’m also not a fan of the reverse drive system and the location of it. I’ll be curious how it holds up long-term.

I know 4-5 people with R4’s and R6’s. They have all been happy but they typically still surfed my boat when we were out.

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4 minutes ago, Brew said:

Honestly, because I’m a wake snob and think all of these companies attaching “wake” to their products are full of it. I think if you really want to board/surf, buy a boat designed for it. If you want to cruise a lot, buy a Centurion that actually has a decent deadrise. The newer wake boats run much better than the older ones anyways and aren’t terrible in open water/long runs. I ran my Nautique 10-15 miles on the river occasionally and it was passable, so I would rather go that direction. I also paid $110k for it brand new versus the stupid numbers the R series are selling for.

Saying that, Cobalt’s design is as close to one that works as well as anything that I have seen. It comes with a massive price tag and it’s still an I/O that’s using some “smoke and mirrors” to get to a decent wake product, but if the goal is to cruise mainly with some surfing mixed in then it probably works. I’m also not a fan of the reverse drive system and the location of it. I’ll be curious how it holds up long-term.

I know 4-5 people with R4’s and R6’s. They have all been happy but they typically still surfed my boat when we were out.

Thanks for the reply, that makes sense. I started poking around looking at '20-'22 used models and there sure is shit is a Cobalt premium that I don't know would be worth it. A Malibu or Mastercraft could easily be had for the same price (or less) as the Cobalt in the same year model, and that seems a little silly for what I would be trying to do. It looks like I would have to go back to a '18 or '19 on a Centurion to get there.

I don't think anyone riding behind my boat would able to tell too much of a difference in the quality of the wake as long as they could surf it. One of our friends has a 2010ish Supra that we were out on a few weeks ago and he was having all kinds of problems with the perfect pass system and/or the engine was misfiring. The wave was shite. I felt bad for him, but no way I'd want to mess with one that old unless I knew more about how to fix them on my own.

It probably would make more sense just to rework my cradle to work with a "real" wake boat. But the increased height of the bunks would eat up more of the water in my slip and with the feast or famine nature of rain in our area the last few years that probably would mean more time on the trailer.

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28 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

Thanks for the reply, that makes sense. I started poking around looking at '20-'22 used models and there sure is shit is a Cobalt premium that I don't know would be worth it. A Malibu or Mastercraft could easily be had for the same price (or less) as the Cobalt in the same year model, and that seems a little silly for what I would be trying to do. It looks like I would have to go back to a '18 or '19 on a Centurion to get there.

I don't think anyone riding behind my boat would able to tell too much of a difference in the quality of the wake as long as they could surf it. One of our friends has a 2010ish Supra that we were out on a few weeks ago and he was having all kinds of problems with the perfect pass system and/or the engine was misfiring. The wave was shite. I felt bad for him, but no way I'd want to mess with one that old unless I knew more about how to fix them on my own.

It probably would make more sense just to rework my cradle to work with a "real" wake boat. But the increased height of the bunks would eat up more of the water in my slip and with the feast or famine nature of rain in our area the last few years that probably would mean more time on the trailer.

I missed the part on the bunk style setup, typically wake boats will cradle fine as long as it’s not a drive on platform or a sling. Anything that cradles using bunks will cradle in the trailer location. The draft on a wakeboard boat is generally going to be around 30 inches at 22 feet or less, a little more as you go up in size. However, that draft point is 2/3 of the way back in the boat versus with an I/O where it is at the rear of the boat. An R6 will cradle in under 2 feet of water with the motor tilted up to the water level. An X22 needs 32ish inches solid (maybe not comfortably) to cradle, so that is a legitimate issue to consider. You don’t want to be in a scenario where you risk hitting the cradle with a prop on an inboard. It can go really bad, really fast.

On surfing older wakeboats, keep in mind they weren’t built for surfing. That is a much more recent phenomenon. It’s also why the size of the boats have jumped so much in recent years because they need to sink them further to generate a wave. My late 2000’s X-1 and 220 were garbage to surf unless we had enough people/weight to move things around to configure the wave. Even then something like the R6 has a better wave.  Honestly, my 2020 210 wasn’t great to surf because the boat just wasn’t big enough. You need a wider beam, taller freeboard, and a shit ton of weight on a corner to get the proper wave or you need a bunch of electronic/mechanical goodies that force the physics side of it. Old wakeboats don’t have those things but enough weight can cure most things

Working on the engines, I would much rather have an older wake boat. Most all run variants of the GM 350 or Ford 351 blocks and are very simple engines. Even with the advent of EFI, they still aren’t very complicated and they are easy to get around.

Edited by Brew
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I need to stop looking at this thread, it has me looking at boats again. If I keep looking I’m going to end up buying a boat before the summer is up which is going to cost me a new kitchen in exchange. That 230 I posted on the last page is calling my name.

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6 minutes ago, Brew said:

I missed the part on the bunk style setup, typically wake boats will cradle fine as long as it’s not a drive on platform or a sling. Anything that cradles using bunks will cradle in the trailer location. The draft on a wakeboard boat is generally going to be around 30 inches at 22 feet or less, a little more as you go up in size. However, that draft point is 2/3 of the way back in the boat versus with an I/O where it is at the rear of the boat. An R6 will cradle in under 2 feet of water with the motor tilted up to the water level. An X22 needs 32ish inches solid (maybe not comfortably) to cradle, so that is a legitimate issue to consider. You don’t want to be in a scenario where you risk hitting the cradle with a prop on an inboard. It can go really bad, really fast.

On surfing older wakeboats, keep in mind they weren’t built for surfing. That is a much more recent phenomenon. It’s also why the size of the boats have jumped so much in recent years because they need to sink them further to generate a wave. My late 2000’s X-1 and 220 were garbage to surf unless we had enough people/weight to move things around to configure the wave. Even then something like the R6 has a better wave.  Honestly, my 2020 210 wasn’t great to surf because the boat just wasn’t big enough. You need a wider beam, taller freeboard, and a shit ton of weight on a corner to get the proper wave or you need a bunch of electronic/mechanical goodies that force the physics side of it. Old wakeboats don’t have those things but enough weight can cure most things

Yeesh, yea I didn't think about the draft point not being at the rear of the boat. Probably a no go for me then. I put in new bunks on my cradle last year and purposefully made them as short as possible to use up as little of the water in the slip as possible. They are ~10 inches above the I beams that run perpendicular to the slip. The water depth at the back is probably 5ft right now, but at the very front it's probably closer to 2ft. And the lake is almost 2 ft down from full pool today.

Maybe the technology continues to get better where I can find something that will work, but like you are saying, physics trumps everything at some point. Or maybe the next time the water level falls waaay down like it did in 2011 I'll dig a canal and reinforce the sides to make the water deeper in the slip.

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I don’t know that it would be a major issue because of the distance from the bow to where it would become an issue as long as you were 3 feet by a distance of 12-14 feet out. The deepest point varies by boat type just for the record. For some, it is going to be close to the back. For others it may be mid boat. The older/smaller boats are going to tend to be further back because of the hull style, but an X series MC isn’t going to have much difference between the middle/back of the boat. A Nautique GS 24 will be a little more rear centered with draft, but with either the major damage that can occur will be at the back of the boat with the running gear and may actually be further back in distance than the R6 because of the location of the running gear. The R6 probably sits higher in the middle though.

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7 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

That 230 did look really clean. You'd be comfortable buying a boat that old if you got a good look at it? Would make me nervous.

Interior isn’t great on it which is why it’s priced there. It’s all a roll of the dice sometimes, but in the last 10 years I’ve had 2 93’s, a 96, an 07, an 06, and a 20. I buy low hours in good shape, have the motor looked over, and go about my business. There just aren’t many places for the old ones to go bad as long as you get them compression checked. Starter issues and changing the impeller have been about it. Never had a driveline issue or a significant electronics issue. Had a buddy buy an 07 230 last year, motor blew his first time out. He got an overheat alarm on the test drive and bought it anyways like a dumbass. $15k later, he learned his lesson in getting them inspected.

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Just now, Brew said:

It’s all a roll of the dice sometimes, but in the last 10 years I’ve had 2 93’s, a 96, an 07, an 06, and a 20. I buy low hours in good shape, have the motor looked over, and go about my business. There just aren’t many places for the old ones to go bad as long as you get them compression checked. Starter issues and changing the impeller have been about it. Never had a driveline issue or a significant electronics issue. Had a buddy buy an 07 230 last year, motor blew his first time out. He got an overheat alarm on the test drive and bought it anyways like a dumbass. $15k later, he learned his lesson in getting them inspected.

Jesus, wtf? Get an alarm during the test drive and I'm sprinting the other way.

I'm also at least 90 miles from a dealer who could fix something big that goes pear-shaped on me, so I'm a little more allergic to older boats. My Hurricane is a '13, but the outboard has been bulletproof and there really aren't any electronics on it to fuck up. It's nothing fancy, but I bought it for cheap from my MIL and it's been great for our kids so far. I do think they are going to get bored of the tube/ZUP/skis in the next few years though.

Thanks for all the info. I've followed your posts on boats for years and you've obviously seen and done a lot of shit with them. Appreciate it.

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Old boats whether inboard or outboard are great, electronics have ruined the ease of use and ease of working on them. When I bought the 2020 Nautique 210, I picked it up from the dealer right after they had closed (time zone difference screwed me up) so we didn’t go over anything. I’ve had boats all my life, don’t need a walk through anyways. I took it home, pulled it to the ramp to drop it and take it to the lake house, and there was no key anywhere. Shit, where’s the key? I called the salesman (it’s getting late on a Saturday night at this point) and he was like you idiot, it’s a key code push button, there is no key. Just enter 4 0’s and hit start. I still couldn’t figure out how to do some things with that boat 2 years later when I sold it because everything was computerized.

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Tbone, I’ll throw out a different idea, just to check out. Have you researched to see if there are any boat clubs in your area? I looked at Freedom, but doesn’t look like they are in AZ. You don’t u e to jack with any of the things you are worried about, a slip or storage, trailer parking, or what type of boat you want. Most of them have ski / surf boats, runabouts, & pontoons. You can use a different one each time you go out & figure out what works the best for you. Biggest drawback is you have to plan ahead some & probably can’t keep the boat out all day - most are 1/2 slots. They have gotten pretty popular around here & in FL.

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35 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

Anyone know how wide a trailer is for a boat with an 8.5’ beam (say like a 2013 Cobalt 232)?

How much width is needed for a parking space is what I’m trying to figure out.

Most of the time...but not always...The widest part of the trailer will be about equal to the widest point of the boat. The fenders/wheels on the trailer usually sit under the gunnels of the boat. 

19 minutes ago, Horns99 said:

Tbone, I’ll throw out a different idea, just to check out. Have you researched to see if there are any boat clubs in your area? I looked at Freedom, but doesn’t look like they are in AZ. You don’t u e to jack with any of the things you are worried about, a slip or storage, trailer parking, or what type of boat you want. Most of them have ski / surf boats, runabouts, & pontoons. You can use a different one each time you go out & figure out what works the best for you. Biggest drawback is you have to plan ahead some & probably can’t keep the boat out all day - most are 1/2 slots. They have gotten pretty popular around here & in FL.

this is not a terrible idea

 

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I have thought about it. There is one at one of the lakes and what you are saying makes sense. I may check it out a little more.

I typically kind of like owning my own shit though.

Back on the purchase idea - what do you guys think about this? Things I like are a) it’s only 21’ so easier for a new boat owner to handle, b) looks really well designed to be comfortable, c) low hour motor is still under warranty, d) it’s close to me so easy to get here, e) it’s a Sea Ray which I assume would hold value well, and d) being a 2017 seems like less risk of issues Vs some of the older boats I’ve been looking at. Seems like a decent entry level boat for what I’m wanting….

Look at this awesome Sea Ray I found on BoatTrader! https://boattrader.page.link/JE9N?mt=8

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3 hours ago, tbone_ said:

Anyone know how wide a trailer is for a boat with an 8.5’ beam (say like a 2013 Cobalt 232)?

How much width is needed for a parking space is what I’m trying to figure out.

Depends on the boat type and whether you are looking at wheel width or full trailer width. However, max legal trailer width is 102” so the wheels are generally going to be right inside that number. With guide poles taken into account I would think you would be a little over that and closer to 106” depending on the pole layout.

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10 hours ago, troph said:

hey @Sbbruin how hard or easy is the sail from the various departure points to Catalina island?  Considering a trip, found a bareboat charter company (they charter cats). Thinking about it. 

Easy.  From Long Neach or Redondo it’s 3 hours ish. Fur5er from MDR or Newport, but still easy.

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On 8/4/2023 at 4:10 PM, Horns99 said:

Tbone, I’ll throw out a different idea, just to check out. Have you researched to see if there are any boat clubs in your area? I looked at Freedom, but doesn’t look like they are in AZ. You don’t u e to jack with any of the things you are worried about, a slip or storage, trailer parking, or what type of boat you want. Most of them have ski / surf boats, runabouts, & pontoons. You can use a different one each time you go out & figure out what works the best for you. Biggest drawback is you have to plan ahead some & probably can’t keep the boat out all day - most are 1/2 slots. They have gotten pretty popular around here & in FL.

This is a good idea imo.  We did the boat club thing for a few years and it worked very well for us.  We put our membership on hold this year for a variety of factors (travel plans, lake level, rising costs, etc.) but the club route makes a lot of sense in many situations. Downside is scheduling, impulsivity, hour restrictions, etc. I may turn it back on next year if the pool addition doesn't shake out. 

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10 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

This is a good idea imo.  We did the boat club thing for a few years and it worked very well for us.  We put our membership on hold this year for a variety of factors (travel plans, lake level, rising costs, etc.) but the club route makes a lot of sense in many situations. Downside is scheduling, impulsivity, hour restrictions, etc. I may turn it back on next year if the pool addition doesn't shake out. 

What does the boat club membership cost look like these days?

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35 minutes ago, HOOKEM4 said:

What does the boat club membership cost look like these days?

Not sure what the initial buy in costs are, but the monthly for nautical for existing members was $465 for platinum memberships in 2022.  They were implementing a walk up to $600 per month. 

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I looked at the boat club out here. It was $1500 buy in and $400/mo plus gas. 1 year minimum. They have pontoon boats and a couple of ski boats. They are also restrictive on timing - you only get 1 four hour block per weekend - Sat am/pm, or Sunday am/pm. I didn’t love the boats. Also I want to do it however and whenever I want to do it. And I want to be able to check out different lakes including going to Havasu

Going this weekend to look at an 04 Sea Ray Sundeck 220. One owner, always stored indoors. 290 hours. $22k. If I like it and it checks out I’ll probably buy it. Low cost entry point, versatile easy boat, to figure things out with.

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20 hours ago, USCATX said:

Some photos of the North River up in Alaska.  It’s had some minor issues like a fan mount breaking off the roof, house batteries not charging, electronics learning curves and trying to find every switch and valve, but we are burning lots of gas and catching lots of fish.  The 425 XTOs are the real deal and there’s nothing like pulling away from pretty much anything on the water up her. 

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Why are your halibut so small?😀

Can't wait for my trip to Sitka coming up in 12 days.  

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On 8/10/2023 at 1:53 PM, tbone_ said:

I looked at the boat club out here. It was $1500 buy in and $400/mo plus gas. 1 year minimum. They have pontoon boats and a couple of ski boats. They are also restrictive on timing - you only get 1 four hour block per weekend - Sat am/pm, or Sunday am/pm. I didn’t love the boats. Also I want to do it however and whenever I want to do it. And I want to be able to check out different lakes including going to Havasu

Going this weekend to look at an 04 Sea Ray Sundeck 220. One owner, always stored indoors. 290 hours. $22k. If I like it and it checks out I’ll probably buy it. Low cost entry point, versatile easy boat, to figure things out with.

I like later boating times than the boat club allowed, that’s what led me to leave the club for my first purchase. $20k was my entry point too. Solid plan. 

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On 8/10/2023 at 8:23 AM, baboso said:

What are those fish that look happy to be dead in the first pic?

Yep, halibut.  Biggest one in that pic is 20 lb which isn’t big, but acceptable.  We only fished halibut one day and the weather wasn’t great so I spent way too much time running the anchor winch trying to land on the spots while getting blown around. 

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I like later boating times than the boat club allowed, that’s what led me to leave the club for my first purchase. $20k was my entry point too. Solid plan. 

That sea Ray 220 turned out to not be as advertised. It’s looking like $30k is the new $20k. Even though prices do appear to be softening.
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12 hours ago, Mittens said:

Between that one, and this one: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/lake-travis-boat-jet-ski-crash/269-f3ba3479-6a3e-4eeb-9eda-39479df1eb8e

 

I've heard at least the Lake Austin one was likely caused by excessive wake.  Wonder it that'll ever come to a blow and people start getting ticketed for dangerous / damaging wakes?

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Neighbor was trailering his boat when a wake boat went by. Lifted up the boat, turned it sideways and moved it forward. Prop came down on the trailer. 

So far just a broken prop but they are looking to see if anything else got moved around.

Was tied up on the shoreline south west of the 360 bridge the other day and a wakeboat went through the whole no wake zone going 30+ leaving a couple of foot wave behind him.  

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2 hours ago, PvilleStang said:

I've heard at least the Lake Austin one was likely caused by excessive wake.  Wonder it that'll ever come to a blow and people start getting ticketed for dangerous / damaging wakes?

As a fellow wake surf boat person, I will be the first to admit these wakes have gotten a little out of hand.  It wouldn't surprise me at all if lakes started putting out ordinances against them.

 

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1 hour ago, blacklab said:

Neighbor was trailering his boat when a wake boat went by. Lifted up the boat, turned it sideways and moved it forward. Prop came down on the trailer. 

So far just a broken prop but they are looking to see if anything else got moved around.

Was tied up on the shoreline south west of the 360 bridge the other day and a wakeboat went through the whole no wake zone going 30+ leaving a couple of foot wave behind him.  

Did you get a TX Number off the boat?  I'm pretty sure if their wake is the direct cause of that kind of damage, they could be held liable.  This is, of course, my number one fear of launching / trailering from the POA park ramp, as every other clown in a wake boat tries to get as close as possible to the swim area and courtesy dock.

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1 hour ago, blacklab said:

I don't think they did. 

Yeah, fucking unreal how people do that.  

Not just local.  You'd be surprised (or not) how many big boats slow roll the ICW in front of launches just wreaking havoc.  These aren't tin can boats that anyone can afford, these are the types you should fucking know better and I cant imagine how you can captain such a large vessel and not know better.  I'm talking hitting just the right speed,  making the absolute worst wake possible.  Infuriating. 

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They should definitely enforce the no wake zone underneath Pennybacker bridge.  What happened to all those asshole Game Wardens that used to descend on Lake Austin when Lake Travis got low?  They're almost entirely useless, except they love to enforce stuff like that.  I guess it's one of those, never see a cop when you need one, kind of things.

 

 

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Got a 2005 Malibu 247 with a trailer for sale. At a body shop right now getting 3 whiskey scratches fixed. About 400 hours with the 383 hammerhead engine.

I can take some pics if any interest.

Just picked up a new Moomba mojo 2 weeks ago and will miss the space of the 247 but whatever.

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Got a 2005 Malibu 247 with a trailer for sale. At a body shop right now getting 3 whiskey scratches fixed. About 400 hours with the 383 hammerhead engine.

I can take some pics if any interest.

Just picked up a new Moomba mojo 2 weeks ago and will miss the space of the 247 but whatever.

PM sent
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