Cobra 290 Viper SXT Pictures

[MartinH2]

 

[RiverDave]

I always thought it was an interesting concept. I was never sure how well they do or don't work? Never been in one. Iman on this board has one as well.

 

[HavasuHank]

I always thought it was an interesting concept. I was never sure how well they do or don't work? Never been in one. Iman on this board has one as well.

Iman HAD one ... sold it and got a new boat. :thumbsup

 

[MartinH2]

I always thought it was an interesting concept. I was never sure how well they do or don't work? Never been in one. Iman on this board has one as well.

I had this boat for 3 years and can truly say it is a great boat all around. Good mid-range acceleration, great handling, and a very comfortable ride. This one is equipped with a Mercury 525 and tops out near 88mph. I would be curious to see how the boat would handle with more horsepower (Mercury 700 or Ilmor 725). The guys at Cobra have done a great job!

 

[Iman]

It was a great boat and I'm sure I will regret selling mine. I'll add some pics.

 

[NeedlesRat]

It's like a big stoker. You would think it handles a lot like one.

 

[FreeBird236]

It's like a big stoker. You would think it handles a lot like one.

That's what I was thinking...

They sure look good....:thumbsup

 

[BajaMike]

One thing Cobra does that is cool (and I don't see any other boat that does this) is how the Bimini folds under the back engine cover.


:thumbsup

 

[Iman]

A few more pics of my old one

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

Basically a big mod vp, never knew why it didnt get more popular.

 

[She's Mine]

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Did you just purchase it? Beautiful boat and congrats...

Wondering if this was a guy I used to work with... I knew he had one but haven't seen him use it in a while... Did the guy live in HB?

 

[Kiquee]

One thing Cobra does that is cool (and I don't see any other boat that does this) is how the Bimini folds under the back engine cover.


:thumbsup

Other manufacturers do install Bimini under the hatch, but you have to request it. I had mine done that way. Cleaner look.

 

[Bobby V]

One thing Cobra does that is cool (and I don't see any other boat that does this) is how the Bimini folds under the back engine cover.


:thumbsup

Bimini under the engine cover has been done by most boat builders for years.

 

[MartinH2]

Here are a few more. How many of these boats has Cobra produced?

 

[RiverDave]

One thing Cobra does that is cool (and I don't see any other boat that does this) is how the Bimini folds under the back engine cover.


:thumbsup

Howard's do that. Actually I believe there are quite a few boat companies that do that?

 

[dougiebear111]

I had this boat for 3 years and can truly say it is a great boat all around. Good mid-range acceleration, great handling, and a very comfortable ride. This one is equipped with a Mercury 525 and tops out near 88mph. I would be curious to see how the boat would handle with more horsepower (Mercury 700 or Ilmor 725). The guys at Cobra have done a great job!

You forgot to tell them how good the transporter was. HAHA. Gald to see you are enjoying your boat.

 

[RogerThat99]

I have a friend that wants to know if they make these.

 

[RiverDave]

I have a friend that wants to know if they make these.

Yes they still make them.

 

[Gelcoater]

I always thought it was an interesting concept. I was never sure how well they do or don't work? Never been in one. Iman on this board has one as well.

It's like a bigger more modern version of Eliminators 234 Edge from the early/mid 90s.

 

[BHC Vic]

There was one for sale when we built ours. Ilmor power I think it ran in the 90's. Was a good price and we looked at it but coming from a 19' bayliner I was scared

 

[TBulger]

Yep Howard does it, but I think our 28 Bullet's Bimini looks a little odd; the Bimini goes up in the front, to get under the hatch.

 

[CoolCruzin]

One thing Cobra does that is cool (and I don't see any other boat that does this) is how the Bimini folds under the back engine cover.


:thumbsup

I really like that hidden Bimini feature.

 

[throttle]

my .02

I had the opportunity years ago to test drive a 290 Viper when it was first built with the guy that tooled it. The boat was very impressive to me and reminded me of dads stoker. simple mod v but bigger.

I remember the day pretty well about 10 years ago. The 290 Viper was very comfortable, lots of the nice normal features that I was getting used to seeing at the time with my second new Cobra. The 290 Viper seemed to have a low sporty profile on the water. very sleek and almost sexy.

On acceleration, I was very impressed at the lack of bow rise, I don't recall ever losing sight of the horizon. The boat drove like a train on the tracks. The best of both worlds, a V bottom that runs like a cat. A sunny, warm winter day with some wind and Bob Brown in the helo overhead chasing it and capturing the moments on video. We made several speed passes down the center of the lake trying to see what we could get out of it. I have to say the boat was very impressive, it did not catch on quickly enough before the boat market sank. Around the same time Advantage was also introducing a mod v that had more of a deck boat vibe in the front passenger area than the Cobra. Truly I felt like I was in a sports car behind the acrylic canopies going down the lake.

The only thing that I saw that might have been problematic was the height in the cuddy. Due to its low profile it didn't leave a whole lot of head room.

I think like all the other manufactures, being innovative almost seemed easy when things were booming and customers would line up to have boats built. Timing killed the production. I can not say for sure how many were made, however I know of more than a handful.

 

[throttle]

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Hot rod on the water, very nice boat. :thumbsup

 

[fastestbowtie]

Resurrecting an old thread here but a couple quick questions. Two people in this post used to own this boat but sold them. My questions are: 1) Why did you sell it? 2) What did you replace it with? 3) In hindsight, are you pleased with your decision? 4) Lastly, looking back what were the biggest pro's and con's of t his boat?
TIA

 

[HALLETT BOY]

Nothing new , my Dad had a 1970 Cobalt , it was called a Tri-hull . Rode very well and was built solid .