Chris Sendker Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 I just bought a basket case project, a 1965 Cobia 16' cuddy. It's basically a hull & deck as everything else needs to be replaced. New floor, stringers, transom, steering, seating, etc, etc, etc. Even the hull needs some clean-up. But I just love the old cuddys and this came up locally including a (reportedly) functioning 1969 65 HP Merc. and a crappy trailer. Does anyone know anything about these boats or early Cobia's in general? I've done a bunch of searching but only find recent Cobia information, nothing terribly old. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidmotion Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 i know of a cl***ic mako site that is very cool. they use a lot of techniques that might aid you in your restoration... cl***ic mako it looks like a lot of work, but that would be a neat boat when you get it finished! what do you plan to do first? i would probably attack the wood areas and transom first...then you might could even re-design the cabin area to make it more to your liking.....the cool thing about this type of project, you can do whatever you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sendker Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Thanks for the site, all help is welcome. I'm currently renovating a 1970 Luger 14' runabout. Similar total rehab condition - taking it all the way down to the original hull and starting over. When I pulled up the floor on my runabout I found a honeycomb of stringers with saturated styrofoam & trapped, stagnent water. The PO said it ran a little low in the water...HA!...it's a wonder it floated at all. I pulled literally hundreds of pounds of crap out from under the floor. When I'm done with my runabout, I'm onto my cuddy. I shouldn't have bought it yet, but it was local, came cheap and I've always loved this style. You're right, it's nice to be able to redesign the entire boat from scratch - electrical, layout, everything. And based on my experience with the runabout, it's all coming out right down to the hull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidmotion Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 cool! another cool site... cl***ic wooden boats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sendker Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 I love the mahagony adirondack boats, but I could never invest the time to keep it up (let alone the money to buy one!). I've been using: http://www.fibergl***ics.com/ as a heck of a resource. Those guys really know their 'gl*** boats. Now I'm not even sure the boat is a Cobia. It has "Cobia" nameplates plastered all over it, but the formal ID capacity & serial number tag indicates "Built by Southern Fiber Gl*** Products". Maybe "Cobia" is just the model. I haven't been able to find anything indicating Cobia was even in existace in the '60's. Of course, I can't find anything on Southern Fiber Gl*** Products at all either. I think I have to stop buying unknown albatrosses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sendker Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Well, there is a connection. I found this: SLAMA, HAROLD L., 72, of St. Petersburg, died Sunday (Nov. 25, 2001) at home. Born in Harrodsburg, Ky., he came here in 1969 from Orlando. He was the founder of Cobia Boats and two other companies that built trawlers, Southern Fibergl*** Products and Modern Fibergl***, Tampa. He was a member of First Unity Church. Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Eloise; a daughter, Kathy Browne, Northbrook, Ill.; a son, Mark Slama, Hudson, Ill.; a sister, Dorothy Denny, St. Petersburg; two grandchildren, Kelly Browne and Jeff Browne, both of Northbrook; and several nieces and nephews. Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes & Cremation Tribute Center-Ninth Street Chapel, St. Petersburg. So apparently Cobia and Southern Fibergl*** were at least founded by the same person. This may be one of the earlier boats, possibly before the companies were separate entities. Who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidmotion Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 ha! pretty good research, there scoob! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sendker Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Do I get a scooby-snack? Preferrably the 12 oz. version. I e-mailed Cobia Boats to see if they have any archived information. I figured I'd give them a good laugh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sendker Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Mystery Solved! Thanks to the kind folks at Cobia, I got this response today: "A great old model one that put Cobia on the map year's ago. Southern Fibergl*** was the original company then they changed the name to Cobia boat co.Modern Fibergl*** was the co that made the shrimp boats, same owner. The serial numbers were not coded in those years like they are to day, but that model G-17 Sea Queen cruiser does show up in 1965.We can send you a photo copy of the brochure if that would help. Greg Weston Cobia Boats 3207 Industrial 29th Street Fort Pierce, FL 34946" Wo-hoo! It seems that I have a pre-official-cobia southern fibergl*** products G-17 Sea Queen! Hopefully I can get my hands on that brochure to see what it was supposed to look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidmotion Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 hehehehe....sea queen. just promise me you won't paint that name very big on the side of the boat.....if so, you would probably have to stay out of miami :cool: pretty cool research you have done.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpbrpb Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 I have a 1969 version of the sea queen. Its been in the family since purchase in 1970. I also have the original brochure and could send pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.S. Slickfish Posted June 22, 2011 Report Share Posted June 22, 2011 rpbrpb, I have 65 Sea Queen that I am trying to restore. I would apreciate it if you could post those pictures of your fmaily's boat as well as the brochure. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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