First, about me and my current situation.

I’m sick. BAD kind of sick. In 2017 I was told I have Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). Some of the old timers called it Pigeon keeper's lung. (one of the causes is a reaction to bird/fowl feathers) It’s a terminal lung disease with no cure other than lung transplant, which I don’t/wouldn’t qualify for. At the time I didn’t realize what a devastation this would be for my wife and I. If I had, I would have been selling everything I owned a few years ago. Even after unexpectedly losing my job in January 2020 and being told I’d never work again,I held on to the hope that I’d at least be able to get someone to go fishing with me and do all the “heavy lifting” as long as I could provide a boat. I held on to this hope way too long, knew I needed to sell the boat but just never could bring myself to list it. Now, it has sat for 6 years and needs work. I’m literally unable to even walk out to the covered carport where it has sat since 2017 without someone “holding my arm and helping drag my oxygen tanks, and I seem to be continuing a more rapid decline in the quality of life I have . I have a beater golf cart that allowed me to spend time in my barn/man cave shed but the batteries need replacing and I can’t afford to replace them, so I’m now limited inside my house and the front porch. I can’t get any further than 50ft from my air concentrator machines.That’s it, so the boat is the biggest source of stress and anxiety I have in my life that I could remove by removing the boat from my life. I need it gone and am seeking help finding a buyer. To say I’m a motivated seller would be an understatement.

In March of this year, we chose to skip starting palliative care and go directly to what we hope is a long term Hospice care. We knew we were going to end up at Hospice level care anyway, and skipping palliative care allowed us to not need to go see a Dr once a month just for pain management. This is why we are hoping this will be a “Long term” hospice care. Even “long term” Hospice is still months or a few years at best. I’m hoping for a couple of more years

My wife is my rock, always has been. (38 years together this December 12th). This disease has required her to be my caretaker in addition to working a full time job that includes an hour drive each way. I don’t need a caretaker 24.7, but it is a lot of work, and takes away from time. I wish we could spend better, with more time for each other and less worrying about things. One of the things that has caused stress and anxiety with us is my boat. It needs to go, and soon. This would put a little money in the bank to help us to pay the property taxes. Long term, I’m not sure what will happen with my wife after I’m gone , she won’t be able to afford to stay where we are, and it's no middle class Shangrila,,,,,we live in a 30 year old double wide on barely over an acre. It’s a really bad situation to find yourself in life, and here we are. The boat being gone will help make this situation better, so again, I’m here asking the community if it can help.

I don’t want my wife to have to deal with this after I die. And PLEASE don’t beat me up about the situation I find myself in or the condition of the boat. I can take, and am asking for positive constructive criticism that gets the boat sold, but in a way that doesn’t tell me how bad my decisions have been, why I’m not being reasonable, etc, just try and remember, I'm in a really bad way physically and mentally. It's bad and I'm trying to get the end of my life in order so my wife is able to manage whats left of my stuff after I’m gone, we/she have enough on our plates that we were not prepared for, so please, treat me with kid gloves when you can.

We’re in dire shape financially. I’m worried about being able to pay my property taxes, we’re gonna be priced out of our home between being on a very limited fixed income, the rising taxes, and the incredible electric bills i receive. One issue I have with the electric is the life sustaining equipment I require to maintain life, they generate a lot of heat along with their consumption of electricity, which causes me to need to run the central AC unit at times when it is in the 60’s outside. All my life, since I was 17 years old, I was always able to pay what needed to get paid, on my own, without needing to ask anyone for help. So can and will you help me? I’m practically begging for some relief.

Now I'm in need of help and I’m reaching out to the TFF community to try and help me sell my boat. I’ve gotten to the point that I can no longer go from a sitting position to standing without being completely out of breath. I need help with any walking outside my house. I’m just too weak to try and walk around with an oxygen bottle and anything more than a dozen steps or so, and I’m so out of breath I need to sit down and catch my breath, so even just showing my boat to someone will be difficult for me. I have no way to water test it due to it not running. No insurance so I can’t let anyone take it anywhere unless it's paid for. So, how do we determine a value that gives the buyer a good feeling about buying it. I feel like if all the fuel system work was rebuilt or replaced, I’d expect it to crank up and run like it always had, but since I have no way to prove that, I;m willing to take a big price reduction so if the buyer chooses, the motor could rebuild or long blocked, and the buyer would know he’s got as close to a new motor as possible. I need help finding the right buyer.



The boat
1999 Cobra 201d with 1999 Mercury EFI


Boat is going to need work, and I’m going to consider that fact when trying to determine a price. ANYTHING fuel related needs to be rebuilt or replaced before trying to run the motor. I don’t anticipate any issues, but if someone tries to crank it after sitting so long with ethanol fuel sitting in it, that may actually cause a problem that doesn't yet exist. So again, I'm considering the work that will need to be done to get it in daily running shape again.


I had a lot of stuff done late 2016 before I realized I wouldn’t be able to use any of it. Around 4k total worth of work done by Classic Fiberglass.I really thought I was setting my boat up for my own enjoyment. The front left side if the boat could use compounding and waxed again, it's seen the most daylight where it's been parked. No direct sunlight, but that part of the boat is the most exposed. The rest of the boat is just dirty. You can see in one of the pics how much dust is sitting on the surface, and how good it looks under all that dust.

(2016) full compound and wax
(2016)New carpet with padded front deck
(2016) New Seats
(2016)Humminbird 9” and 7”
(2016)Minn Kota 3 bank charger
(2016)Minn Kota Ulterra self stow and deploy trolling motor.

Boat will run 70 with me alone, 67-68 with a fat friend and his gear. (GPS speeds)
Hamby's Hull protector
Blinker style trim
Hot foot
10” Jack Plate
Dual axle trailer
Hydraulic steering
Full front factory deck extension.
Rod rack/organizer in left rod box
Ladder on the back in case you fall in the lake.
Coast guard sticker says unlimited HP.
Self deploying/stowing Minn Kota Ulterra trolling motor has spotlock,optional food pedal, remote control, and an optional quick release mounting plate if you need to easily remove the trolling motor.


Because it has sat so long, I’m not comfortable even cranking it up without some mechanical knowledge and ability. I have neither. Again, another thing to consider when trying to determine a value. At some point there;s got to be a certain amount of parts that still hold value in the event it needed to be parted out. (Jack plate, ecu;s and other parts from the motor, lower unit, the prop, the trolling motor and graphs, etc.)

So again, I’m reaching out to the TFF community to please help a fellow fisherman out.

I don’t wanna give it away, and I know I’m not gonna get what I’d want, but please help me determine what a fair value would be for both me and a buyer. I’m VERY motivated to have this source of stress removed from what’s left of my life with my wife.

So, how do we come up with a price?

WOW Anthony. So sorry to read all this.

Wouldn't know where to start on pricing other than internet searching different sites to see what they're going for. Off the top of my head I'd think $10K . Just a guess. Would need compression checks and then the fuel system cleaned and fuel line change.

Prayers that things will fall into place making an easy process and for you and your wife.

Yup, I'd hang 10k on it and see what happens. The cobra is a nice layout, had one for a while, they have a bit of a following so I would think it would move for that

The problem is, I have no way to do all these things, and don’t necessarily trust just anyone to come hookup to it and crank it without properly prepping it. If everything was in working condition, I’d ask 12-15, but since I can make no guarantees, I’m prepared to take considerably less. I’m looking for an offer, as is. Someone is gonna get a steal, I just can’t prevent it and I’m ok with that, I just want it gone so the wife and I can have a little bit of happy for a change

by chance was the outboard fogged before you parked it?

I was thinking around 10k as well and that would be for a buyer who’s mechanically inclined.

If I was a buyer, a compression test and a run on the muffs would tell me what I needed to know.

I am truly sorry for your struggles, Anthony. I get where you are coming from and wish I was closer to you so I could help you with all this.

That is a screenshot of what I could come up with online using the very basic equipment (I added no options) and not knowing the specific horsepower (I put it at 150, as that looked like the least horsepower with EFI) of that outboard.

Somewhere between $10,000 to $29,000 is where it looks like it could go. I'd probably start at $15,000 and see what happens. Looks like a nice boat.

By the way, it's a Viper Boats Inc, 1999 Cobra 201d.

https://www.jdpower.com/boats/1999/viper-boats-inc/cobra-201d/10195755/values

It’s a nice boat for sure, needs a BATH!!!
I did not fog it before it was parked and sat. I never thought it would sit a few months, let alone years.
I’m expecting to get less than what the screenshot of values shows for low average retail. I’d be happy with 5k and will take it if someone puts it in my hands

needs to be fogged and let sit a couple of days to be sure the rings are not rusted to the cyl walls.

pull plugs and hand crank with prop nut/in gear.

wd40, pb blaster, sea foam fogger (best choice) or any penetrating or fogging spray.

That is not good for a price, boat isn’t worth that much. Like others have suggested, sell it for 10k. Ideally a friend/family member would wash it, change fluids and get it running.

I’ll give you the $5000 for it.

$5069

wow, SMDH