Some things we do for money, some things we do for fame. Some things, however, we do simply for the pleasure we gain. That could've come from Ben Franklin's 'Poor Richard's Almanac' or from Tom Waits' 'Frank's Wild Years,' and it would still perfectly capture the feeling you get from cruising a big, blue lake, under a clear, blue sky, in a luxurious, blue boat like the stunning Cobalt 343.

It would still be a purely hedonistic enterprise, this aimless cruising, even if the water, sky and boat weren't sporting such harmonious shades of blue, but it does add to the overall sensation of being a master of the universe, a sensation you quickly get used to when you're on board the 343. Not that a little fame and wealth would be unwelcome. In fact, it takes more than just a little wealth to put yourself at the helm of your own Cobalt 343 ' the base model, with twin 375-hp MerCruiser 496 MAG MPI engines matched with Bravo I drives, carries a suggested retail price of $218,340. For once, when your dad goes into his patented rant about how you spent 'more money on this boat than I spent on my first house,' there's actually a chance that he'll be right.

Odds are, though, that Dad wasn't able to take his first house out on the lake for a mid-week cruise, nor could he use it to pull you and your siblings on wakeboards or inflatables. Admittedly, watersports isn't the 343's forte. More likely, you'll see people doing exactly what you're doing: cruising, relaxing and soaking up the greatness of a day boating.

A day on the water on board the 343 will, much more often than not, begin with a trip to the local marina instead of the local launch ramp. There are a few tow vehicles out there able to handle the 343's massive weight ' a full 10,200 pounds ' but there are fewer drivers able and willing to hump a boat/trailer combination this big to and from the water. And even if you're one of the few, the proud, there's still the issue of finding a launch ramp that has enough depth to accommodate the 343's 37-inch draft with the drives down. For example, to spend a day on Lake Austin, deep in the heart of Texas, it takes several attempts to find a ramp that allows one to back the boat and trailer into the water without risking damage to one or both drives. Trailering has its certain charms, but driving around and searching for a ramp that won't tear up your boat isn't a trailering highlight, so it's a smart play to factor in the monthly price of a marina slip when determining the overall cost of purchasing a 343.

Of course, you don't spend a day like this, on a boat like this, worrying about costs, unless it's the cost of stocking enough food and drink for the crowds that are inevitably going to show up, hoping your expansive and generous personality will compel you to bring them along. The 343 has a cockpit and lounge area that's nearly as generous as you, capable of seating eight passengers comfortably, although two of those on board will have to ride in the helm station's rear-facing seats. Therefore, you should probably count on six passen-gers riding comfortably.

If and when someone needs some downtime, there's room in the cabin. Not a huge amount of room, but as much as you could reasonably expect on a boat that's designed more for offshore runs than for leisurely, long-term cruising. This isn't to say you can't spend a night, or even a week, on board the 343 in comfort, especially if you avail yourself to at least some of the options Cobalt offers for below-decks enhancement. Air conditioning and heating ($4,965), a TV/DVD package ($1,691 ' especially worthwhile if you'll be spending a lot of time on board with kids), a V-berth filler cushion ($495 ' really a requirement if you're going to sleep on board), an electric porcelain head with macerator ($928), and a shorepower kit ($3,584 for either 110- or 220 volts) are de rigueur for seriously enjoying extended stays on board. If you're only going to be making day trips ' with maybe an occasional overnighter ' you might be able to get by without all of them, but when you have a boat as capable as the 343, you'll soon be wanting to spend as much time as possible on board.

Once on board, it's not long before you appreciate the attention to detail that Cobalt's put into this boat. From the easy-open engine hatches to the stitching on the V-berth cushions, nothing seems to have been small enough to escape the eyes of Cobalt's designers and engineers. Consider, for example, the pocket door between the cockpit and cabin. A simple sliding door would've sufficed; instead, the 343 has a passageway reminiscent of those found in corporate jets. It's the sort of thing you barely notice consciously, but that helps assert an overall sense of quality that helps justify the boat's healthy price tag. Then again, if you have the opportunity to take the 343 offshore (don't worry ' you'll start looking for those opportunities), you'll have all the justification you need.

According to Cobalt, the hull is the key to the 343, and there's no reason not to believe it. Cobalt admits the company was 'far from the first' to bring a stepped hull to the market, and there are many who've long thought that the lack of a stepped hull was a major drawback in terms of offshore capability and overall performance. With the 343, however, Cobalt's engineers and designers have finally delivered the stepped hull that's been so obviously missing. After spending time on board, about the only thing anyone can say is: It's about time.

The 343's stepped hull brings the 35-footer up on plane more quickly than you'd ever expect, but that's just the start. Once on plane, the hull's performance is outstanding. At the helm, the boat feels amazingly light on the water. The hull is rock-solid stable at any speed, from idle to full-throttle. It's receptive to steering input, with handling that's better described as elegant and graceful than nimble (as expected on a boat of this size), and never seems to take on a mind of its own, heading in unexpected directions. Steering and handling are smooth and predictable, with no perceptible hooking, even at high speeds and in the hardest of turns. You may not be able to turn the 343 on a floating dime, but you can make any necessary maneuvers without having to worry about whether the hull and the boat will be able to handle the demands.

You'll be able to handle the demands as well, thanks to a spiffy convertible helm seat that electrically lifts or lowers to offer the choice of traditional sit-down piloting or using a more performance-oriented stand-up bolster. It takes only the flick of a switch and about five seconds to change from one seating arrangement to the other, so you can stand up to take on the rough waters between, say, Miami and Bimini, then sit down and relax once you've reached the calm, protected waters inside the jetties.

There's plenty of power available to make that Miami-Bimini run, or any other run you may have in mind, as the 343 offers a half-dozen engine package options ranging from the base twin MerCruiser 496 MAG MPIs (375 hp per engine; 750 hp total) with Bravo I drives to the top-line twin MerCruiser 575 SCI B1 XR ITS (550 hp per engine; 1,100 hp total). On this day, enjoying calm conditions on a mid-sized lake, a pair of MerCruiser 496 MAG HOs (425 hp per engine; 850 hp total) with Bravo I drives proves to deliver plenty of power and performance.

Taking into consideration the fact that the boat is fresh off the showroom floor and the engines have only an hour or so of use on them, the prudent pilot doesn't push too hard, and acceleration tests are not performed, at the request of the dealership and manufacturer. Nonetheless, the Cobalt 343 does reach a highly respectable top speed of 60.8 mph, a figure that should increase measurably once the engine has been both safely and properly broken in.

Although official acceleration tests aren't performed, seat-of-the-pants impressions are of solid performance. Again, consideration must be given to the condition of the engines, but a good lean on the throttles results in a feeling of being pushed well back against the stand-up bolster. It isn't eye-watering acceleration, but it's definitely acceptable and holds the promise of reaching 'quite good' once the engines are ready for the strain of hardcore acceleration tests.

If there's a complaint to be lodged against the Cobalt 343, it's that the boat has a way of making the sun go across the sky much more quickly than usual. It seems like you've just pulled away from the dock when you realize that it's well past dusk and high time to fire up the navigation lights so you can get back to shore safely. Of course, there's always the option of just staying out on the water and making use of that V-berth in the air-conditioned cabin, letting the lake rock you to sleep. But then you'd miss work, you wouldn't get paid, and you'd have a hard time making the payments on this quarter-million-dollar beauty.

So you remind yourself, as the man (whichever one it was) said, some things you do for money, because they afford you the ability to do things like spend a day, a weekend, or even a week on board a boat like the Cobalt 343, because that's one of the things you do purely for the pleasure.