Prospecting for gold is done a little differently in the Florida Keys
than in other places. The late treasure hunter Mel Fischer went in search of the precious yellow
substance at the bottom of the ocean and made his fortune when he stumbled upon the Spanish galleon
Atocha. Unlike Fischer, locals prospect for gold on the surface of the ocean, because the precious
yellow substance they seek floats. Using a technique calling 'running and gunning,' the throttles
of the Cobia 274 Center Console's twin 200-hp Yamaha HPDI engines are advanced to 4000 rpm and the
boat slashes across the royal blue water of the Gulf Stream.
On a beautiful spring day, with a gentle three-foot swell, running 40 mph is comfortable in
the beam sea. The fuel management gauge shows that the engines are burning only 16 gallons per
hour, which translates to 11 hours of running time at this speed with a full fuel load of 175
gallons, or a theorectical range of more than 400 miles ' roughly the distance between Key West and
Canc'n. Turning into a head sea, dropping down five mph, and trimming the engines in a little lets
the 20-degree deadrise and trailerable 8-foot-6-inch beam act together to slice rather than pound
through the swells.
In the distance, one of the crewmembers sees a flash and points it out to the pilot, who
immediately throws the Cobia into a tight turn. There on the surface is a gilded serpent longer
than a football field and as wide as a country road. They've struck it rich because their
'paydirt,' called Sargasso weed, hides many treasures beneath its aureate canopy.
The captain works the Cobia as close to the weed line as possible. When the baits get in the
strike zone, all the anglers collectively hold their breath, knowing what is about to happen. After
making a few passes up and down both sides of the weed line, the captain shifts the 225-hp Yamahas
to idle, and the baits are reeled in. Under the Sargasso weed they see brown, one-inch-long
triggerfish attempting to seek obscurity from predators. On the roomy raised front deck, the
captain waits with a castnet, catlike, until he sees a dense school of 'greenies.' Tossing a
perfect 'pancake,' he pulls the line attached to his wrist to entrap the fish and then lifts the
laden net and gently drops it on the cockpit sole. Shaking the castnet to dislodge the flapping,
two-inch-long threadfin herring, the crew scrambles to scoop them into the oval 25-gallon
recirculating baitwell located at the center of the stern. After three throws, there are a couple
hundred baits swimming in the well, which is roughly the population density of a Tokyo subway
during rush hour, but with a 700-gallon- per-hour aerator pump and a brass high-speed pickup,
keeping the greenies frisky all day won't be a problem.
Despite the fact that five are standing in the stern, water isn't coming into the cockpit
because the submerged scuppers feature one-way valves to let water out, but not in.
Back offshore the anglers start live chumming, grab light spinning rigs from three of the
five rod holders in the Bimini top, hook the greenies through the nose and freeline them with the
chum slick. When one of the angler's lines starts jumping off the reel he waits a couple of
seconds, flips the bail and then reels the line tight. The reel yells 'wheeee' and gets everyone's
attention. After a furiously fast five-second run, the 10-pound florescent green dolphin jumps high
in the air then takes off again. As the angler works the 'chicken' close to the stern, he leaves
him in the water and the mate ricochets more bait in the water.
Soon, a squadron of mahi-mahi is darting everywhere scarfing baitfish with all the delicacy
of a county fair pie-eating contest. When dolphin get in a feeding frenzy, cut bait works just as
well as anything, so the mate could have used one of the two built-in cutting boards to make some
sushi appetizers for our guests, but since there is plenty of live bait, that is what they use.
When two more anglers hook up, the mate gaffs the first dolphin, grabs the needle-nose pliers from
the holder located in the door of the transom compartment that holds six tackle trays, pops the
hook and deposits him in one of the two amidships 30-gallon insulated fishboxes that uses a
macerating pump to mulch fish bits when draining. With a blast of the raw-water washdown, the mate
cleans the fish stuff off the non-skid cockpit sole and turns his attention to the pair of
uncooperative hooked fish. Naturally they want to go in different directions, and one angler works
his way through the wide walk space between the gunwale and center console and fights the fish from
the front casting deck that is made safer thanks to the tall stainless-steel bow rail. He is
standing on two
40-gallon fish boxes with overboard drains that can be used as dry storage, like the
forward, in-floor compartment.
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Finally, both anglers corral their fish putting one
more into the box and letting the other one go since there is enough for dinner. After the hot
fishing action, the crew needs rehydrating, so before getting on plane everyone grabs a cold drink
from the built-in 40-quart cooler located in front of the console, under the padded forward seat.
Despite efforts to re-chum the school, they have vanished without a trace, so it's back to 'run and
gun.' Sitting on top of the optional Custom Marine Components leaning post is a comfortable perch
with its thick, ribbed padding and removable backrest. The seat bottom flips up to reveal a deep
storage compartment, and there is a footwell for comfort. The console has plenty of space for
aftermarket electronics, because the gauges are placed flat on the horizontal area behind the
stainless-steel steering wheel. Unfortunately, this location makes the accurate, multi-function
Yamaha gauges a little hard to read when sitting. Although they are visible when standing, you do
have to look down farther than you would like.
Inside the console is a roomy dry storage compartment with a porthole for ventilation and a standard portable head. Not finding any more action in the Stream, the captain heads for one of the numerous patch reefs that are strung together like pearls along the length of the Keys. Removing the anchor from the large bow compartment, the fishermen set up shop in 60 feet of water. Pulling out bottom rigs from the under-gunwale rod wells that have bungee restraints for the six spaces, the mate releases the baitwell hatch and the top pops up, with a gas-assisted strut, which makes it easy to get bait with one hand. The hatch is padded and serves as part of the optional three-wide stern seat that has a removable padded backrest for comfort. Dropping the threadfins down to the bottom, the anglers manage to catch some nice mangrove snapper, along with a few oversized grunts. The next morning the benign conditions are history, and the ocean is corrugated with a nasty three-foot chop as the Cobia heads out for performance tests. Thrashing through the seas, the sturdy construction of the 27-foot-6-inch Cobia is revealed. The SeaTech hull features the patented RIB system, which significantly increases hull strength with a minimum of extra weight. The structural grid uses wide, foam-filled fiberglass crossmembers, which gives the deck liner more contact surface for the Lord adhesive to bond them together. The result is a light 3,900-pound hull that is very strong. Cobia uses costly Armourcote CCP gelcoat, which permits flexing without cracking for durability, and backs up its hull with a 10-year limited warranty. The narrow channel adjacent to Hawk's Cay affords a calm place to check the boat's performance. The 274 reaches a top speed of more than 52 mph, and the quick-accelerating Yamaha HPDI 200s rocket the hull to plane in only three seconds and push it to 30 mph in fewer than five seconds. Slowing down to turn in the tight channel isn't necessary because the Cobia hooks up nicely with the trim down and executes a 180-degree turn in a ridiculously short width. With the responsive fuel control of the HPDI, chopping the throttle is almost akin to having a boat with brakes; just make sure you warn your passengers, lest they be propelled forward. The price as tested for the Cobia 274 Center Console with a pair of 200-hp Yamaha HPDI engines is $65,678. For the money it gets you a rugged, fast, trailerable offshore boat. Just the boat to 'go for the gold' with on your next fishing trip to the Florida Keys. |