Cobalt 232
The Cobalt 232 is a 23-foot boat, with model years from 1996 to 2010 in the listings we track. Across 22 listings we have observed (model years 1996–2010), the median asking price is $27,500, with most boats asking $19,500 to $36,500. The engine we see most often on this model is Mercury Verado / V8 FourStroke (250–400) and Volvo Penta sterndrive (gas, DPS/Duoprop).
BoatVerdict market snapshot
These are asking prices. No free or public source publishes US used-boat transaction prices, so nobody — us included — can honestly show you what these boats sold for. What we can show you is what 22 sellers are asking, which is the number you are actually negotiating against.
20 priced listings across 10 states. Enough for a range, not enough to be precise about any single year.
Method: Asking prices from active listings, de-duplicated so a re-posted boat counts once (57 raw listings collapsed to 22 distinct boats). Quartiles, not averages, so one outlier cannot move the band. Rounded to $500.
Coverage: Model years 1996–2010, 10 states, 12 metro areas. New-boat listings excluded.
Sources: BoatVerdict market observations (craigslist + rightboat + boatcrazy) · US state vessel registries (6,841 registered Cobalt hulls)
Looking at a Cobalt 232 for sale?
Paste the listing and we will score that specific boat against everything on this page: asking price versus our observed range, engine and hours risk, the known issues for its model year, and a negotiation position. The verdict is free.
Get the free verdict →No account needed. The paid Deal Report is optional and comes after.
The BoatVerdict take
- Recall (USCG/CPSC)
11 federal recall campaigns on file touch this builder. Check the specific hull against the recall list below before you put money down; remedies are free but only if the work was actually done.
Each point is tagged with the evidence behind it. Nothing here is a claim we cannot trace back to a counted listing, a federal record, or a named analyst judgement.
Cobalt 232 prices by model year
Show the numbers by model year
| Model year | Boats | Middle half of asks | Median ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2 | too few to show | - |
| 2008 | 2 | too few to show | - |
| 2007 | 2 | too few to show | - |
| 2006 | 1 | too few to show | - |
| 2001 | 1 | too few to show | - |
| 2000 | 1 | too few to show | - |
| 1996 | 1 | too few to show | - |
10 distinct boats, listed now or since taken down, re-posts counted once. Years with fewer than 3 boats show a count only. Asking prices, not sale prices.
What a used Cobalt 232 is worth
We have seen 10 distinct Cobalt 232 boats for sale between Jun 16, 2026 and Nov 14, 2026, model years 1996 to 2010, in 7 states. The median ask is $32,000 and half of all asks sit between $22,000 and $36,000. Asking prices fall about 5% for each year of age (23% over five years), measured on these 10 boats and steadied with the 6.1% rate we measure for the class.
What moves the price of a 232
- Horsepower. Doubling the power for the same class and length adds about 16% to the ask.
- Engine hours.Higher hours than typical for the age lower the ask.
- Region.West +12%, Midwest +5%, South +2%, Northeast -1% against the national level.
- Brand.Cobalt boats in this class ask about 22% more than the class average for the same age and length.
Fitted on 1,313 distinct boats in this class (log asking price on age, length and brand; refit nightly, last on 2026-11-14). These are effects on asking prices.
Recent Cobalt 232 asking prices
| Year | Model | Length | HP | Hours | State | Asking | Seen | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 232 | 23 ft | 320 | 135 | NM | $32,000 | Jun 18, 2026 to Nov 14, 2026 | listed (6 posts) Craigslist |
| 2010 | 232 | 23 ft | - | - | NY | $35,000 | Sep 8, 2026 to Nov 14, 2026 | listed Craigslist |
| 2007 | 232 | - | - | - | AL | $31,990 | Nov 14, 2026 | listed BoatCrazy |
| 2008 | 232 | 26 ft | - | - | WI | $19,995 | Sep 20, 2026 to Nov 13, 2026 | listed Rightboat |
| 2000 | 232 | 23 ft | - | - | NV | $19,500 | Aug 25, 2026 to Oct 17, 2026 | taken down Craigslist |
| 2007 | 232 | 23 ft | - | - | NY | $40,000 | Aug 31, 2026 to Oct 15, 2026 | taken down Craigslist |
| 2008 | 232 | 23 ft | - | - | WA | $36,400 | Aug 8, 2026 to Sep 22, 2026 | taken down (5 posts) Craigslist |
| 1996 | 232 | 23 ft | - | - | GA | $14,500 | Aug 21, 2026 to Sep 3, 2026 | taken down Craigslist |
| 2001 | 232 | 23 ft | - | - | WA | $50,900 | Jul 28, 2026 to Aug 24, 2026 | taken down (3 posts) Craigslist |
| 2006 | 232 | 23 ft | - | - | NY | $27,500 | Jun 16, 2026 to Jun 25, 2026 | taken down (5 posts) Craigslist |
The 10 most recently seen of 10 distinct boats. These are asking prices, not sale prices: no free source publishes US used-boat sale prices. A boat re-posted several times counts once, at its latest ask. "Taken down" means the ad disappeared; that can be a sale, a seller who gave up, or an expired post.
Cobalt recalls and accident record
Of 675Cobalt boats in USCG accident records: fire or explosion 6%, flooding or swamping 6%, capsizing 0%, total loss 9%, at least one death 4%. The rate counts accidents in Texas and New York waters from 2014 to 2023 (47) against 6,837 Cobalt boats registered in those two states, the only states that publish boat-level registrations. Accident records reflect how and how much boats are used, not only how they are built. Only accidents above the USCG reporting threshold are recorded. Personal watercraft are left out.
These numbers are for the builder, not this model. Check the specific hull with a HIN lookup for recalls and reported accidents.
Recalls affecting Cobalt
11 federal recall campaigns on file. Recalls are issued against hull-identification ranges, so a campaign listed here may or may not cover the specific boat you are looking at — check the HIN. Remedies are free from the builder, but only if the work was actually performed, and there is no central database that proves it was.
- ⚠ Recall
11V2339/22/2011SAFE LOADING PERSONS; SAFE LOADING MAX WT
- ⚠ Recall
23MF00609/10/2022 - ⚠ Recall
170013T7/27/2017ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- ⚠ Recall
990027T5/7/1999CO INTRUSION
- ⚠ Recall
180010S5/25/2018HULL; CRAZING
- ⚠ Recall
980064T5/14/1998ELECTRICAL WIRING
- ⚠ Recall
990025S3/11/1999ELECTRICAL - GROUND
- ⚠ Recall
020023T2/15/2002ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- ⚠ Recall
150023S12/31/2015FUEL SYSTEM
- ⚠ Recall
22MF042410/30/2022 - ⚠ Recall
960094T10/1/1996FUEL SYSTEM
Method: Matched to the builder by normalized company name and MIC. A campaign is shown when it touches this builder; the model and year columns say how narrowly it applies.
Sources: US Coast Guard recall database · CPSC recalls
Engines we actually see on the 232
- Mercury Verado / V8 FourStroke (250–400)
Modern Mercury V8/V10 FourStroke and supercharged Verado are strong, smooth, and well-supported, a clear step up from the OptiMax era. Slightly behind Yamaha on resale trust but closing fast, and often better integrated (joystick, digital throttle).
Service reality: 100-hour service; supercharged Verado adds the supercharger oil interval. Check for corroded battery cables and the SmartCraft harness on saltwater boats.
Full Mercury Verado / V8 FourStroke (250–400) reliability profile →
- Volvo Penta sterndrive (gas, DPS/Duoprop)
Smooth, strong drives — the Duoprop in particular handles and holds beautifully. The catch is parts cost: Volvo Penta components run materially higher than MerCruiser equivalents, so service and repair budgets are larger.
Service reality: Same wear items as MerCruiser (bellows, gimbal, impeller) but pricier parts. Verify drive-oil condition (milky = water intrusion = seal failure).
Full Volvo Penta sterndrive (gas, DPS/Duoprop) reliability profile →
Method: Engine family matched from the listing's engine fields and title text against BoatVerdict's engine-family profiles. Prevalence is share of our sample, not factory fitment rates.
Sources: BoatVerdict market observations · BoatVerdict engine-family profiles
Cobalt 232 specifications
| Length (median listed) | 23.0 ft | Our listing data |
|---|---|---|
| Model years traded | 1996–2010 | Our listing data |
| Cobalt hulls in US registries | 6,841 | TX + NY open data |
Rows marked "our listing data" are measured from listings, not published by the builder, and will differ from a brochure. Rows without a source we can name are not shown at all.
What to inspect on a used Cobalt 232
- Mercury Verado / V8 FourStroke (250–400): 100-hour service; supercharged Verado adds the supercharger oil interval. Check for corroded battery cables and the SmartCraft harness on saltwater boats. Seen on 1 of the 22 232 listings we track.
- Get the hour meter reading and divide by the boat's age. Above 150 hours a year is heavy use for a Mercury Verado / V8 FourStroke (250–400). Threshold from BoatVerdict's engine-family profile for Mercury Verado / V8 FourStroke (250–400).
- Volvo Penta sterndrive (gas, DPS/Duoprop): Same wear items as MerCruiser (bellows, gimbal, impeller) but pricier parts. Verify drive-oil condition (milky = water intrusion = seal failure). Seen on 1 of the 22 232 listings we track.
- Get the hour meter reading and divide by the boat's age. Above 100 hours a year is heavy use for a Volvo Penta sterndrive (gas, DPS/Duoprop). Threshold from BoatVerdict's engine-family profile for Volvo Penta sterndrive (gas, DPS/Duoprop).
- Assume saltwater service unless the seller can prove otherwise: pull the engine cowling and look at the powerhead, check trim-cylinder rams for pitting, and open the battery and fuse boxes for green corrosion. 68% of the listings we observed for this model are in coastal states.
- On the older hulls, core moisture is the deal-breaker: sound the transom and the deck with a plastic mallet, and treat any soft or dull-sounding area as a survey-stopper rather than a bargaining chip. We observe listings back to 1996, so boats over 30 years old are actively traded in this model.
This list is specific to this model: analyst items for the hull, plus items driven by the engines and the regions we actually observe on 232 listings. It is not a generic pre-purchase checklist, and it does not replace a surveyor.
What a 232 costs to own
$3,750 – $10k per year
- 23 ft hull, the median observed length for this model
- Saltwater berth, based on where most listings we see are located (CA)
- Includes insurance, storage, routine service, fuel at moderate seasonal use, and a reserve for wear items
- Excludes loan payments, major engine replacement, and refit work
This is a modelled band, not observed spend. Real cost swings hard on where you keep the boat and how much you use it.
Method: The same ownership-cost model BoatVerdict's paid Deal Report uses: boat class and length set the base band, then saltwater berth and size adjust it.
Sources: BoatVerdict ownership-cost model
Where 232s are for sale
- CA 4
- NY 3
- WA 3
- NV 3
- NC 1
- NM 1
- MO 1
- GA 1
- WI 1
- AL 1
Counts of distinct boats we observed per state, from 22 listings in 12 metro areas. We publish the distribution, not the listings themselves.
What else buyers cross-shop
Chosen by measured similarity — same builder first, then comparable length — and limited to models whose own page meets our evidence bar. No paid placements, no filler links.
Cobalt 232 FAQ
How much does a used Cobalt 232 cost?
Are there recalls on the Cobalt 232?
What engine does the Cobalt 232 come with?
What does it cost to own a Cobalt 232 per year?
Looking at a Cobalt 232 for sale?
Paste the listing and we will score that specific boat against everything on this page: asking price versus our observed range, engine and hours risk, the known issues for its model year, and a negotiation position. The verdict is free.
Get the free verdict →No account needed. The paid Deal Report is optional and comes after.