The bottom had been reworked and was straightened. The sides had a wooded splash rail lip screwed in with bondo. They had reshaped the sides with 1/2' thick gel and it definately looked like a plug. After a lot of sanding and some bead blasting ,it was saveable. The deck was the old round style. It was a great 1st offshore boat for cheap. here are some pics, it was built in the drive way in a tent.

Here is my 26' Corsa I just picked up. Has a 502ci with a SSM#3. Im new to the offshore stuff. Been playing with outboard cats and tunnels. I love old school! [IMG][/IMG]

That 26 Corsa is the best single engine rough water boat ever, especially if it was built as a race boat (No inner liner, just added bulkheads) They can suck up some real punishment and not even creek, Check the last 5' of bottom-be sure it's straight, mount everything as far outboard and low as possibe and use a 25gal ballast tank in the front and enjoy. They totally kickazz..

Any idea what Make/Model might be comparable to this 31' Corsa/Martini that I can actually look up info on?

Would it have been built with foam in the hull?

Any idea on what the weight might be with (2) big blocks?

or other concerns with these boats?

Thanks for any info you can provide.

I believe I found some info on Martini or Corsa on Bucnet - not sure what year I looked up, likely 1986.

Also, there's a 94 31' Corsa for sale on Scream and Fly with 250 OBs. Asking 25,000 I believe. Progressive insures my 86 and BoatUS knew what it was.

There is a Martini about a 25-28 footer at the place I put in.I think he said it was a late 1970's...I forget. It cought my eye because of it's style and the oval with the '1' inside it. I thought it was a Cigarette. I've talked to the owner a couple times. Are these boats a predecessor of Cigarette or something totally different? Possibly thinking of trading my Checkmate for it...??

Hello, does anyone have any old brochures from Martini or Corsa?

It's actually Robert Michael Bower (my uncle) ... no, "s". The very first original Martini was constructed in his brother's backyard, from a mold Bob had purchased. Years later, after Martini had begun to make a name for themselves (Please note: Martini/Corsa is the only off-shore race boat company, that started in the 70s, that remained in business past the 90s). This boat was a 7 meter boat. A couple years later, they added a 9 meter. The 7M went bye bye and they eventually added a 12M ... However, if you really wanted a 7M, it could be arranged, as all boats were custom made.

As time went by, Martini phased out and by the early to mid 80's, Corsa took it's place - but was based on the original Martini mold. You could say, Martini is to Corsa, as Datsun is to Nissan.

Firecat, your mistaken a bit about Corsa/Martini being the only offshore race boat company that started in the 70's and continued thru the 90's. Just off the top of my head; Pantera, Magnum, Cigarette, Sutphen, Monza, and Superboat come to mind.
In the late 1970's early 1980's there was a high freeboard 30' Corsa. They made several raceboats; "Boogie Bear", "Tight Rope" "Big Red" and a few others. Was this the same company that manufactured the 26 Corsa in the 1980's and 90's?