26' Corsa
 

I know there was a thread on these boats a while ago, but it left me with more questions than answers. First, are they still in production...semi custom or otherwise? I remember talking to Bob Bower roughly 10 years ago, who I believe owned Corsa at the time and was building the boats out of Opa Locka, FLA. Is he still building these boats? Second, who designed the 26? Is it an original or a knock off of something else? I have always been a fan of them because they have relatively large strakes, long lower strakes, ride pretty level and handle the rough very well. There seems to be a big difference in the build of the boats. I've seen some that were built around 1983 that do not have the hull to deck joint glassed together. That same boat also was built so light that you could literally flex the fairing under the windshield by hand. The hull was full of stress cracks as was the deck. On the other hand I've seen some built in the later 80's and mid 90's that are built like tanks...glassed joints and much more substantial overall construction. Is this typical of these boats or are there indeed years to avoid? Finally, someone has a rediculously overpriced 1979 white 26' Corsa for sale on Boattrader.com, but it doesn't have the typical crease down the side (the area on the hull side which is a bit wider than the rest of it about 4 inches below the deck). Does anybody know what the story is with this? I guess it could be a cut down hull. I know Bower built the Martini also. The 25 looked like a 24' Excalibur and the 26 looked like a dead ringer for the Corsa. Is it indeed the same mold? I'm looking to find a decent old hull, ex-race boat or otherwise. If anyone has any information on these boats, it would be greatly appreciated.

CQ

Re: 26' Corsa
 

Corsa Q,

The "rediculously overpriced" Corsa in NJ is beautiful! The owner completely stripped the boat, painted it, and replaced the original TRS with a new Bravo I, the engine is also a brand new 496 HO. This boat shows as "new".
If your interested in a race hull, I've got a 24' Sunsation Race boat for sale, structually excellent, needs paint, will sell w/ or w/o engine or drive. See Sunsation Forum, "1993 24' Sunsation" for more info and pics.

Re: 26' Corsa
 

you should try to get in touch w/Steve Miklos..he has one of the most successful 26's built..I drove it a bit last year..handles like it's on rails...Steve has alot of info on the brand as well....

Re: 26' Corsa
 

Robert, indeed the boat in Jersey looks beautifully done and I know that 496 and Bravo package doesn't come cheap, but I think it's going to be hard to find someone willing to pay 39K for that boat when, last I checked, the old Subluxator/Radioactive racing boat was not going for that money. Great boats all of them, but the market doesn't seem to bear those prices for 2 seat 26' boats...especially one built in 1979. I personally think those boats are worth a lot more than they tend to get for them, but hey, even I won't pay that much for one, I'd never see it when I go to sell it myself. Thanks for the info though. While the Sunsation is a nice hull, I'm bent on the Corsa. I've wanted one since I first saw one back in 83. I don't think you can do much better in a 26' V-Hull.

Re: 26' Corsa
 

I've had my eye on that same corsa. Nice boat.
Bet you could cut $10K off the price with a phone call...

Re: 26' Corsa
 

Theres a 26 Corsa On Long Island Young Tom From Lighthouse boat Transport Has One 4 Sale It Was The Old Johnny red Race Boat Turned Into A Bay Bomber That Boat won The Worlds In KeyWest In The Late 80s And There Is Another With A Pair Of 200s Runs 80 That I Know Of Call lighthouse Harley Ask For Dom In ServiceHe Has The One With The 200s Both Those Boats Used To Be Mine They Are Great Runnin Boats They eat Up Rough Water

Re: 26' Corsa
 

Yeah, I know the guy who bought the old Johhny Red from him. He put a big cubic inch engine in it and swapped the TRS for a Bravo. From what I hear it's running extremely fast. Ideally I'm after a stern drive boat. I've been around boats for 20+ years and outboards still are a mystery to me.
Since you owned one, was the hull to deck joint glassed on your boat?

Re: 26' Corsa
 

Well, Since you owned the old Johnny Red, was that double wide stringer something you added or maybe something that whoever raced added. I think that had a glassed hull deck joint too. How was the outboard boat built relative to the old Johnny Red? I'd love to find another one that is a stout as that boat. Do you know who designed that hull? Doesn't really make any difference, but I am curious.

Re: 26' Corsa
 

Corsa Quest, I sent you a pm.

Re: 26' Corsa
 

That Double Stringer ! When I Went To Pick The Boat up They laid The Stringer Crooked So i Made Them Fix It And Thats How They Did It . Boy Was I Pissed . That Boat Was a 1985 Hull and Deck Was Glassed Up . That Boat Was One Of The Best running For Its Size Fastest I Had It Was 84 With a 466 12.5 comp Full Roller With TRS Drive What a Boat . I Thought They Were Still In Buisness . Two Brothers John And Bob They were From Huntington NY Moved To fla years Ago I Believe They Took a Copy Of a Old 27 Excaliber Speedster The Other 26 I Had I Rigged With 200s That Boat Went 83 Best 80 allday Long Another Good running Boat That One was A 1986

Re: 26' Corsa
 

There is a couple of them for sale in the southwest florida boat trader.

Re: 26' Corsa
 

Thanks for all the info. I have to tell you, I was real curious why in the world it had that double stringer, I had all sorts of theories...reality as always is funnier than than anything I could have made up! I'm sure the current owner will get a laugh out of it.

Thanks again.

CQ

Re: 26' Corsa
 

What is the beam on the Corsa and actaul centerline lenght?

It's funny the things you mention. Let's see if I can answer them.

1) Although they all came from the same molds. They were ALL custom made. If you were to buy one that was not, "custom made," that was only due to one of two possible reasons: a. It was a show model. b. the original potential order either never paid for or picked up his boat (Never picked up? Back in the 70's and 80s drug trafficking by boat was HUGE! And Corsa's business policy was simple: "No cash, no splash --- and it's none of our business how you come up with your finances. I won't ask and I don't want to know. I'm here to manufacture and sell you a boat... period."

2) Are they still in business? To be honest, I don't know. My mother and I had a falling out, and we've not spoken in 12 years. John and Robert Bower (the founders of Martini, Corsa & Stuart Angler) are my step-father and & uncle.

3) One of the reasons Martini went bye bye and Corsa took it's place (Think Datsun becoming Nissan) was due to some imperfections in the design. Although they [Martini] were arguably some of the best boats on the market, they did encounter the rare problem. When Corsa was phased in, all the bugs and dings from Martini had, for the most part, been knocked out.

4) It's funny you mentioned Excalibur, as the first Martini was created with Excalibur in mind. But, as far as being a knock-off... not at all. The original boat was, literally, made by hand, in my backyard, by my uncle and step-father!

5) One person mentioned them being, "over-priced." To this, I simply say: each boat was custom made and designed exactly to the customer's request. From the very same mold, based on the design, modifications and performance demands, I have seen upwards of $225K difference between one boat and the next. As for materials: Pittsburgh plate glass, stainless steel screws, the finest teak work available, nickel-clad wiring... only the best materials went into those boats.

Beam is 7'. I bought Lightspeed's old boat from Dom.

Ron

[ATTACH=CONFIG]535439[/ATTACH]

Wow... this is funny. I remember that boat. That was a long time ago too.

When you mentioned the name, "Dom," it immediately conjured up a distant memory of a light skinned, blonde haired, Italian guy, named, Dominic Veriato (sorry for the spelling). He was, at the time, our main sales person and representative for Martini and Corsa, when Corsa first started.

If you did purchase it from the showroom (yes, they had one for a few years - before selling factory direct) - If memory serves me correct, it's been 30 years, it was on the corner of US-1 & 135th St in North Miami - or perhaps one of the boat shows; you may remember me. I would have been a teenager at the time.

You may also have seen - and even ridden - in a boat they used to offer test runs and such: Miss Italia. She was one of the first boats they ever made, their pride and glory, relegated to show and performance duty ... When she wasn't on duty... I'd steal her for a weekend or so... hee hee hee

I had forgotten to mention this in my previous post:

What is the difference between a Chevrolet 350 engine and a Mercruiser 350?

1) A light blue paint job
2) A conversion to sea water-cooling vs. a radiator
3) A $6,000 - $8,000 higher price tag price tag, for the Mercruiser

Essentially, it is a Chevy engine, painted blue. Before you, or anyone suggests differently, the blue paint job does not offer some sort of, "special," water sealant abilities. It's just a variation Chevy made between marine and automotive. The lesson I learned, the day I discovered this fact was, "If it goes in a boat, add 4X the price. If is goes in a plane, add 10X the price."

My uncle always said, "A boat is a whole in the water you throw money into."

I purchased it in 2006 from a Dominick from Long Island.

I'm not sure if it's the same man, I, "think,"Dominick did move to NY. Nut if it is the same man I am thinking about, I don't know if he was still working with Martini/Corsa. So, it may not be the same Dominick.

Call Joker Powerboats as Brian has the 26. He should be able to help anyone out looking for a new build or possible direct you on something used.

do you remember this boat .. it was used as the plug for the corsa mold

To be honest. I don't recognize that boat. Mind you, the pic is quite small and hard to see any proper detail. Plus, it looks a tiny bit short to fit the 7M (24') boat. However, with a better view, I may prove myself wrong.

Firecat,

Since you obviously have deep knowledge regarding many Corsas, I have a question, purely out of curiosity. A friend of mine has a 31, not sure of the year, but will find out if it helps, that is set-up in an outboard configuration with a bench rear seat and (4) bolsters in the cockpit, 2 front, 2 mid. The engine bay, for lack of a better term, given its an outboard, is approx 3feet front to back, and it appears along the gunwale and cockpit sides, that this was modified into this set-up ( engine bay/rear cockpit bulkhead cut out and moved back). Would this possibly have been done at the factory, or is this something likely done after the fact?

I have a 31 that I converted to outboard went 60 w 2 250 mercs on a 2 ft bracket its for sale needs a powerhead 631 902 4665 tripps

That is the same set-up as my friends. I have driven his @ 62 on GPS, so obviously very similar in performance.

Scarabman,

Although Corsa and Stuart Angler (Their deep-sea fishing boat line) are generally known as strictly being an I/O type of boat, with few exceptions, each boat was custom designed to the buyers specifications. Albeit a rare occurrence, outboard only boats did leave the factory. The exact hp and number of engines attached also did vary. The lowest (and slowest) I have ever seen was 2 - 225 hp. The highest I have ever seen was 4 - 300 HP. I have also seen 3 - 430 HP set ups.

Essentially, if a buyer wanted his or her boat to be manufactured with outboard motors, they got it. Imagine a set-up you would desire. If it is possible to do, you will get exactly what you are willing to pay.

Lastly, some people may wonder why anyone would want a strictly outboard set-up. For this, I'll use myself as an example, an I/O does have many more things that could go wrong. Whereas a self-contained package is easier to deal with and should anything major occur, it is also MUCH cheaper and easier to repair or simply swap out for a new engine. Manufacturing of said boat is also easier, quicker and less costly.

As for owner conversions... to take my uncle's view on that matter... "I have no idea what they may choose to do. It's their boat now. It's none of my business. They can do whatever they desire."

So to your knowledge, no 4 bolster w/ rear bench seat boats ever left the factory, and it would be something done afterword?

Forgive me, I may not have been clear enough in my previous post. Each boat was made to the buyers specifications. If a boat was requested to have been built, exactly as you described; in all likelihood, it would have been built that way. As to the exact answer to, "did it or did it not leave the factory that way?" Unless I were to see the boat [or at least some detailed pictures], I honestly cannot tell you. But, I can tell you; what you have described was possible and likely to have been manufactured accordingly.

In short:
1) Could it have come from the factory, exactly as you described: Yes.
2) Did it, in fact, come from the factory, exactly as you described: Maybe.
3) I would either need to see the boat or some detailed pictures to grant you a definitive answer.