A real double-threat boat, this 24-footer boasts a 17-inch draft that enables anglers to venture into shallow bays, while the deep-V and 21.5-degree deadrise on the proven Cobia hull help it conquer a moderate chop and treat the skipper and crew to a comfortable run to and from their favorite offshore fishing grounds.
Construction is 100 percent composite for maximum rigidity and minimum weight. For durability and peak performance, the hardware is 316-grade stainless steel and wiring is copper-tinned. And for a more refined look and easier cleaning, all compartments and hatches are finished inside and out.
The deck layout blends form and purpose with a wide-open cockpit, level floor from bow to stern, generous storage and ample seating.
At the bow, the dedicated anchor locker offers room for plenty of rode, and it can be rigged with an optional shoot-through and windlass to drop and retrieve the hook with the touch of a button and keep out debris. Symmetrical, elevated compartments, both insulated and with overboard drains and cushions, are bridged to create U-shaped seating up front, with recessed grab rails for safety and coaming pads for backrests. Optional foldaway backrests turn the bow seats into twin loungers.
A large in-floor compartment with the dimensions to stash boat fenders, anchor buoys, or other large, wet items sits between the bow seating and the forward console seat, with a cooler integrated into a door that swings open to port to enter the step-down head compartment inside the console. Along with a marine toilet, the head also includes a sink with freshwater faucet/pullout shower, a mirror, and storage for toiletries and such.
Our test boat came rigged with the optional hardtop — with a sturdy powder-coated aluminum frame, and fore and aft storage overhead for additional electronics or gear — designed as an extension of the console.
A three-sided windshield with wiper and electric vent shields the skipper from the elements at the helm, where the dash accommodates dual 12-inch displays, or a larger single unit, above the standard switch panel, leaving enough real estate for a multifunction gauge, plus flush-mounted VHF radio, twin cup holders, glove box, a nook to stow away mobile devices and other valuables, and a marine compass on top.
A comfortable double-bolstered helm seat sports flip-down armrests and allows for driving while standing. It’s nestled into a fiberglass module with a foldaway footrest in the front and substantial tackle storage behind. Just aft, a pair of 33-gallon in-floor fish boxes (with optional macerator pump-out) parallel the gunwales, making it easy to put fish on ice without interrupting the cockpit action.
Aft seating — a foldaway bench on the transom that seats two comfortably — sits off-center to starboard to accommodate a 28-gallon livewell with clear lid to port, leaving space for a transom door in the corner to access the swim platform with telescoping boarding ladder. Folded up, the aft seat allows you to lift part of the transom bulkhead, which serves as an oversize hatch to the bilge.
Typical of Cobia boats, the 240 CC supplements the standard four rod holders on the covering boards with horizontal racks for two more outfits and a gaff or boat hook on each gunwale, as well as five upright and two slanted kingfish-style rod tubes welded on the hardtop frame, and additional flush-mounted holders to port and starboard. Coaming bolsters in the cockpit, USB ports and cup holders throughout, and recessed trim tabs round out this well-equipped center-console.
Powered by twin Yamaha F150s, the 24-footer jumped on plane without squatting and reached 30 mph in an average of 8.1 seconds. Top speed at wide-open throttle was 51 mph, and easing the controls back, the Cobia remained on plane at 2,900 rpm, doing 19 mph, an ideal pace for scouting bay grass flats or weed lines in blue water.
Both the turning radius and maneuverability were excellent, and the boat executed all turns at varying speeds and in different directions with ease and the desired predictability. Not satisfied to test the boat’s ride in the 2-foot chop outside Florida’s Lake Worth inlet, we sought passing boats and tackled their 3- and 4-foot wakes, a trial that earned the Cobia yet another thumbs up.
With all the accouterments of a top fishing boat and loaded with amenities usually reserved for larger models, the Cobia 240 CC is a top choice for anyone equally devoted to the pursuit of game fish as to making memories with the family on the water.
