Is This The Future?

[Fffrank]

I know I'm going to look like a shill to keep defending Cobalt (again, my words would have been markedly different last week) but for what it's worth, I'm the old man of this group.  I'm 35.  The boat owner is 24.  I know that styling is highly subjective, but this is a guy that is well heeled and self made in the world of fashion, art and design.

If your usage mix is 100% watersports, any of the big inboards are going to be "better."  His mix (and I would guess most on here) is much more casual than that and I'm reluctantly recognizing that he probably made an acceptable choice for what he needs.

It's not a big deal, though -- he'll be in the market again next spring no matter what boat he's got at the dock.

[Bill_AirJunky]

I saw the aftermath of one of these drives hitting bottom last week. Instead of a $1500 or $2500 bill (most v-drive incidents), or a $5k drive replacement (average I/O), his bill is going to be in excess of $10k or $12k (drive, swimstep, transom, etc). 

If 35 is the old man of the group, I have to be the antique here. But I can still see the benefit of a more simple drive setup where the bulk of the hardware is inside the hull. The guys who work at our marina & own boats, 9 out of 10 of them own inboards of some kind. From Malibu or Mastercraft to old wood hull Centurys or Chriscrafts.

[iwam]

No bubble, I think they are here to stay.  For those willing to give up holeshot, you gain 10x better dock maneuverability and the ability to trim up in shallow waters

Not for water sports purists, but a great option for those who already prefer an I/O

[hethj7]

I am not sure that I would care about repair costs as much as repair time since insurance should cover it.  But rising insurance costs may be an issue too.  

[Bill_AirJunky]

8 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

I am not sure that I would care about repair costs as much as repair time since insurance should cover it.  But rising insurance costs may be an issue too.  

True. I guess I've been of the mindset that most repairs I'm going to either make myself or pay for myself rather than use insurance for it. Obviously if it's a $10k repair, I'm going to reconsider that. But I still like the simplicity of the inboards. Lets face it, the transmissions in these things are how old? And when was the last time you heard of one failing?

[hethj7]

Agreed.  I just don't think it is a huge consideration for buyers spending this kind of money. Perhaps as they flood the used market and people look to drop "full coverage" insurance on them it will matter more.  I just figure around $1,000, I am paying my deductible and not doing DIY anyways.  As long as you aren't hitting stuff every year that usually works out   

 

[DarkSide]

1 hour ago, Bill_AirJunky said:

But I still like the simplicity of the inboards. Lets face it, the transmissions in these things are how old? And when was the last time you heard of one failing?

Mine failed last summer...  but i agree very rare.

[EchelonMike]

For those of you who subscribe to boattest.com, they just tested the chaparral 227 with SurfGate.  So funny seeing the exact "surfgate" logo'd gates on another brand, and their touchscreen even has similar software to Malibu to control the surf programming.  Here is the link to the full test:  http://www.boattest.com/review/chaparral/3620_227-ssx-surf

It will be interesting to see how this drive set-up evolves in coming generations.  The best benefit I see is trim-ability.  With just the standard 300 HP v8, the boat hits 50 MPH on the top end, and at 3500 RPM goes 30 MPH and gets 3.5 MPG.  Only has about 500 lbs of ballast standard.  That is the only thing I miss about our old 20 ft runabout from wayyyyyyyy back in the day...it could haul-arse when you wanted to get from one side of a big lake to the other (like Norris or Cumberland in TN and KY for example).

They showed an as-tested price of $90K with trailer, so you are still paying "similar" money to a 21 ft Malibu.  

     -- Mike

 

[RyanB]

Interesting.  The wake didn't look great to me, but not terrible. 

I'd like to see a review on one of the bigger Cobalts once they add SurfGate.

[DarkSide]

7 minutes ago, RyanB said:

Interesting.  The wake didn't look great to me, but not terrible. 

I'd like to see a review on one of the bigger Cobalts once they add SurfGate.

I know cobalt is now owned by malibu.  Are they ditching the tabs and going gates?  I heard very good things about the R27 surf wave, with tabs

[RyanB]

9 minutes ago, DarkSide said:

I know cobalt is now owned by malibu.  Are they ditching the tabs and going gates?  I heard very good things about the R27 surf wave, with tabs

Complete assumption on my part.  I saw a Cobalt at this years boat show with those HUGE tabs, and SurfGate just looks like such a cleaner system to me, I would be surprised if they didn't use it.

I saw some boat (not sure of the brand) with the forward drive when we were leaving the lake last trip.  It was a smallish boat, but was SOOOOO much taller than my LSV on the trailer.  I can't believe how tall they made the trailer to accommodate the drive.  That could be a nightmare on some of the shallower ramps we use.

[Fffrank]

23 minutes ago, DarkSide said:

I know cobalt is now owned by malibu.  Are they ditching the tabs and going gates?  I heard very good things about the R27 surf wave, with tabs

I've surfed one a dozen times this summer.  I'm a believer.  I am also assuming that next years model will have gates instead of tabs (or maybe with tabs?)  

[DarkSide]

I am still thinking a combination of surf systems would be awesome!  I would love to stick a suck gate on my 257 just to see what happens.  I love the stock wave, but I am also a tinkerer so i am curious.

[carguy79ta]

I did put a homemade suck gate  (I made mine 2x as big as the ones you buy..since the surfgate on the m235 is large)on my 257. didn't have time to really mess with it but the surf rpms went from 3400 to 4100 rpms.  speculate the motor was working harder.  if it working harder it might be pushing more water.  will try it again this weekend. I learned to surf on an A22 with surfgate...so I figured what the heck.