Cobalts BEST Hull

[Bfun220]

I run a lot of 2-3 footers with my 220 without an issue. Play with your trim, both more trim or sounds like maybe less trim. I would think that boat should handle 3 footers without much trouble as long as your hitting them between 45 and 90 degrees.

[tgrace98]

The 250 and R5 are same beam. The only major difference appears to be length. Weight was definitely in the back due to the rough ride. Sounds like trim tabs will help. Any idea what that add on costs?

As for trimming the drive, it starts to porpoise pretty quickly. I had them on a prior boat and they definitely helped but I was hoping the bigger R5 would handle the chop without them.

Electric Lenco tabs should be less than a grand, boat is already pre wired for them

[MikeBo]

OK. I have a 2014 R5 and love the boat, but I just posted a comment on another thread about how it handles the chop at our lake. Boating in Texas has been a real learning experience. The wind is almost constant here, but especially in West Texas where our lake is. So, most days are windy and the chop ranges from 1 foot to 2 foot without boat traffic. The R5 can handle that pretty well, but throw in a few wakes and it turns into a washing machine. Last weekend was another example of that. We headed out Sunday morning and our friends were behind us in their 250. The 250 is a little bigger, 25' hull length to my 23.5' and weight was close to the same, but he eventually passed by me as I was navigating the chop and I was watching as he was planed out and the boat didn't appear to jumping around like my R5 does. As I saw him go by, I tried to plane out and see if I could move across the chop better, but I couldn't keep it up very long before I needed to back off of it. Can anyone on the forum provide some knowledge on why this "appears" to be the case. I have not ridden on his boat, so I can't say how it felt actually in the boat, but from the outside, he seemed to be handling the chop much better. Is this a hull issue or does that extra 1.5 feet really help that much?

I am not sure if your problem was the bow rising and splashing down, I read it on here, but less trim is very effective to minimize, and of course trim tabs if u have them.

[Motex2011]

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Electric Lenco tabs should be less than a grand, boat is already pre wired for them

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Excellent! Thanks Tgrace. I've been watching videos and I'm getting my confidence up to drill a few holes.

[Donedroolin]

That is a rough ride no matter 20 to 25 foot. I have been out on the river with 6 foot waves. crawling up one side down the other. When the waves finally get down to 2 to 3 foot your like this is not that bad, but to run that all the time NO Way would not be fun. It is rare to get the huge waves, however during the storms coming, the chop gets big. Then between the bigger boats Oboy. 2 to 3 footers in a 22 foot boat does does not sound fun all the time. I do like testing my boat on the rough days. I can smoke my friend in his 23.5 foot Formula. Waves i can go right through he has to slow down. He has tried not to but he said it slams the boat hard.

[BigGib]

Like BBP mentioned, I think the difference in deadrise, although only 1 degree different, can make a huge difference in how the hull cuts vs. slaps. This is probably some of your problem. Trim tabs could definitely help some, but won't change your deadrise. It's hard to get a great ride in 2 to 3 footers with a 23.5' boat, your best bet is always more boat if you can afford it.

I have a 302 and deal with 4 to 6 footers on a regular basis and get beat up pretty good, but I can tell you the 22 degrees deadrise on my 302 kills the 20 degrees deadrise my Formula 330ss had. Night and day difference

[Fozzy STI]

Best hull?
That is easy, the 190 no doubt about it

[AsLan7]

Best hull?
That is easy, the 190 no doubt about it

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You’re way off Fozzy.

[Fozzy STI]

Depends on what is for you the best definition of best hull.
For me that is when it is on a rails and the 190 is.
At least mine is ,it also depends what prop you have.
I really can make a turn (90 degrees) with high speed without making a blowout.

[sailor55330]

2-3 ft chop should be more than managable in your R5. I run in that on my R3 frequently. I've found that with no tabs, it's best to trim down some when the chop acts up. Yes, it's no the most efficient, but it forces the bow to "slice" the waves vs bouncing over and off. It is a bit counterintuitive. I can easily cruise at 23-25mph in 2ft chop with no significant slamming--it may not be the fastest, but it's easiliy on plane at that speed. Sure, there are the occasional waves/wakes that cause issues and we all hit them and you need to watch for and slow down them, but you should be able to mitigate most of them. As said, 45-90 degree approach is your friend. I have more issues when the boat "wake walks" coming off a larger wake and it takes a second for the chines to grab.

THe other option is go "all in, balls out" and skip the tops.....I wouldn't necessarily recommend this.

Oh, and yes, 1.5ft of waterline and a degree of deadrise is HUGE

[Tuscany]

It's the 190 for sure. it is the greatest Cobalt of all time

Absolutely!
I thought this was thouroughly discussed and agreed upon years ago. Liquid made the statement, and that was that.....
At the tour in Neodesha, we let Cobalt engineers know exactly what their best work was.

If there were a second best, I'm now partial to the R-33.

[Sumgai]

I would like to see Cobalt set up a test facility in Miami, and post vids of their craft passing through Haulover Inlet…. “Haulover Inlet is the most dangerous inlet in Florida and yet it has the most boat traffic of any inlet in the United States. At any given moment, the waves will get the best of unsavvy captains and send them home with a few learned lessons”
I am waiting all the time watching the youtubes on Haulover, but have never seen a Cobie. So other than taking comfort that my hull has been water tested in a swimming pool at the factory in Kansas; I rely on the “there’s no replacement for displacement” adage. And take some comfort that my old SeaRay weighed 4200 lbs, and my new Cobalt R4 OB (the skinny one of all three versions) weighs in at 4986 lbs. An improvement in my book. Though I draw the line at puncturing my hull to pump it full of 2000 lb bags of water to smooth out the ride.

[Sam Adams]

I run a lot of 2-3 footers with my 220 without an issue. Play with your trim, both more trim or sounds like maybe less trim. I would think that boat should handle 3 footers without much trouble as long as your hitting them between 45 and 90 degrees.

Is this the 45 and 90 degrees you're referencing?

45-90 degree approach.PNG

[AsLan7]

It's the 190 for sure. it is the greatest Cobalt of all time

Absolutely!
I thought this was thouroughly discussed and agreed upon years ago. Liquid made the statement, and that was that.....
At the tour in Neodesha, we let Cobalt engineers know exactly what their best work was.

If there were a second best, I'm now partial to the R-33.

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Definitely never settled T.
The 260 series and 343's were high on many lists. Which tour group were you in.

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[Tuscany]

It's the 190 for sure. it is the greatest Cobalt of all time

Absolutely!
I thought this was thouroughly discussed and agreed upon years ago. Liquid made the statement, and that was that.....
At the tour in Neodesha, we let Cobalt engineers know exactly what their best work was.

If there were a second best, I'm now partial to the R-33.

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Definitely never settled T.

The 260 series and 343's were high on many lists. Which tour group were you in.

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LOL, it was a liquid tribute joke