R5 or Mastercraft X26 (or similar)

[Whitefish Boater]

In the market for a 24' to 26' surf boat that is also great for cruising. My wife likes a smooth ride when we are cruising the chain in a little chop and I do too but I want the surf/wakeboard/ski functionality to be awesome as well. I am leaning Cobalt but want some input from the experts. I would say our relaxing boating/cruising is 60% and our water sports are 40%. Kids are and friends/cousins are all 13-20 years old so they want to ride.

Thanks for any input.

[tgrace98]

R5 surf would be the boat for you then. R5 will still give you the same comfortable ride when cruising in the chop. Yet still give you the ability to surf or wakeboard when you want. The wake will not be as clean as a dedicated surf boat. But unless you are a hardcore surfer you won’t know a difference.

Dedicated surf boats are not built to create a smooth ride. They have fixed outdrives and have flatter bottom hulls to create a big wave

[AsLan7]

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Hey WB. Welcome to the CobaltChat forum. So glad you found us!

TG98 said it well (although change fixed outdrives to an inboard propeller for a ski boat to be technically correct since they don't have outdrives).
You and more importantly your wife will not regret the ride offered by the deeper Vee hull of a Cobalt. My wife and I looked at the X26 at a boat show and it is gorgeous. That being said with the way we use our boat which is very similar to how you will be using yours, the Cobalt was a no-brainer.
Is this your first boat?

Make it happn' Capn'.

Again, welcome aboard mate!

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[Big Block Power]

100% agree with A7 and tg!
Cobalt madness the best crossover out there.
The new r4 or r6 will even be better if you can get your hands on one. They redesigned the whole boat with Malibu backing it you will get more true surf features.
I don't think you can compare the ride from a Cobalt to a MC or a BU!
Tow boats are getting larger and a better ride then they used to have back 5 years ago. Still no comparison. Hopefully your neighbor Bum will chime in. They put 100s of his on there r5surf. Other surf guys will chime in I'm sure. Congrats on your new Cobalt purchase ahead of time

[Whitefish Boater]

Thanks for the input everyone! Looking at an R5 tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

[bruceb58]

We have 2 friends that have Mastercraft X24s on Lake Tahoe. That boat is fine cruising even on a large lake like that. Their main purpose for having a boat is to wakesurf though. If you are really into wakesurfing, the Mastercraft or the SkiNautique is a no brainer. For us, we get the best of both worlds cruise on our boat and wakesurf on theirs. We have a friend who has surfed on both the Cobalt and Mastercraft. The Mastercraft wins hands down for wave quality

[BobRae99]

My opinion for the OP is to wait until there are reviews by professional surfers or he has a chance to compare the boats himself. I wouldn't be counting on people who haven't owned/operated and surfed behind both a Mastercraft and a Cobalt R6/R8 to offer up opinions about which is better or what the ride quality is like on a boat they haven't driven or ridden in. After all, this is a purchase that can run $250,000+ and included in. that price is more than $45,000 for a surf system. Cobalt owners can attest to the ride quality of the the R5, R7 - not doubt it is exceptional, but there have been some posts on the R7 Surf here - one asking how he could improve the height and push of teh wave for a 200 lb surfer. That isn't something I'd want to have to ask questions about after I'd purchased a boat for surfing. We just down't have any independent first hand knowledge of how the new surf boat performs. Cobalt has been careful in its promotional videos about how it compares the R6/8 surf wave to dedicated boats.

My friend has an 8 year old Centurion that puts up a monster wave with good push but is useless on Lake Winnipeg ("inland ocean") with its shallow forward vee and 18 degree dead rise at the stern when the lake blows up. But, more recent Centurions have adopted a 20 degree dead rise and modified hull to better handle rougher water. I think others such as Mastercraft, Nautique, etc. have followed suit, giving those boast better riding characteristics than the boats that came before them.

It will be interesting to see what the early adopters say about their new surf boats, but the independent reviews will be what sells me a new Cobalt surf boat.

[Big Block Power]

Really this is simple. A Cobalt will never surf as good as a dedicated tow boat and a tow boat will never ride as good as a Cobalt. Plain and simple.

[Krob1114]

Did you choose yet?