R5 comments wanted

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Southernboatman
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R5 comments wanted

Post by Southernboatman »

Posted about new R5 in general area since more new activity there. Buying new r5 now with Volvo 300hp. Appreciate your r5 feedback and experience and engine comments. Thanks.
2014 R5, Black on Black & White Edge Stripe
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liquid
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by liquid »

Awesome boat. If I was buying new I'd be very interested in that particular setup.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by Southernboatman »

liquid wrote: Wed May 03, 2017 11:43 am Awesome boat. If I was buying new I'd be very interested in that particular setup.
Let you know how it goes.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by AL Boater »

Southernboatman wrote: Wed May 03, 2017 6:57 am Posted about new R5 in general area since more new activity there. Buying new r5 now with Volvo 300hp. Appreciate your r5 feedback and experience and engine comments. Thanks.
southern, I'm new on the forum and still navigating my way as a newbie. I had to give a little on some of the options when configuring our boat. Ended up with the R5/300hp with Navy/Red edge stripe, white tower/navy bimini, terran brown interior with the makassar trim, mooring cover, transom lighting, sea grass, blue led interior accent lights, and a trailer. I decided to add a second battery configuration after the fact but missed the deadline on the production line. The boat was delivered with the second battery configuration. Apparently, Cobalt changed the standard configuration to include a second batter. Did not see that anywhere when doing the design. Worked out well. Also did not realize the boat has cruise and trim assist. I do like the dual Garmins, still learning how to fully use them though.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by Tuscany »

Al,
What tower did you get?
2017 Cobalt R7
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by Southernboatman »

AL Boater wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 8:31 am
Southernboatman wrote: Wed May 03, 2017 6:57 am Posted about new R5 in general area since more new activity there. Buying new r5 now with Volvo 300hp. Appreciate your r5 feedback and experience and engine comments. Thanks.
southern, I'm new on the forum and still navigating my way as a newbie. I had to give a little on some of the options when configuring our boat. Ended up with the R5/300hp with Navy/Red edge stripe, white tower/navy bimini, terran brown interior with the makassar trim, mooring cover, transom lighting, sea grass, blue led interior accent lights, and a trailer. I decided to add a second battery configuration after the fact but missed the deadline on the production line. The boat was delivered with the second battery configuration. Apparently, Cobalt changed the standard configuration to include a second batter. Did not see that anywhere when doing the design. Worked out well. Also did not realize the boat has cruise and trim assist. I do like the dual Garmins, still learning how to fully use them though.
Nice! How about the 300 on performance and fuel gophers?
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Volvo Penta 380hp
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by Southernboatman »

Gph, (really do we need a bad spellcheck on here???). And where do you boat?
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by AL Boater »

Tuscany wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 8:08 pm Al,
What tower did you get?
Went with the white manual fold. It's two knobs to turn and has assisted tension. Did not consider the power fold because I will have help on the boat most of the time, times I will actually fold the tower are minimum, don't need to fold to dry stack, it saved a few dollars for other options. One of the trades we made.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by AL Boater »

Southernboatman wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 11:13 pm Gph, (really do we need a bad spellcheck on here???). And where do you boat?
I'm in north Alabama. Boat is on Lake Guntersville/Tennessee River. Will drag over to Smith Lake and Tim's Ford this summer.

Fuel economy was not one of my highest rated criteria when I did the motor decision. Being new to boating I didn't want to find out after the fact the boat was too small or too underpowered. Read plenty of spec sheets from VP and talked to many people with Cobalts. Also had to remember this new 5.3l 300 hp engine went into the R5 in 2015 timeframe. If I went with the R5 WSS forward drive the 380 would have been the choice.

Interpreting a few charts rpm/gph: 1000/1.35, 2000/3.55, 3000/6.35, 4000/10.65, 5000/19.95, 5500/22.85

I haven't checked the computer numbers while running yet. Put more fuel in when the gauge gets low.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by Tuscany »

AL Boater wrote: Fri May 05, 2017 9:17 am
Tuscany wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 8:08 pm Al,
What tower did you get?
Went with the white manual fold. It's two knobs to turn and has assisted tension. Did not consider the power fold because I will have help on the boat most of the time, times I will actually fold the tower are minimum, don't need to fold to dry stack, it saved a few dollars for other options. One of the trades we made.
I've got the folding Bimini on order. The folding manual arch is roughly $2,500 more. I've got a couple more days to change the order before Cobalt locks it.
I'm not sure if it's worth it for us, but it does look nice.
2017 Cobalt R7
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6.2L VP 380 or 430

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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by imsaz2004 »

HI all, I just purchased the 2016 R5 (Not WSS) with the 350 engine. In my opinion the 300 would be too small. I already wish I had the 380 when the boat is loaded down with passengers and gear. I would also note the the fold down tower looks great but even when down it is pretty high in the air so it can be an issue for getting under bridges and such.
Beyond that, the boat is awesome!
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by Southernboatman »

imsaz2004 wrote: Sun May 07, 2017 11:12 am HI all, I just purchased the 2016 R5 (Not WSS) with the 350 engine. In my opinion the 300 would be too small. I already wish I had the 380 when the boat is loaded down with passengers and gear. I would also note the the fold down tower looks great but even when down it is pretty high in the air so it can be an issue for getting under bridges and such.
Beyond that, the boat is awesome!
Thanks and let us know how it goes and srick up some pics! I have heard the 350 is really good option.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by AL Boater »

Tuscany wrote: Sat May 06, 2017 9:10 am
AL Boater wrote: Fri May 05, 2017 9:17 am
Tuscany wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 8:08 pm Al,
What tower did you get?
Went with the white manual fold. It's two knobs to turn and has assisted tension. Did not consider the power fold because I will have help on the boat most of the time, times I will actually fold the tower are minimum, don't need to fold to dry stack, it saved a few dollars for other options. One of the trades we made.
I've got the folding Bimini on order. The folding manual arch is roughly $2,500 more. I've got a couple more days to change the order before Cobalt locks it.
I'm not sure if it's worth it for us, but it does look nice.
I do like the shade coverage with the tower/bimini. Wife liked the look of the tower and I wanted the tower to pull kids on a wakeboard.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by Southernboatman »

AL Boater wrote: Fri May 05, 2017 9:51 am
Southernboatman wrote: Thu May 04, 2017 11:13 pm Gph, (really do we need a bad spellcheck on here???). And where do you boat?
I'm in north Alabama. Boat is on Lake Guntersville/Tennessee River. Will drag over to Smith Lake and Tim's Ford this summer.

Fuel economy was not one of my highest rated criteria when I did the motor decision. Being new to boating I didn't want to find out after the fact the boat was too small or too underpowered. Read plenty of spec sheets from VP and talked to many people with Cobalts. Also had to remember this new 5.3l 300 hp engine went into the R5 in 2015 timeframe. If I went with the R5 WSS forward drive the 380 would have been the choice.

Interpreting a few charts rpm/gph: 1000/1.35, 2000/3.55, 3000/6.35, 4000/10.65, 5000/19.95, 5500/22.85

I haven't checked the computer numbers while running yet. Put more fuel in when the gauge gets low.
From up there so spent time on all those, mainly TN river.
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Re: R5 comments wanted

Post by AL Boater »

We want to run the TN river to Chattanooga this summer.
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