Considering R5 Surf purchase- opinions?

[AsLan7]

Wow, that is one impressive boat!

.

Inboards (& vdrives) with flatter bottoms are hands down THE best boats to own if you’re into water sports....unless you’re in big water that kicks up.

[mbobo24]

Anyone slalom skied behind an R5 or R7? Wondering how it compares to a typical I/O.

[Big Block Power]

Wow, that is one impressive boat!

I thought it was really cool how they molded the rear of the hull for surfing. The gopro app and connection is cool. I'm sure phender ot taco marine had something to do with the mount.

[Table Rockin]

Anyone slalom skied behind an R5 or R7? Wondering how it compares to a typical I/O.

Kids have water skiied...they are still learning slalom. The wake is obviously bigger on an R7 than my old 240. I just posted a thread in the watersports section asking for ideas to potentially reduce said wake.

[2018R7Surf]

Have a 2018 R7 surf w 380 hp. The 430 will get you 2 more mph according to cobalt. My 380 hp does 48 mph. Had a r5 before this with 350 and did 49 mph. I would not waste your money on anything bigger than 380 for an R5. Pm me if you have other questions. Happy to help. I have 76 hours on my r7 surf.

[bojihoz]

Hey guys - new to the forums, but I ordered an R7 Surf last fall and have some hours on it now so I have a little input on the subject. First of all - I LOVE THIS BOAT!!!! We use it primarily for pleasure cruising and tying up in our lake's "party cove" and maybe 20% of the hours are watersports. The forward facing drive definitely had a learning curve from a "regular" stern drive, but once you catch on to it you will love it. It handles great and docking is a breeze. we have a few shallow spots, but as with any boat if you are aware of where you are and react accordingly you will have no problems (we haven't). As for power, I just went with the 350, and I honestly can say I haven't wanted for more. Of course, if money isn't an object go big, but the 350mdoes anything we need it to do. Buy the boat - you'll love it!!!

[MnLakeBum]

We are loving our R5 surf. You need 34” of water so if your lake gets shallower than that then you certainly could have trouble. I had a mishap while my son was surfing with shallow water on a point on our lake with a misplaced channel marking bouy. I hit bottom fully load with 7 people in the boat and full ballast. It was a scary moment considering the boat only had 8 hours on it when it happened. It did a lot of damage to the props but no damage to anything else which surprised me a little considering how hard the hit felt from the boat. I was able to take the props off myself and have them rebuilt locally for $350 and was and up and running less than 48 hours later. I talked to the dealer about other R5 surf owners and he told me he has seen damaged props from other R3/5 surf owners but zero damage to their lower units. I’m now super careful about staying 50 yards from all channel marking bouys!!

Surfing is easy to pick up. Nearly every person that’s tried behind my boat can do it within 30 minutes. You can start out on the swim platform rather than in the water to pick it up quicker. I love it because it’s low impact so old guys in their 50’s like me can do it without getting tired or injured. It’s endless fun for my teenagers and 20 year old and all their friends. These pictures of my son and his buddy are from their very first day on a surfboard. It was easy for his buddy because he is a snowboarder but my son picked it up after about 20 falls.

[mbobo24]

Thanks so much for the pictures and info. Wow sounds pretty scary with the shallow water situation but happy no lower unit damage!
I did a demo on a mastercraft and was able to get up on the first try surfing! I turn 50 in a month and it seems like the perfect sport for me!
Thanks again for the post.

[MnLakeBum]

Thanks so much for the pictures and info. Wow sounds pretty scary with the shallow water situation but happy no lower unit damage!
I did a demo on a mastercraft and was able to get up on the first try surfing! I turn 50 in a month and it seems like the perfect sport for me!
Thanks again for the post.

I just turned 53 and surfing is easy on the body and has almost zero chance for injury since you are only going 11mph. The prop wash when starting out in the water on the board behind the R5 Surf is much more powerful than any other surf boat I’ve surfed behind. I was able to get up on my first or second try behind Axis and Mastercraft surf boats when I was brand new to surfing but not so behind my boat. We didn’t know this when we first got the boat and it was comical watching me and my son get blown backwards from the prop wash. We soon discovered the trick is to start out way to the side of the boat away from the lower unit. Surfing is all the kids want to do now - we are barely using our tubes and no longer doing any wake boarding.

[JTinMO]

We are loving our R5 surf. You need 34” of water so if your lake gets shallower than that then you certainly could have trouble. I had a mishap while my son was surfing with shallow water on a point on our lake with a misplaced channel marking bouy. I hit bottom fully load with 7 people in the boat and full ballast. It was a scary moment considering the boat only had 8 hours on it when it happened. It did a lot of damage to the props but no damage to anything else which surprised me a little considering how hard the hit felt from the boat. I was able to take the props off myself and have them rebuilt locally for $350 and was and up and running less than 48 hours later. I talked to the dealer about other R5 surf owners and he told me he has seen damaged props from other R3/5 surf owners but zero damage to their lower units. I’m now super careful about staying 50 yards from all channel marking bouys!!

Surfing is easy to pick up. Nearly every person that’s tried behind my boat can do it within 30 minutes. You can start out on the swim platform rather than in the water to pick it up quicker. I love it because it’s low impact so old guys in their 50’s like me can do it without getting tired or injured. It’s endless fun for my teenagers and 20 year old and all their friends. These pictures of my son and his buddy are from their very first day on a surfboard. It was easy for his buddy because he is a snowboarder but my son picked it up after about 20 falls.

In your first pic you have a girl sitting on the rear lounge. I always thought that was illegal when the boat is under power like that. Not asking to give you flak, honestly asking to know the laws. I've had guests want to sit back there and I've always told them to get inside where your feet can touch carpet. Anywhere else is off limits under power.

[MnLakeBum]

We are loving our R5 surf. You need 34” of water so if your lake gets shallower than that then you certainly could have trouble. I had a mishap while my son was surfing with shallow water on a point on our lake with a misplaced channel marking bouy. I hit bottom fully load with 7 people in the boat and full ballast. It was a scary moment considering the boat only had 8 hours on it when it happened. It did a lot of damage to the props but no damage to anything else which surprised me a little considering how hard the hit felt from the boat. I was able to take the props off myself and have them rebuilt locally for $350 and was and up and running less than 48 hours later. I talked to the dealer about other R5 surf owners and he told me he has seen damaged props from other R3/5 surf owners but zero damage to their lower units. I’m now super careful about staying 50 yards from all channel marking bouys!!

Surfing is easy to pick up. Nearly every person that’s tried behind my boat can do it within 30 minutes. You can start out on the swim platform rather than in the water to pick it up quicker. I love it because it’s low impact so old guys in their 50’s like me can do it without getting tired or injured. It’s endless fun for my teenagers and 20 year old and all their friends. These pictures of my son and his buddy are from their very first day on a surfboard. It was easy for his buddy because he is a snowboarder but my son picked it up after about 20 falls.

In your first pic you have a girl sitting on the rear lounge. I always thought that was illegal when the boat is under power like that. Not asking to give you flak, honestly asking to know the laws. I've had guests want to sit back there and I've always told them to get inside where your feet can touch carpet. Anywhere else is off limits under power.

That picture was taken on a Tuesday or Wednesday when the lake is dead and not patrolled by law enforcement. The main body of the lake is over 9,000 acres and there were very few boats out there that day which is normal during the week. It is illegal but not enforced especially on surf boats on our lake. Many of the surf boats have rearward facing seats that law enforcement considers safe at least on our lake. They also don’t require any observer in the boat in MN when skiing, wakeboarding, or surfing, only a mirror. It is also legal for my 13 year old daughter to drive a PWC alone as long as she is in sight of an adult - quite different from the laws in California where we spent the last 2 decades. I actually asked the sheriff about it when my daughter took a 6 hour boaters safety class last month and he said even if the boat has designed seats facing rearward it’s technically illegal but they rarely enforce it and only when they see it at higher speeds than the 10mph surf speed. The county that our lake is in has 896 lakes and only 78,000 people so enforcement will never be strict. We rarely see a sheriff unless it’s 4th of July week or Labor Day.

[JTinMO]

thx for the input. much appreciated. You see folks sitting back there on all ads for surf boats all the time. Have always wondered.

[juddmyers]

Any update on this? Did the OP end up with a cobalt surf boat? I boat on the same lake and do not have near the issue with shallow water as posted, so wondering what was chosen and how it has went.