Cobalt after Malibu take over

[Whippled263]

Big ballin" Congrats

[AsLan7]

IMG_3161.jpeg

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Lookin’ good!
Thx for posting.

[AC78746]

Quick update. My R35 arrived about a month ago and I have had a chance to get familiar with the boat, ride, quality etc. So I thought I would post my thoughts:
Looks: I think it looks beautiful. I am really happy with the styling, colors I chose and the layout of the boat

Space: Oh my! There is soooo much room on the boat. The pop-up galley really adds functionality while maintaining room for sitting. Bow area is big enough for an adult to lay down completely flat and the rear sun pad is enormous. Head is large enough to standup in and the berth can easily sleep 2 people. BUT all the seating, room in head and room in the berth, come at a cost - not a lot of storage. My 2016 296 had a lot more storage for floats and other stuff. So I have had to reduce the amount of things I keep on the boat.

Performance: This will not be fair - my 296 had twin 380’s and got on plane in seconds and had a top speed over 55 mph’s. Never went faster than that, but there seemed like there was room for more. The 296 comfortable cruising RPMs was right at 3100 rpms. My R35 has the newer version of the 380’s but, they are still 380s. When I spec’ed the boat, the dealer recommended the 380’s over the 430’s - stating that the 380’s got on plane quicker because Volvo used a different prop on the 380’s versus the 430’s. Still, plenty of power, still in the break-in period so don’t know how fast she will go, but I typically dont blast around the lake any faster than 30 mph’s anyway. The comfortable cruising RPM’s on the R35 are 3800. She is also pretty thirsty at about 21-22 gallons per hour.

Design Flaws: These

[AC78746]

Well, looks like my post got truncated!!! Let me pick it back up.
Design flaws:
These are things I think Cobalt just got plain wrong.
Battery: The boat has 4 batteries. One for each engine, one for the generator and ONE 85AH house battery. The house battery is the issue. The refrigerator (see more below), the very powerful stereos and amps and the TV all run on the 12 volt system. Yes, the boat has a generator, but I don’t want to run a generator all of the time. I feel like they really got this wrong. I am already looking to either add another house battery or upgrade the existing house battery to a long-amp hour unit.
Power Managment: Cobalt is sooo far behind Regal in this area. Regal has an actual “power bank” all lithium and a power management system. The power management system monitors the entire battery system and automagically turns the generator on when any battery needs charging. Cobalt really needs to upgrade their game in this area. Not even close to Regal - I am referring to their SAV line of boats that are out now. Also, there is no 12V breaker panel - so you cannot turn off any of the 12V systems - they are either all on or all off
Refrigerator: This runs on the 12V system and as stated above, there is no 12V panel to turn things off. Also you CANNOT turn off the fridge. There is no “on/off” switch. You can only adjust the temperature - to a high of 50 degrees F. So it is basically running all the time. Whiff!!
Garmin screens: I “upgraded” to the 12 inch screens. Really? Should have been 16 inches. That being said, my biggest gripe is they have not rolled out “smart-mode” (coming out on the R31) for the 2025 R35 - which is ridiculous. Smart mode is basically full boat control on one screen versus going into each screen independently. This is another area where Regal is light years ahead of Cobalt.

See next post for comments on issues and quality

[AC78746]

I was hoping that by getting a 2025 model, I would have been out of the “covid boat craze” era and they would have more time to build a quality boat. But, alas, I was wrong. I have had several issues that the dealer is having to fix because the quality out of the factory was not great. The manufacturing department is basically throwing the problems over the fence to the dealer, and the dealer is having to do things that should have been done correctly in production.
Delivery quality: Not great. Scratches in multiple places, dulled gel coat that needed polishing, gaps in the rub rail on the bow, small tears or permanent inventions in the sea decking. Little stuff that just annoys the sh*t out of me. The dealer has been all over it and has fixed or is fixing all of these items. Not sure who is in charge of QC - but they should not have let the boat pass inspection.
First issue: First day out with the family. I had a wiring issue that prevented the rear charger and the rear hydraulic platform from working. You can imagine how fun that was. Pulled into a cove to let the kids swim, and the swim platform would not go down!
Second issue: Also on delivery, I got a steering fault error - which I had experienced before - and is usually related to a low battery on one of the engines. Ran the generator and it went away,
Third issue: some water pooled in my bow cover. When I took the cover off, water spilled onto my front seat cushions. Did not think anything of it…until I went into the cabin and noticed water leaking from the ceiling. Had the tech out, he unscrewed the front seat cushions and there were 2 “extra” screw holes that were not being used and were not sealed. So he caulked them, hopefully this solves the issue. I wont know until I get caught in a rain storm
Fourth Issue: Helm stereo head unit, worked, didn't work, now works. Hmm. See below
Fifth issue: I was at the marina yesterday working from my boat in the slip. I was on shore power, listening to the stereo for about 4.5 hours when I heard a loud “pop” and the stereo stopped working. I got a “no zones found” error. Flipped the power on/off, powered down the stereo - but still not working. Tech can’t get out there until next Tuesday.
Sixth Issue: Hydraulic platform worked great…for 4 weeks. I noticed it was “squishy” all of a sudden on the starboard side. I thought is was a hydraulic issue. Tech came out (before the stereo died of course) and added hydraulic fluid, because it was low, bled the system and it did not fix the issue. We pulled it up on the lift so he could look at the underneath and it turns out there are loose bolts on the platform. He tried to tighten them, but they are either stripped or there is a nut on the other side (that he cannot see), so problem not solved. It will need to be hauled back to the dealer so they can remove the swim platform to get to the nut to tighten.

See next post for overall thoughts

[AC78746]

Choice of materials - mostly good. One thing that really bugs me are boat cleats. My 296 and solid stainless steel boat cleats. My much more expensive, larger boat…does not. So hollow cleats. Not good. Also, some of the accent stainless steel pieces are very thin and require constant buffing to keep looking nice. Feels like another departure from Cobalt of old.

Helm and Passenger seats - a bit wobbly, which also bugs me. Especially the passenger seat which does not swivel, in my opinion, if it is not supposed to move, it’s not supposed to move.

Storage: I know I wanted seating, but it could really use more storage.

Regal: I don’t fish, but the Regal SAV is so far ahead of Cobalt on power management, battery bank choice, layout, user interface. Cobalt needs to step up their game in these areas or they are going to get farther behind.

I must say I am pretty disappointed with Cobalt right. Not sure if my opinion will change - and I am a pretty loyal Cobalt customer - this is my 3rd one. If I ever get another boat, Cobalt will not be on the top of the list. Sorry Cobalt fans (of which I am one of them). Happy Thanksgiving.

[CBO]

The problem I am seeing is that there is no more accountability in employees of these bigger companies. Even the Ford CEO is having to threaten upper management in taking their bonuses away because of poor quality. The Ford CEO went about that the wrong way, he should have just fired the problem employees in the first place. You make an example out of some and I guarantee things will change. Also the world as a whole has dumbed down society to think it ok to have sub par products being manufactured and passed on to the consumer. Then as a consumer, you are told you are being too picky and to just live with it. This is why I tend to purchase gently used items vs new. The sad part is, it's only going to get worse.
On a positive note, it sounds like you have a really good dealer that is taking care of you. Fingers crossed they will get all these issues resolved.

[AC78746]

Thanks! Yes. They have been great.

[BayouBengal1865]

Last photo of my 296

I recently purchased this boat. Thank you for taking such good care of it, she’s beautiful and I’m very proud to call her mine now.

[AsLan7]

Last photo of my 296

I recently purchased this boat. Thank you for taking such good care of it, she’s beautiful and I’m very proud to call her mine now.

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So glad you found us BB1865.

Welcome aboard mate!

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[AC78746]

Last photo of my 296

I recently purchased this boat. Thank you for taking such good care of it, she’s beautiful and I’m very proud to call her mine now.

So happy for you! It was a great boat for me. Many fond memories. Enjoy it! The twin 380s are great on that boat. I wish you the best!

[BayouBengal1865]

Yessir, it seems to have PLENTY of power. Hope you enjoy your new R35 and rest assured the 296 is in good hands. Next summer cannot come fast enough!!

-Michael

[AC78746]

I sent the note below to the Cobalt dealer last week. He forwarded my note directly to Cobalt, and Cobalt actually called me to set up a zoom call to go over my issues. I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, I still have the issues, but it seems like they are listening.

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I wanted to give you an update on where things stand with my new R35. As you know, things have not been off to a great start. You and your team have definitely stepped up, and I appreciate that.

I wanted to summarize the issues that I have had thus far so you can see them all in one email. I am really disappointed with the build quality of Cobalt’s “flagship” boat, the R35. Of all the boats that come off the line, I would think that they would have paid slightly more attention to the R35’s since it is the most expense boat in the fleet.

Here is the running list:
1) Scratches in the gelcoat
2) Dull spots in the gelcoat
3) Gap in the rub rail at the bow of the boat
4) Bad wiring in the rear of the boat causing the hydraulic swim platform and the rear phone charger to not work
5) Steering fault error on delivery day due to undercharged battery
6) Leaking water into the cabin, we think the cause was two “extra” screw holes in the bow cushion that were not caulked
7) Tear and permanent indention in 2 sea deck sections
8) Stereo head unit would not power up
9) 4 speakers not working, again, bad wiring into the head unit
10) heater does not work, confirmed by tech, and now asking Cobalt why
11) Swim platform is squishy and not firm because through bolts are loose and cannot be tightened unless the swim platform is removed

The list does not include design flaws, which there are a few:
1) only one house batter even though the stereo, all the electronics AND the refrigerator are all 12 volt systems
2) no 12 volt breaker - so the 12 volt systems are either all on or all off
3) no “off” switch on the refrigerator, you can only turn it up to 50 degrees, which in August in Austin, means it will run continuously, therefore requiring the generator to run continuously

Again, I appreciate the effort of you and your team. Not sure what we can do with Cobalt, but seems like they are having some issues with build quality.

[jhnmdahl]

I suspect (based on relatively sparse anecdotal information) that the people in Cobalt want to be the same old Cobalt, but hands are tied with resource constraints they haven't historically had. The zoom call is encouraging.

[AC78746]

R35 Quality Update

Quick update. I had my call with the Cobalt team in Kansas. They had about 5 people on the call. Customer service reps, managers and a quality control person from the factory. They were very apologetic and seemed committed to getting my issues resolved. In fact, they are sending a team to Austin to walk through the boat and the issues. They are even going to address the house battery/12V system design flaw (I think. They at least said they would). They admitted that one 95AH house battery, no 12V panel to shut 12V systems off/on and the refrigerator with no "on/off" switch was in fact a design flaw - which is crazy. Seems pretty obvious. Not sure what they can retrofit for me - other than adding a house battery in parallel and maybe installing an "on/off" switch for the refrigerator. But I was happy with their commitment to get this stuff resolved. I will let you know how it goes.