R30 Power

[Armitagemke]

Hello:

Very excited to get an R30 - ordering it soon. We drove an R30 with 430HP and loved it. Only 1 engine - and we want only 1 engine. Some have stated that the upgrade from 380 to 430 isn't important, but dealer is saying it is (I know, they make more $). Given that we are getting a single engine version of this boat, and we want to have the most power possible, why is the 430 a bad choice?

We only want 1 engine for water skiing, maintenance and cost....

[AsLan7]

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Hellloooo Armitagemke. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

Congratulations on your soon to be (hopefully) new R30 baby.

That being said, the R30 is going to be a handful as a single engine boat while docking with cross-winds. Bow thrusters could certainly help alleviate that issue.

That’s a big boat (8,800 pounds) for a 430 horse to push. It is the MINIMUM I would select for that model. Ideally twins is what you want. Getting her up on plane even with a duo prop will be a bit slower especially while pulling skiers.

The Volvo 380 horse engine has most likely been detuned from 430 horses to fill a market niche. For a $7-9,000 upgrade, the engine manufacturer unleashes the full power of that engine thru an ECU flash.

I personally would downsize slightly if water sports is your thing. Anything larger than 27’ gets twins in my world.

Again welcome aboard mate.

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[tgrace98]

Yeah I am going to agree with A7 on this one. If you were getting an R5/7 then the difference between the 380 and 430 is literally 2mph. But when you start talking an 7-8,000lb boat you want as much power as possible. I also agree that if water sports is your thing then you should look at an R7 as it is a smaller boat and has a 8.6ft beam instead of the wider beam. So it will be better for water sports. I actually had a guy look at my old 262 that owns an R30 just because he couldn't pull a tuber behind the R30 like he could in his 262. He ultimately didn't buy it because his wife said no to having 2 boats. But you get what I am saying.

If the R30 is the boat you absolutely want. Then get the twin 300hp motors. With the new quick drain feature of the VP motors the yearly maintenance is a lot less. Just oil changes yearly and what not. Winterization can be done in a matter of minutes.

[AsLan7]

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Here are some review vids to help...


Boating World review:
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Boating Magazine review:
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Joystick control...

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[Big Block Power]

If you want to do Water sports buy a dingy wave runner to bring with you.. Are you taking tubing or skiing? I sure don't want to ski behind that beast. If your going single go 430 hp no matter what. Now which engine has more low end torque bb 8.2 502 or 6.2 430. Maint costs are much lower on these new engines then in the past. Go big or go home.

[cmattj]

We’ve discussed boat show price points. I’m sure the single engine represents simplicity to a lot of newbies . I appreciate going big on the boat but take a look at the difference from a single to twin platform for the R30.
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BFA98AE0-4307-4DED-9083-015F2C3CF7B9.png

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As you see it’s very minimal to increase your power, handling, and overall maneuverability in docking .

DTS shifting is wonderful as there’s only 2 controls. Pulling off a downwind Dock is easy and sterning in to park anywhere is easy.

Oh and when you sell her. That 14k you spent in the upgrade. You’ll get it back 100% over a single engine 30ft.

Welcome from California ! Looking forward to your order!

[akorcovelos]

Welcome to the forum! You're already writing a big check, just add a zero and get a 525 mercruiser racing big block and thank me later!

[Norris_Boating]

Just going to toss it out there, if water sports is your thing check out the R7 surf, I just got mine and it is fantastic. Don't do the 380 on the R30.

[Table Rockin]

Im just seeing this but please for the love of all that is holy man DO NOT order an R30 as a single engine boat. You WILL regret it and when your trying to sell it after youve realized your mistake it will make it harder to sell.

That is all

[MnLakeBum]

To each his own. If you drove an R30 with a single 430 and it was adequate for your needs, go for it. Most if not all of us here would opt for twins on that large of a boat, but not everyone needs the extra power. I have lots of neighbors that have 115-150 hp on their pontoons and are happy. Mine has a 350 on it and sometimes I really wish I had the 400R!

[tgrace98]

I walked around on this one at the STL boat show. That engine bay looks rather lonely with only 1 motor in it

https://www.boattrader.com/listing/2018 ... %20listing

Personally I've seen a 17' R30 sit for sale near me for almost 18 months now because it only has a bimini and no Joystick(twin volvo 5.3's). I would think a single motor R30 would be even harder to offload. I know people buy boats on the thought they would keep them for 10+ years but you always have to think about resale when making this large of a purchase.

[akorcovelos]

resale is definitely where you're going to take the hit, even if you're fine operating the boat with a single screw, most people in the market for that boat are going to want twins. Not only will it not be worth what you would expect it to be, it's going to be a hard sell unless you fire sale it.

[cmattj]

Twins for parking.. Id prefere to park a twin 4 cylinder over any single of that size.

Then again we have river currents.. tides.. wind and I’m usually brimming with lemonade at 10 pm at night so I need all the help I can get.

More subliminal messaging.

[MikeBo]

I have a 292, I can’t imagine parking it with a single engine. I encourage you to look at prices on 4 year old boats and see the premium twins hold onto. It’s like a diesel in a truck, they are 7,000 more to purchase and they resale is also 7,000-9.000 more...so really you will recoup the cost, and the ease of selling will be much better.

[Armitagemke]

Thanks everyone for your replies. As I mentioned, we want a single engine boat for a variety of reasons. Our docking is easy, we want to still do some water sports (have pulled a skier off the boat with 5 people on board with no issue). We are going with the 430 based on all of your recommendations (even though your real recommendations are to go with twins). For power, the quicker plane time (1.3 seconds faster) and speed to 30 (3 seconds faster) isn't something we need. 47 MPH is plenty for us - to each their own. The joystick would be nice, but I'm coming from an old cuddy cabin that handles so poorly the R30 is such a huge upgrade it's silly. Thanks again for your input.