Thinking about a 2020 R7

[Jblocker]

Hello, I am new to this group and hoping to get some advice.

I have a home on the water in the panhandle of Fla and currently have a Yamaha 24ft Jetboat....long story short, we want a bigger boat and have fell in love with the R7 at a boat show....I’ve got two questions or dilemmas:

1) my main problem is water depth...we live on a lake that feeds into the bay, the lake is plenty deep but the opening to the bay has a stretch of about 100 yards that can get as low as 2 ft and sometimes during low tide slightly lower....how will the R7 react in shallow water or has anyone else faced this or similar?

2) I’ve read plenty about saltwater and I/O....I feel ok with this as my boat will stay on a lift most of the time but does anyone have any experience with maintaining the I/O in salt water?

The Yamaha has worked great for us in the shallow water and I’ve had no issues during my 6 years of owning the boat, but my wife and I have fallen in love with the R7 and the overall Cobalt quality.....just afraid it might not work for us due to our living situation and water depth.....any thoughts?

Thanks!

[AsLan7]

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Hey Jb. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

You will love the ride of a Cobalt- especially coming from a jet boat.

However that’s a pretty shallow depth at 2’ for an R7 i/o. That type of depth is best accomplished with an out-board or like you mentioned-your jet boat. Of course you can always wait until the tide rises but that doesn’t sound like an option in your case The deeper vee (allowing for the nicer ride of a Cobalt) means it will sit slightly deeper in the water. You can trim your outdrive up to try to make it through the channel but that will place unnecessary wear on your gimbal bearing.

Or you can just stay on the lake. Feel free to post pics of your lake set up. That’s a gorgeous area.

Others will chime in shortly. Again, welcome aboard mate!
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[cmattj]

Welcome from California ( Delta average 10 feet )

A7 summed it up as river boats ( Jet ) , and certain conditions dictate what will work.
Unless you re birth your Cobalt on the other side at a deep marina you’ll be in for continued issues with clogged cooling and damage lowers and props.
( There’s nothing like the shallow water alarm ringing for 300 feet and yelling “ Brace yourself “ ).
Sure draft ratings at 32-36 inches at rest are tempting but real world is we stop for a reason.
There’s a lot of advice from salt water boaters that will chime in I’m sure. And I’m sure your already rehearsed most of your rinse everything procedures now.
Keep us posted and start screening the boats by you that travel through there now.

[WALCOWI]

Hello, I am new to this group and hoping to get some advice.

I have a home on the water in the panhandle of Fla and currently have a Yamaha 24ft Jetboat....long story short, we want a bigger boat and have fell in love with the R7 at a boat show....I’ve got two questions or dilemmas:

1) my main problem is water depth...we live on a lake that feeds into the bay, the lake is plenty deep but the opening to the bay has a stretch of about 100 yards that can get as low as 2 ft and sometimes during low tide slightly lower....how will the R7 react in shallow water or has anyone else faced this or similar?

2) I’ve read plenty about saltwater and I/O....I feel ok with this as my boat will stay on a lift most of the time but does anyone have any experience with maintaining the I/O in salt water?

The Yamaha has worked great for us in the shallow water and I’ve had no issues during my 6 years of owning the boat, but my wife and I have fallen in love with the R7 and the overall Cobalt quality.....just afraid it might not work for us due to our living situation and water depth.....any thoughts?

Thanks!

Yamaha has a 27' model now - it is an interesting design. Perhaps this would work for you?

https://www.yamahaboats.com/27-ft-boats/275se/

[Jblocker]

Thanks for the comments....most of the other boats are outboards and my wife is just so against an outboard as we use the swim deck a lot.

Unfortunately, I think I know the reality of my shallow waters but maybe was hoping to hear something different....we are retiring and planning on using the boat much more (lots of inter-coastal travel) and was in love with the comforts of the R7.

[Jblocker]

Yes, we looked at the 27ft Yamaha and that might be the way we go....just can’t get the R7 out of my mind, but might not have a choice

[Big Block Power]

Myself I boat in 3feet am the time and no Major issues yet. But hearing your prop hit rocks is no fun. You would have to stay on plane to even think of making it through with crossed fingers and holding your breath. 2 feet of water and going 25 mph yecks. Not sure I would even gamble that one. We have a member that likes to beach his boat down there and take pictures of it sitting on its side. I wouldn't want to be that guy.

[WALCOWI]

Myself I boat in 3feet am the time and no Major issues yet. But hearing your prop hit rocks is no fun. You would have to stay on plane to even think of making it through with crossed fingers and holding your breath. 2 feet of water and going 25 mph yecks. Not sure I would even gamble that one. We have a member that likes to beach his boat down there and take pictures of it sitting on its side. I wouldn't want to be that guy.

BBP - Are you on Winnebago?

[tgrace98]

Yeah no way I’d want to take my r7 through 2ft of water. I have my alarm set at 15ft

But I boat a flooded mountain range

[Big Block Power]

Myself I boat in 3feet am the time and no Major issues yet. But hearing your prop hit rocks is no fun. You would have to stay on plane to even think of making it through with crossed fingers and holding your breath. 2 feet of water and going 25 mph yecks. Not sure I would even gamble that one. We have a member that likes to beach his boat down there and take pictures of it sitting on its side. I wouldn't want to be that guy.

BBP - Are you on Winnebago?

Yea and lake butte des mortes

So your in Walworth County?

I think If he could go full throttle and full trailer trim I think you might make it.

[Jblocker]

I spoke with the local dealer and he knows my area well, he thinks it will be tight....but also says the only way to know for sure is take a boat to my house.....so we plan to try next week

[Big Block Power]

I spoke with the local dealer and he knows my area well, he thinks it will be tight....but also says the only way to know for sure is take a boat to my house.....so we plan to try next week

Do they ever dredge it?

[cmattj]

Yea and lake butte des mortes

I think If he could go full throttle and full trailer trim I think you might make it.

Yeah that could work. Maybe a little rooster tail to let you know your clear? And just put a mark on the gauge face? Not a bad idea

I spoke with the local dealer and he knows my area well, he thinks it will be tight....but also says the only way to know for sure is take a boat to my house.....so we plan to try next week

Keep us posted as maybe he has some tricks up his sleeve to navigate that area .
It’s kinda like when we let people take Suburbans home to see if they fit! We have our fingers crossed for you.

[Jblocker]

They dredge the opening once a year, but that’s not really the problem....it’s the bay depth for about the first 100 yards....it says the draft is 21 inches on the R7, any idea on the I/0 depth trimmed up?

[mdadgar]

Yamaha has a 27' model now - it is an interesting design. Perhaps this would work for you?

https://www.yamahaboats.com/27-ft-boats/275se/

OK, I watched a bunch of the videos and that boat is awesome.

If I were in the market, I'd be sorely tempted.

- Mark