R6 and R8 Surf Reveal

[AJStudios63]

I haven't seen anyone post about the R6/8 Surf Reveal yet. It will be released on December 8th at around 12pm EST. Who is excited about this? And does anyone have any leaked pictures of these boats other than the ones on the original R6 Reveal post from a couple months back?

[BobRae99]

I received a mailing list email from Cobalt. I suspect the boat will have a Malibu surf gate system but there are others here who have already ordered an R6 surf who can chime in. I’m curious to know what the base price looks like compared to the R5 Surf.

[AsLan7]

I haven't seen anyone post about the R6/8 Surf Reveal yet. It will be released on December 8th at around 12pm EST. Who is excited about this? And does anyone have any leaked pictures of these boats other than the ones on the original R6 Reveal post from a couple months back?

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Hey AJS63. Welcome to the CobaltChat forum. So glad you found us!

You're right, it has kind of been a strange vacuum here about that. Hopefully more info coming will generate some comments.

Do you own a Cobalt now? Any pics?

Again welcome aboard mate!

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[Big Block Power]

Man if BobRae doesn't have the facts who will? Guys help us out if your holding out you will be banned!

[BobRae99]

Man if BobRae doesn't have the facts who will? Guys help us out if your holding out you will be banned!

Actually, I haven't thought much about a surf boat as a good friend has one and we spend hours surfing behind his so having a second one would mean leaving one sitting at the dock. We tend to go out on mine when the water is less calm and we are going to ski or wakeboard (without someone wanting to get air off a wake).

I'd look at a Cobalt Surf if the wave reviews are good. I'm used to having the best quality bow rider in a Cobalt. The best surf boats can cost $300,000 so a $180,000 cobalt Surf getting 90% of the way to a pro surf boat would be an accomplishment. It it only gets 50% of the way there, I'd just stick with the stern drive version.

The big news will be whether the Mercruiser forward drive is part of the lineup for 2021.

[BRDad]

Any guesses as to how much better the surf will be with Surfgate vs. the current tabs? I’m assuming if they are making this change over it should be a pretty big improvement.

Excited to hear. I had my eye on an R5 surf but not I’m holding off to see what the R6 / R4 have in order.

[Big Block Power]

Merc will be a player in this.
The r4r6 surf will be much improved over the r357 now. You don't redesign a hull to be worse. Add weight and everything else to be worse. The old was good and this will be great. Cobu all the way!
Bob even if you're buddies have a tow boat the surf can be used for everything else you are doing in the rougher conditions so do it! Then surf in the rough water and pound down the waves with that cobalt hull!

[BobRae99]

Merc will be a player in this.
The r4r6 surf will be much improved over the r357 now. You don't redesign a hull to be worse. Add weight and everything else to be worse. The old was good and this will be great. Cobu all the way!
Bob even if you're buddies have a tow boat the surf can be used for everything else you are doing in the rougher conditions so do it! Then surf in the rough water and pound down the waves with that cobalt hull!

Surfing in rough water isn't really fun. I'm sure the Cobalt will flatten the water a bit but 1.5 - 2' chop isn't fun to Surf on. Wakeboarding is OK though. Anyway, not in a huge rush - I have a great boat and if the R6 Surf gets great reviews from a wave quality perspective and still has a decent top speed, then for an additional $35,000 might be the way to go. We'll know more in a couple of weeks ( or less).

[BobRae99]

@BB

A bit of an update. So, no mercruiser forward drive for the R6 Surf (at least not for 2021 and 2022 boats - and no indication beyond this current information). The base R6 comes with a VP FWD 350 for $174,287 (vs $163,301 for the R5 Surf) so a price increase of around $11,000 and a $46,000 premium over an R6 with a VP350 stern drive. I don't see any details on the surf system but it must be a Surf Gate as the boat can be ordered with trim tabs.

It looks like there is a "Beehive" interior package (not sure what that is) and there are different "Surf" interiors (don't have details). All of the rest of the options seem to be the same except for a $500 rear vew camera.

Of note, unlike the R5 Surf model, the R6 Surf can be had with an electric porcelain toilet as opposed to only a pump out porta potty in the R5. Not a big deal for most here, but for a dual purpose boat, a simple electric flush toilet is a welcome feature.

Cobalt must be busy building boats though as a boat ordered now will deliver in July as a 2022 model year boat. In past years, a boat ordered in March showed up in late June. maybe because they are in a buildout year for bothe R5 and R7 while starting production of the R6, R8 they have a lot going on. Or maybe the rich people with nothing else to do (no travel) are hunkering down at their summer homes and buying new toys to play with ?

It will be interesting to see what the reviewers say about the wave.

[BRDad]

@BB

A bit of an update. So, no mercruiser forward drive for the R6 Surf (at least not for 2021 and 2022 boats - and no indication beyond this current information). The base R6 comes with a VP FWD 350 for $174,287 (vs $163,301 for the R5 Surf) so a price increase of around $11,000 and a $46,000 premium over an R6 with a VP350 stern drive. I don't see any details on the surf system but it must be a Surf Gate as the boat can be ordered with trim tabs.

It looks like there is a "Beehive" interior package (not sure what that is) and there are different "Surf" interiors (don't have details). All of the rest of the options seem to be the same except for a $500 rear vew camera.

Of note, unlike the R5 Surf model, the R6 Surf can be had with an electric porcelain toilet as opposed to only a pump out porta potty in the R5. Not a big deal for most here, but for a dual purpose boat, a simple electric flush toilet is a welcome feature.

Cobalt must be busy building boats though as a boat ordered now will deliver in July as a 2022 model year boat. In past years, a boat ordered in March showed up in late June. maybe because they are in a buildout year for bothe R5 and R7 while starting production of the R6, R8 they have a lot going on. Or maybe the rich people with nothing else to do (no travel) are hunkering down at their summer homes and buying new toys to play with ?

It will be interesting to see what the reviewers say about the wave.

Thanks for the great information. 46k premium for the surf version...wow.

[Big Block Power]

Yea the other problem is getting all of the parts to build them. The good is the more you can make in house the better off you will be. My buddies dealership here said he can only get 11 new boats this coming year. Just no parts to build them. So the sad part is they just came off there best year now back in the tank because they can't get product. Same thing happened in 2008 I guess had a great year before that then 2008 hit. Sucks.

[BobRae99]

Yea the other problem is getting all of the parts to build them. The good is the more you can make in house the better off you will be. My buddies dealership here said he can only get 11 new boats this coming year. Just no parts to build them. So the sad part is they just came off there best year now back in the tank because they can't get product. Same thing happened in 2008 I guess had a great year before that then 2008 hit. Sucks.

I've asked for an estimated trade value and will see after that. A July delivery isn't a problem for me as I'd just use my current boat until the new one arrives. I wonder if the discounts will be weak given the dealer isn't sitting on multiple boats. The trade values should be strong though as people looking for new boats on short notice won't be able to get one and may turn to a tighter used market.

I also wonder about the new Surf Gate system. It seems all of the dedicated surf boats use a combination of activity-specific hull design along with a large tab design to generate waves. Cobalt must have moved it's hull design more towards a surf leaning design but is using a surf gate to generate the wave. I have to think the move while improving the wave over the current surf system will come up short as compared to a dedicated surf boat. I guess we'll have to see what the professional surfers have to say about the new wave.

[lespaulrob]

In terms of cost based on my experience of pricing the R5 and R6 together...I was beginning to think the R5 Surf was high until I saw this cost of the R6 Surf, which looks something like this:

[BobRae99]

In terms of cost based on my experience of pricing the R5 and R6 together...I was beginning to think the R5 Surf was high until I saw this cost of the R6 Surf, which looks something like this:

It will definitely cost more than the boat it replaces. Let's hope the quality stays up there though.

[BRDad]

This will become a hard decision as I figure out what to get. These things are so damn expensive...

Lake max boat size is 26" and most boats on the lake I'd say are 21' - 24'. I will be using the boat 80% for cruising and boat rides with the family and 20% water sports. Seems stupid to spend this kind of money for something that you can't surf behind...hence looking at the surf options. But spending 40k more for the few times we might surf is also a hard pill to swallow...

With that said.

The decision in oder of cost...

Lightly used R3 Surf - ~$115K
Lightly used R5 Surf - $130k - $140k
New R4 Surf - $150k (guessing)
New R6 Surf - $170k (guessing)

Just not sure how to figure out the best one based on use, cost, technology, size, etc.

Any advice?