Overall, this is an amazing boat which my entire family is incredibly appreciate of. As our first boat overall, we're very glad we went with Cobalt and the R6 Surf. I wanted to make sure we could cruise and do all the water activities we wanted. Within the first week, my son picked up wake boarding and wake surfing. He's still a beginner but he's getting up consistently and having a blast. My wife and I love just cruising around Lake Washington and finding a nice area with little wind or current and just "drifting" lazily about. This is especially nice with some warm weather and sunshine we've had the past month.
In addition to water sports, we wanted to have a boat large enough to occasionally take some of our extended family members out with us from time to time. We have been able to test the boat out with 11 adults and fully grown children. Water sports were still great and so was cruising. She definitely sits low in the water with full ballast tanks and all the passengers but still handled great and moved when throttle was applied thanks to the Volvo 380 I opted to upgrade to.
Wake boarding looks fine and the wake the surf gate system throws is quite nice. At times the wake surf system doesn't seem to shape the same type of wake so I feel I'm still needing to fiddle and figure out a system that is supposed to be easy, press a few options on the touch screen and go. Definitely changes character depending on the number of passengers and whether or not someone is trying to ride the wake vs. just "showing it off".
I'm not sure how the R6 Surf would handle with the base 350 motor but I feel the 380 is definitely sufficient for everything we're wanting to do. The color choice of caramel and black do make for a hot surface to sit on during warm, sunny days. If you are jumping in and out of the lake, getting wet, getting the seats wet, etc. - shouldn't be an issue. The color scheme looks fantastic and gives the boat a classy look. So far, the material is holding up as I was hoping it would but will see how things look by the end of the season in late September.
They boat design is new given this is the first year of the R6 and with it, it seems to have a few issues still to be fully resolved. Either that or I am experiencing a few issues particular to just my boat and its assembly.
The gunwale on the port side where the tower attaches is already showing a spiderweb series of cracks in the gelcoat layer. I contacted my service department and they're putting in a work order under warranty. This likely happens to boats on occasion so not faulting it being a first year design kink. As long as they take care of it, I'm fine.
There are a few too many angles, sharp corners, metal features jutting out, etc. on the windshield and walkthrough area that need care when passing through. I've now gotten no less than 3 cuts, nicks, scrapes on my legs and back from various bits and bobs. Not sure if they were the same on previous Cobalt boats but I'm the family guinea pig here and others are learning from me on what not to do and what to watch out for.
The locking sliding bolt for the walkthrough door is poorly designed and not quite working well on my boat. Not sure anyone can do anything about it but Cobalt with a better design. When the door is secured, I have to lock it in the UP position vs. DOWN. When DOWN, it creeps up slowly as we're under power and at speed. I've had it fly open and slam the side of the cockpit once scaring the crap out of me. In the counter-intuitive UP position, it doesn't creep down and stays locked.
Just yesterday, I found a locknut on the floor under my captain's chair. I reached under to see if I could figure out if it was from the seat or something else. Sure enough, one of the bolts there was missing the locking nut and another had the nut halfway down the bolt. Thank goodness I noticed it when I did. Not sure why these bolts are not secured better.
I've had a few glitches with the twin Garmin system which only reset when I turned the ignition off then back on. Only happened once so far but I had the left display not advance past the distracted driving warning disclaimer and show the dashboard.
My boat is going to get checked out by the Service department this week hopefully for my boneheaded move while out yesterday. I managed to get the wake board line wrapped around the prop. We managed to get nearly all of the line off but a last bit. Lesson learned and will not be repeated but hoping she can get this cleared up before Memorial Day weekend where we're expecting fantastic weather for the latter end of it.
The LED lights are very fun and cool. All of the kids really love it even though we haven't been out when dark enough to really enjoy them. We're looking forward to a few sunset and dinner cruises this weekend on the lake! And despite the few issues above, we're still very much loving and enjoying the heck out of this Cobalt R6 Surf! Definitely recommend to anyone else considering one.
I opened her up with 4 of us on the boat and about half a tank and got up to around 50 as well. Felt like she was really moving!
