SUMMER 2009/2010
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link
The latest edition of Modern Boating magazine is out now! To get your copy delivered to your door, simply click on the link
Modern Boating and Big Hat Productions head out for a glorious day on the water to give the Seawind 1160...
Boat Tests > Cobalt > 262
Time tells
Andrew Richardson finds that the Cobalt 262 stands the test of time
WORDS & PHOTOS: ANDREW RICHARDSON
This is the fifth Cobalt boat I have reviewed since these Middle American boats arrived on our shores in 2003. Back then, I was impressed but also wary of flash-in-the-pan imports that come and go. Move forward six years and I can confidently say that Cobalt luxury boats have made their mark on the Australian powerboat scene and will survive the test of time.
The $174,000 Cobalt 262, with its gleaming red topsides, looked almost defiant in the wake of recent cutbacks in luxury boat consumption. Its burbling, 320hp, petrol engine offered a tasty turn of speed after the well-balanced hull, with its extended running surface, made the plane at around 14 knots on southern Sydney's Hacking River.
Behind the Cobalt 262 is an American boat-builder that strives for a higher mark. Cobalt Boats started in Kansas, USA during the 1960s (with vessels featured in the Bond film Live and Let Die) and continue producing to the philosophy that quality not quantity will endure the test of time.
With quality in mind, I hunted about the vessel and found plenty of signs of top-notch construction, from lined interiors, thick laminates, oversize SST deck gear and upholstery closer to luxury automotive than nautical. The deep-V hull's chines are reinforced with Kevlar and, to back all this up, the vessel is supported by a 10/5/3 warranty.
read on below advertisement
Offering seating for around 12 people, with a 21˚ deadrise and a top speed of around 40 knots, I perceive the Cobalt 262 as a harbour boat because this creature is big enough to take a crowd through the rough stuff on a busy harbour and also offers the spontaneity and handling ease of a large runabout compared to a cruiser.
Whilst the vessel looked impressive when we mucked about on the Hacking's South West Arm, I thought the 262 would be equally impressive arriving in the twilight at a dock outside one of the many harbourside restaurants on Port Jackson. I noted that the bow-mounted lights would assist in navigating any satisfied guests home in the deep of the night.
The 262 could have been simply an open boat, but Cobalt has been clever by fitting a head port side, amidships, under the dash. It seems like a tricky place to position a loo, but once opened, the head was a good size, had a sink and even had its own porthole. I am not sure how comfortable the girls will be using the loo in such close proximity to the crowds onboard, but hey, that's boating!
With such attention to finish and detail, I doubt any new owners are going to use the craft as a fishing platform: "Hey mate, keep your prawns off my new upholstery!"
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WORDS & PHOTOS: ANDREW RICHARDSON
This is the fifth Cobalt boat I have reviewed since these Middle American boats arrived on our shores in 2003. Back then, I was impressed but also wary of flash-in-the-pan imports that come and go. Move forward six years and I can confidently say that Cobalt luxury boats have made their mark on the Australian powerboat scene and will survive the test of time.
The $174,000 Cobalt 262, with its gleaming red topsides, looked almost defiant in the wake of recent cutbacks in luxury boat consumption. Its burbling, 320hp, petrol engine offered a tasty turn of speed after the well-balanced hull, with its extended running surface, made the plane at around 14 knots on southern Sydney's Hacking River.
Behind the Cobalt 262 is an American boat-builder that strives for a higher mark. Cobalt Boats started in Kansas, USA during the 1960s (with vessels featured in the Bond film Live and Let Die) and continue producing to the philosophy that quality not quantity will endure the test of time.
With quality in mind, I hunted about the vessel and found plenty of signs of top-notch construction, from lined interiors, thick laminates, oversize SST deck gear and upholstery closer to luxury automotive than nautical. The deep-V hull's chines are reinforced with Kevlar and, to back all this up, the vessel is supported by a 10/5/3 warranty.
read on below advertisement
Offering seating for around 12 people, with a 21˚ deadrise and a top speed of around 40 knots, I perceive the Cobalt 262 as a harbour boat because this creature is big enough to take a crowd through the rough stuff on a busy harbour and also offers the spontaneity and handling ease of a large runabout compared to a cruiser.
Whilst the vessel looked impressive when we mucked about on the Hacking's South West Arm, I thought the 262 would be equally impressive arriving in the twilight at a dock outside one of the many harbourside restaurants on Port Jackson. I noted that the bow-mounted lights would assist in navigating any satisfied guests home in the deep of the night.
The 262 could have been simply an open boat, but Cobalt has been clever by fitting a head port side, amidships, under the dash. It seems like a tricky place to position a loo, but once opened, the head was a good size, had a sink and even had its own porthole. I am not sure how comfortable the girls will be using the loo in such close proximity to the crowds onboard, but hey, that's boating!
With such attention to finish and detail, I doubt any new owners are going to use the craft as a fishing platform: "Hey mate, keep your prawns off my new upholstery!"
next page »
« go back
