There’s an old saying that goes: You can’t have everything, because where would you put it? Cobalt Boats has come up with an elegant attempt at an answer: The Cobalt R30 is a large luxury day boat with the room to fit a crowd and the amenities to entertain them. This yacht-certified bowrider has a fantastic interior layout that can accommodate a large crowd on the water. The arrangement is made all the better by the extra room gained from Cobalt’s Free Space Reclamation build process. By shaving fiberglass off the hull and deck in the mold while maintaining full strength and structural integrity, Cobalt adds nearly a foot of interior width. This allows for more seating and more stowage space.
The main cockpit sports a plush transom bench that can seat four, a jump seat behind the captain’s chair at the helm, and a doublewide bench in front of the port console that has a fore-and-aft-adjusting backrest so the crew can sit comfortably in several different ways. A Yeti cooler hides inside the fiberglass base. The head inside the port console is spacious and well-appointed, with a fiberglass sole with vinyl walls, Corian countertop housing a stainless-steel sink, and a porcelain pump-out toilet.
The bow cockpit has space to both sides for passengers to fully recline, with flip-up armrests that are sturdy enough to support the full weight of an adult male standing atop them. (I know this because I tried it.) The anchor locker is easy to access and drains outboard, and the anchor smartly hides underneath the bow. The recessed stainless-steel grab rails provide safety up front without sacrificing any style points.
While at anchor, the aft sun pad provides another lounging point, and it features twin pop-up backrests, giving loungers different comfort options. When it’s time to get in the water, raise or lower the electrically actuated swim step into the water at the push of a button.
Our test boat was powered by twin Volvo Penta V8-300 sterndrives, which propelled the R30 to a near-60 mph top-end speed. We planed in 3.7 seconds and hit 30 mph in 6.5 seconds. The twin Duoprops gave the R30 exceptional bite in carving S-turns and making hard-over turns at speed. The twin counter-rotating propsets also made handling in close quarters and docking the R30 a breeze.
High Points
* Dash features a hand-stitched brow that protects the inset gauges from glare.
* Electrically actuated swim step feature makes entering the water and reboarding easier than ever.
* Aft sun pad features two independent backrests that allow the lounger to sit up or fully recline.
Low Points
* Dash does not have room to upgrade to large-screen electronics displays.
* Countertop in the head compartment could be fiddled to prevent objects from sliding off it.
Toughest Competitor
Check out Sea Ray’s SLX 310 ($222,680 with twin 250 hp MerCruiser Axius 4.5L MPI engines). It’s another day boat that can host a crowd.
Price: $203,112 (with test power)
Available Power: Sterndrive
How We Tested
Engines: Twin Volvo Penta V8-300s
Drive/Props: G-DP/F5 Duoprops
Gear Ratio: 2.14:1
Fuel Load: 75 gal.
Crew Weight: 360 lb.
More Information
Cobalt Boats – Neodesha, Kansas; 800-468-5764; cobaltboats.com
