We Say: Cobalt has been outfitting its R Series runabouts for watersports duty with its WSS line, which stands for Water Sports Series. With the R5WSS Surf, you can wakesurf too. How? The Forward Drive places the props forward rather than aft of the gear case so they pull the boat through the water rather than push it. In doing so, Volvo Penta moved the props 21 inches farther forward where they are safely tucked under the platform and away from the surfer. Steering in reverse is excellent.
The R5WSS Surf has other amenities to make it surfable such as the Zero Off GPS speed control, which can set the speed to create the desired wake. Activate the surf tabs and fill the ballast tanks to port, center and starboard to sculpt the wake. A flip-down swim step on the swim platform makes it easy for surfers to get in and out of the water. The sport arch features Samson swiveling board racks and stereo speakers to rock your surf sessions.
On board, Cobalt’s Free Space Reclamation process creates a roomy cockpit. The high freeboard means no splash on quick pickup turnarounds, and you can actually walk through instead of crawl to the bow. When it’s time to run, the R5WSS Surf bests many inboards, climbing onto plane in 4.2 seconds and hitting 30 mph in 9.6 seconds. Top speed is 46 mph.
Who’d Want One: Families looking for a versatile runabout that easily converts for surf duty.
Another Choice: The Regal 2300 RX Surf ($93,510) is also equipped with Forward Drive and a surf package.
Bottom Line: $132,915 (with test power); cobaltboats.com
