EQUIPMENT, MAINTENANCE & KNOW-HO

Cobrut360:perlecth~ony

In creating the Cobalt 360 Perfor­mance Cruiser, designers melded a pock­et cruiser interior with a sportboat' s peppy performance and on-deck layout.

The Kansas builder calls the new flag­ship - Cobalt's largest boat to date -a complete package. The 36-footer is powered by twin I/Os up to 500-hp each, and the top end is expected to be around 50 mph. The boat sleeps two in a midcabin arrangement and comes with an enclosed head and a well­equipped weekender galley.

"The 360 follows Cobalt's traditional mission, as a stylish day or weekend per­formance cruiser," says Bret Chilcott, marketing and sales manager for Cobalt.

The deck is laid out for a variety of activities, from fishing and divj.ng to lounging in the anchorage. The walk­through transom door leads to a fiber­glass (or optional teak) swim platform with a concealed ladder. There 's a tran­som shower and storage space for water toys or lines and fenders.

The cockpit features a double table with an adjacent icemaker, a sink with hot and cold nmning water, and an ice chest. There's also a I100volt outlet to take advantage of shore power.

The helm is set to starboard, with the single command seat accompanied

by a companion lounge to port. The driver steers with Cobalt 's trademark leather-covered , tilt steering wheel, and the dash has full instrumentation, with compass, depth sounder, temper­ature, air and water gauges, trim tab in­dicator and hour meter. Accessories in­clude an AM/FM/CD sound system with two sets of cockpit speakers and a third set below.

A screened companionway door leads to the main cabin. There's a din­ing table forward, with cushioned seat­ing for four or more. The 360's galley comes with a stove, a microwave, a re­frigerator/freezer and a 6-gallon water heater. Amenities include a flat-screen television with VCR. The double berth

is in the midcabin. The head is laid out with a sink,

shower and Vacu-flu h head system. The Cobalt 360 is built using an all­

fiberglass stringer system that elimi­nates wood from the structure. The hand-laid hull uses vinylester resins , and key areas throughout the boat are reinforced with Kevlar. Cobalt offers a 100year warranty on hull and deck, five years on the power train.

Cobalt offers both gas and diesel power packages for the 360, running up to 500 hp in twin configurations. MerCruiser selections range from the 7.4 MPI (310 hp) to the 500 EFI (500 hp) and are coupled to either Bravo I

continued on facing page

S P E C S LOA: 36 feet; BEAM: 10 feet, 6 inches; DRAFT: 3 feet , 6 inches (drives down); DISPLACEMENT: 10,500

pounds; HULL TYPE: deep-vee; WATER CAPACITY: 35 gallons; FUEL CAPACITY: 174 gallons; ENGINE OPTION: twin inboard , gas or diesel ; SPEED: 50 mph (top w/gas power); SUGGESTED PRICE: TBA; CON­

TACT: Cobalt Boats, 1715 N. 8th St., P.O. Box 29, Neodosha, KS 66767. Phone: (316) 325-2653. www.coba/tboats.com.

Central control station keeps track of systems A S S 6l: IATE Eo l ro11

A new player in the marine electron­ics market is making a splash at the win­ter boat shows with a versatile, high­end marine electronic computer and video display system with software.

Based in Newport News, Va., nView has specialized in multiple display workstations since 1985. The company enters the marine market with the Nau­tical View PilotStation, geared toward boats 40 feet and larger.

What looks like a typical 15-inch (1 -

inch also available) flat panel LCD dis­play is actually a central control station for navigation electronics, radar, on­board cameras , satellite television, DVD/VCR, or laptop·computer/lntemet.

Craig Niehous, nView's national di­rector of marine sales, says his compa-

40

The Nautical View PiiotStation from nView is a central control station for all onboard navigation computers, elec­tronics and entertainment systems.

ny set up the system aboard a boat near its office and visited everal Chesa­peake Bay ports to ask skippers what they wanted in a display system.

"The electronic bridge is the direc-

tion that people want to go ," Niehous says. "We're trying to provide a boat owner with an integrated system that allows the user to display and manage [that system] ."

For a retail price of $5,895 , boaters get the display monitor that attaches to a box called "the pod," which contains all hookups for power, video/data feeds, and multiple source inputs for electronics. An "nbox" attaches for a wireless infrared interface that allows the user to change channels or adjust the volume of audio/visual equipment with a remote control. The system also comes with a wireless mouse and wire­less keyboard that allow, for example. changing a satellite channel displayed on a PilotStation in the saloon without leaving the stateroom.

continued on fac/llg page

TECH NOTES

Yamaha introduces financing promos

Yamaha Marine Group in Ken­nesaw, Ga., is trying to entice cus­tomers with two new outboard fi­nancing·programs.

As part of what Yamaha calls its Portable Promotion, a customer can buy portable outboards with no down payment and no pay­ment or accrued interest for six months. To qualify, customers must have approved credit and use a Yamaha credit card for the purchase. The program is good on any model-year 1999, 2000 or 2001 4-stroke or 2-stroke engine from 2 hp to 25 hp.

The Repowering Made Easy program helps boaters purchase new outboards without refinanc­ing their boats, according to Yamaha. The promotion includes no down payment, low interest rates and long-term loans. The offer is good on any single or dual engine purchase that ex­ceeds $7,500, with approved credit through the Yamaha facto­ry installment program.

Both programs end Dec. 31 .

New radio tracks weather, hazards

Midland Consumer Radio of Kansas City, Mo., has introduced a hand-held NOAA weather/haz­ard alert radio that operates on two AA batter­ies . The radio , model 74-250 , features SAME technology (spe­cific area mes­sage encoding) to alert boaters to storms and hazards in spe­cific areas.

The device can be programmed to respond only l '3.tJ1ings with- . in certain t: raphic areas and display up lO -6 types of alerts on th klir LCD.

The r llow and black unit in­dud a built-in clock with two alarms, date display and snooze. A thermometer can be programmed to sound when the temperature

continued on facing page

Soundinq~ January 2001

COBAL T 360 from previous page

or Bravo III outdrives. Volvo packages start with the 7.4 GiSX (310 hp) and run to the 420-hp 8.1 GSi. Both SX and Duoprop outdrives are available.

Th di I are from Yanmar and in-

co

230-hp 4LHA-STXE the 250-hp OTZE and th e OO-hp 6LP- TZE.

ere are gas and di I fans, and th fen ' have their pI

pan

'gned the around power. and the boats

10uspage

rk with "black box" major marine electronics

rurers, according to the

\lultiple on-board PilotStations oper­at independently, meaning the skip­

che k navigation at the helm can watch the engine room

[Or, security camera or a movie the main cabin. Up to four Pilot­

uon can be "daisy chained" to use the arne sources and still operate inde­

nd ntly, according to nView. Users l ntly switch between sources

.n the push of a button. The company also touts the quality f i high-contrast display, specifically

the ins tant day brightne;ss or night dunming for both data and video . The nighttime navigation feature allow the user to dim all sources at once or di play data in "red mode" for en-

n ed night vi ibility. A dimming of nearly 2,500: 1 is available for

l.l. 900:1 for video. The company also has introduced

the fir t of a series of marine oft­rc; packages called iMO (hip­

d Info rmation Monitoring) to r with the PilotStation. The oft­

w re (sold separately from the Pilot­ra tion) collects, monitors and pre­

nts all hip board information ,

CH OTES from previous page

below freezing. The radio retail - 9.95.

more information, contact Mid-16 241-8500. www.midlan­

m idlndcb @midlandra-

R.I. firm introducing online prop selection

works. com in onh - own, it is combining Inrern [ rech­'ith long-held marine kn wl-

dg [ help boaters properly mat h propeUer to engines.

Propworks .com memb ers can enter specific vessel data into an on­hne f rm and recei e a cu tomized propeller sizing re ommendation engine load anal ' i and engine p r­formance prediction . The eryi e also will warn a client if hi or her

Soundings January 2001

perform very nicely with either one." The extensive options list includes a

Bimini enclosure, a GPS and a GP /radar combination, docking and po tlights , air conditioning and a 5-kw

generator and a bow thruster. obalt 's flagship , the 360 is the ul­

timate expression of the company founder 'S original philosophy, says

hi1cott. "Pack St. Clair wanted to build a real quality runabout when he started out 32 years ago, and this boat is an extension of that idea," he says.

Multiple on-board PllotStatlons operate Independently. Users can Instantly switch

between sources.

from engine s tatus to water depth and boat speed. SiMO provides ad­vanced warning and problem report­ing, such as an oil leak or restricted fuel flow culled from sensors moni­toring ship ystems in real time, ac­cording to the company.

The software is compatible with all ational Marine Electronics Association

instruments and with electronic and nonelectronic engine according to nView. The oftware also allows the user to store and present hi tOrical data o trends can be ob erved. For information , contact n iew

860 Omni Blvd. , 1 ewport ews, VA 23606-4238. Phone: (800) 684-3950. www.nview.com ; marine-sales@ nview. cmn.

current propellers are significantly under- or oversized.

Prop ork .com i currently config­ured for inboard po erboa and was to add outboard propeUer izlng capa­bility this fall.

A 30-day member hip will co t a boater $35.

Splash-proof case protects stereos

Poly-Planar of \' arminster, Pa .. manu­factures a splash-proof e and plash cover that protect marine tereo equip­ment from moisnlfe .

The case's ga keted AB hou ing ac­commodates most marine tereo and is compatible with DI - dual po - and pullout- tyle radios. The tinted p lycar­bonate cover prevents water and ray from damaging LCD display . HiD ed for access to controls, it can be

continued on next page

For yacht club or commercial use. Our launches are highly maneuverable,Jast and outfitted with fuel·efficient Yanmar Marine diesel engines.

401-847 -9109 lax: 401-846-5599

~ Repowering Specialists

New Engine Sales & Service

11.0. Bo\ l-t I. S:IIrr'S \\ harf • \r\\ porI. RI 02X-tO • r·mail: oldportmar@aol.com·IIIIII.oldportmal.inr.com

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