COBALT R33

Cobalt's R33 carries you and your crew in comfort and style to big-water adventure and fun.

- Jim Hendricks

One of the most desirable items on a Cobalt is not an accessory, but rather that iconic logo badge on the side of the hull. It connotes quality, luxury, style and performance, telling every boater in the know that you have indeed arrived.

Cobalt earned its reputation over decades of delivering superb boat-owning experiences, and the new R33 carries forward the panache of the Cobalt name. It does so not just with the badge, but with a big, stylish and exquisitely appointed runabout design that's adept at day cruising, watersports, rafting and anchoring up, motoring to dinner at a waterside eatery, and even overnighting.

We tested the sterndrive version (it's also available with twin or triple outboards) featuring twin Volvo Penta 380 hp V-8s with Ocean X Duoprop drives. The Volvos propelled the R33 to plane in 4 seconds and reached 30 mph in 8 seconds. Top speed was an exhilarating 54.2 mph at 6,000 rpm.

For fuel-efficient cruising, however, you'll want to throttle back to 4,000 rpm, where the R33 runs at a brisk 32.3 mph and burns 19 gph for 1.7 mpg. That equates to a cruising range of nearly 230 miles based on 90 percent capacity of the 150-gallon fuel tank.

The R33 can do it all in some of the biggest lakes, rivers and bays, thanks to Cobalt's next-generation deep-V hull design featuring fiberglass stringers and Kevlar-reinforced construction. It offers 33 feet in length overall and a stable 10-foot-6-inch beam.