FANGS for Cobra Venoms - first impressions

[Zarrella]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC
Does this look correct?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Totally wrong, thank goodness swatski posted this, the tabs must hold the plate tight to the nozzle.

 

[Ronnie]

Lol, I'm about to install my new fins and fangs and hope I don't end up scratching my head later wondering why I have spare parts or not enough of them.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

The LOCKING TABS are designed to secure the plate to the nozzle and remove the side play without removing the play in the main bolt that also secures the bottom of the nozzle.
The nozzle MUST have play so it can turn freely, but the plate needs to be secure for the fangs since they are now turning the nozzle for you at speed.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Well I tried to do a video but my damn hands won't hold on to small fasteners and it was funny to say the least, however it did show you how to do the install and even how to place the nylock nut in between the plate and steering arm using a piece of tape. I am really glad this came up easier is not always better. The tabs were designed so they MUST be installed after the plate is in place, I did not want them to have enough clearance to rotate away from the nozzle once they were installed. If you try to rotate one with the bolt loose you will see what I mean.

 

[Zarrella]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC
How about now? Is this correct?

 

[Zarrella]

 

[Mavelous]

Just got mine today, a day earlier than expected. Thanks Jeff! I got the ultimates w/fangs for the twin engine. Install was straight forward for the entire kit and took about 30mins. Did have a slight issue with one of the rear braces, photo below. The turn down looked to be bent a little shorter that the others so the upper hole was deformed by the radius and the bolt wouldn't go through. Not a big deal just cleaned it up with the drill and all went together fine. Won't be able to get on the water until Mon and will post my thoughts after that. As most already know but I will say it again; Jeff was great to work with, easy transaction, fast shipping, and the ultimates and fangs look great and are solidly constructed!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Sorry about the issue if you like I can send you a replacement but from your pictures you also installed them incorrectly please look at the pictures where the tabs go and place them in the correct location. See the correct installation of the locking tabs here in this picture

 

[Zarrella]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC
Ok....I guess if you used my pic, I must have gotten it right!
Lol

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

"YES" !!! Now doesn't it make more sense like that? I now will be having nightmares about this. When you design something and you know exactly what goes where and why sometimes you don't realize how someone else could see it differently so now I know what I need to be very clear about.

 

[Zarrella]

It makes perfect sense now. The mistake was fully assembling it prior to install.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC
Ok....I guess if you used my pic, I must have gotten it right!
Lol

sorry the picture was so big I missed the fine print above it,, yes that is correct.

On a side note, if you want to remove the small screw h0les left behind from your old style steering , get some J B Weld and some wax paper, mix the J B Weld and push it in the hole , then using some wax paper on both sides of the hole press together with your thumb and index finger compressing the J B weld into the hole. Once the J B weld dries just pull off the wax paper and you should be fine. ok now to be safe do not try to remove the wax paper BEFORE it dries or you will make a mess, just covering all the bases lol.

 

[Zarrella]

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC @Ronnie @swatski @Mavelous

Ok....so I ran with them today. The biggest benefit of the Fangs is definitely in reverse. I had a lot more steering capability in reverse with the Fangs. Another big improvement was the improved maneuverability around the dock. At times it almost acted like I had side thrusters...lol High speed I really didn't see a lot of difference, but that may be due to the fact I am still impressed by the difference the Ulitimates make over my old fins. I did the trick of running full throttle, cutting power and turning and the boat tracked really well. I would say they are definitely worth the investment because.......MY WIFE likes how it handles when she drives!

Thumbs up Jeff!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Today I heard from my person testing out the Magnum A K series steering on his 2016, 24 foot articulating keel Yamaha jet boat, he also tested a prototype set of fangs for that system. Here was his initial report no them.
" Good evening .
Friday I spent all day in the Gulf and went up the Homosassa River. I was able to test the AK Steering with
and without the Fangs.
What I found out was at high speeds the boat now feels tighter. It reacts much faster. It always felt loose.
I have found in the stock mode I was always fighting the current. It now is much more relaxing.
I have always had outdrives and the Jet drives are night and day in how they react to currents.
In no wake mode it was easier to control. I did not have to compensate no where near what it had been.
With the fangs on reverse is much easer. Getting on the trailer and docking also is much better.
I thank you very much for letting me try out the fangs. I will continue to test in the next couple weeks
but I like the results so far and the money was well spent.
Jim "
For the record I do not have any of the fangs for the magnum A K steering available yet. I did order a few sets but since it had not been tested when I ordered them I was conservative just incase I needed to make some changes. I am also just about sold out on the other fangs but I do have more being cut . I an looking forward to hearing some feedback from some of the people who have had a chance to try their new fangs this weekend.

 

[zelone]

Hi Jeff, I bought my boat a year ago and it already has your fins installed, which I would have purchased anyway, they are the ones which flip up when underway. Pictured below. Just wondering if fangs will fit and what exactly I need to order? Thanks!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

all handled .

 

[JimG]

I ordered a set of Fangs for my Ultimates last Sunday and received them on Thursday. Great customer service as usual! Installed them on Saturday and then put the boat in the water for a chilly test run in the 50F and cloudy Michigan weather. I agree with what others have posted here -- high speed handling is very smooth and turning takes much less effort. Reverse is also more controlled and accurate. It did seems that I had a bit more spray coming from the back of the boat, but that could just be my imagination -- won't know for sure unless somebody I am towing complains. It was rougher than I usually go out in, so that might have had an impact.

I also wanted to mention that when I ordered the Fangs my boat was still in storage so I couldn't see if the base plates for my Cobra Ultimate system were pre-drilled with the four holes or not, but it turns out that they were. So, if it helps anyone, I ordered the Ultimates on 4/4/15, so I would assume that any that Jeff shipped after that should all be pre-drilled. Hopefully this helps anyone else who might be ordering Fangs before they actually get their boat out of winter storage.

 

[Ronnie]

I installed mine on Saturday in about 45 minutes. My first impression is that these are sturdy well built devices. The fins are so much bigger than my first set and the fangs are about the same thickness.
View attachment 36485 View attachment 36486

I tested them out yesterday but didn't get any video (almost lost the quad copter 10 minutes into the first flight which made it the only flight of the day but that is another story). Anyway, the steering is much more responsive at low speeds as well as in reverse, which is what I expected from the larger fins and the addition of the fangs.

Another new characteristic is that there is a lot less feedback through the steering wheel when i turn it at cruising speed through WOT. Before replacing my old fixed fins with the new fins and fangs the wheel would vibrate, sometimes at a high frequency, when I would turn it at speed. So the "power steering" feel definitely exists, at least for me.

I noticed that the rear of the boat seemed to slide more with new fins but I expected as much since unlike my previous fins the new ones retract at speed. I do like the feel, it reminds me more of riding a jet ski or waverunner which I prefer. If I need better tracking while I'm towing tubes around I may change the settings but it will be months before the water warms up enough for my crew and / or I to worry about that.

Lastly, I tried testing what would happen if I turned sharply after moving the throttles from WOT into idle while at top speed. The boat did turn but not a lot immediately. It was more like I was making a simple and safe lane change on the freeway as I got off the gas or moved off the freeway to an offramp. Once the boat slowed down closer to no wake speeds the steering was much more responsive. Overall the steering control I got off power is better than nothing which is what I would have with no fins or fangs at all. This is a safety feature I want in an emergency collision avoidance situation, so from that perspective I'm and advocate of all of fins in the Cobra line up. That is, I think that all of the fins will have a similar impact but the larger fin's impact will come faster and will be more noticeable. I didn't get any good video this time out but I will try and get some top down view clips of the above with no, one and two pairs of fangs installed but not for a few weeks at least as I'm not sure when I will be able to take the boat out again, maybe not until Memorial Day weekend.

I will close by saying that I now have three sets of Cobra Jet fins (two close to the first generation size and one (the first) set of Venoms) that I'm willing to part with for a small fee but that will be the subject of another / future post.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

So reading your write up I am assuming that you have the fins set to rise out of the water at speed, if so you won't get the real instant response from them when you kill the power and then turn. The test I suggested was to have the fins set in the all time all the way down setting and then try turning at speed with the controls in neutral it will turn instantly. I believe once you try them fully deployed at speed you will see a world of difference and appreciate the power steering effect as that setting was what it was intended for, all the benefit of the fins in the water and smooth easy steering in the wheel.