First day with Cobra Jet fins

[Betik]

Every time I see Jeff’s post I think of Dr. Gregory House......

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Me testing out the extreme handling capabilities of the new 2021 FX HO skies | testing the stability and handling of my new skies after I modified them | By Cobra jet steering | Facebook

testing the stability and handling of my new skies after I modified them

fb.watch

 

[RobbieO]

We just went out this weekend with the addition of our new Cobras, took off the TV's,. There was a huge difference in the 2 products and with the added steering rod the turning is MUCH easier. Our Surf wave was improved and the spray from our old Tv's were gone. I have to say this was a nice upgrade.

What is your opinion on the no wake speed steering Cobras vs T.V.’s

 

[RobbieO]

Jeff, I’m very confident the fins will do everything you say they will do but my priority concerns by far are leaving my marina, getting into and out of a fuel dock, into and out of foreign marinas, and back to my marina with as little drama as possible. It’s only me and my wife, not towing anyone, not trying to impress anyone with how fast I can go in a turn. I could care less. If I impress anyone by not hitting another boat or smashing into the dock that would be great. I got the jet boat for its mechanical simplicity and far less maintenance versus a sterndrive Regal I was considering at the time. Oh, and the Yamaha jet boat looked a lot cooler than the regal especially with the tower.
You make an excellent product and the fins help me to minimize the low speed drama. Thank you

Amen to that. My wife gets so nervous when we approach the dock because I’m such a freakazoid about the boat. I’ve been out twice by myself, and once with the wife. I need a lot more practice thats for sure.

 

[AZ Jetboater]

Can I ask what the cost was to powder coat?

$60 but I waited until my powder coater had a satin black order to do mine with. Otherwise it would have been probably double that.

 

[jcyamaharider]

What is your opinion on the no wake speed steering Cobras vs T.V.’s

IMO at no Wake speed both products do what they are intended to do. Where the big advantage for me was after no wake speed. I could a huge difference in tracking.

 

[lazergeek]

I painted my Super Magnums satin black with Rustolium then coated with satin clear coat. I chose the Cobra's because I wanted better handeling at all speeds. I boat inshore and offshore Florida and any kind of swells over 1 foot is just work keeping the boat going straight at speed. My first trip out i immediatly noticed a diffrence being able to actually let go of the wheel and still having the boat track straight in waves going 25 miles an hour was proof I made the right choice.

 

[captainhook]

I’ve been trying to figure out somewhere to put this but wanted to stay out of the mess that these threads usually turn into, but this seems like a good place.

I’ve had two sets of Thust Vectors (and Lateral Thrusters) and last year switched to Cobra Jet Steering Ultimates on my 232 Limited. I boat in a river where the ramp has a current and is difficult to get back into. I was finless for about five seasons and then added the TVs which helped quite a bit. I was getting spray which annoyed me so I bought another set of TVs and tried those and still got the spray. It turned out the spray was due to my bucket adjustment after changing the control cables but I didn’t figure that out until after changing to Cobra Ultimates, which I also wanted for control at speed.

Any fins definitely help which I think I’m qualified to say after comparing vs. finless for five seasons. But the Cobras do seem to have a bit better control even at low speed. I also really enjoy the increased control at speed, and definitely coming off of the throttle where the boat used to spin which drove me crazy. It still tries to spin a little but not nearly as much as it did. They are also significantly better built, which is something I never liked about the Thrust Vectors being plastic and the same price as the nicely built Cobras. I think the increased control is due to the rigid metal design vs. the plastic of the TVs, which I think makes a difference even at low speed.

Another thing I will add is I don’t think there is anyone who knows more about Yamaha’s steering than Jeff. His after the sale service is also excellent. I plan to put the Lateral Thrusters back on with his special brackets but have been running without them since mid last season.

 

[RobbieO]

I painted my Super Magnums satin black with Rustolium then coated with satin clear coat. I chose the Cobra's because I wanted better handeling at all speeds. I boat inshore and offshore Florida and any kind of swells over 1 foot is just work keeping the boat going straight at speed. My first trip out i immediatly noticed a diffrence being able to actually let go of the wheel and still having the boat track straight in waves going 25 miles an hour was proof I made the right choice.

Those look great…love the black

 

[RobbieO]

Installed mine this spring and the straightline tracking of my 242X is WAY BETTER now. I thought the rudder would be fine on its own.....Cobrafins have added a ton more control. Totally noticeable. Had them on my last boat....not sure why I waited so long to put them on this one!

So I’m thinking about making the switch from the TV’s. What are your thoughts on the Fangs vs. no fangs?

 

[J-RAD]

Am I really about to buy Cobra jets after 5 seasons...? Crap! I...I...I... damn you guys stuck!

I have wanted to improve the control of the boat when approaching boarders. My wife had to abort and emergency reverse as she was coming around to bring the wakeboard rope back to me. I thought I was done spending money on upgrades.

 

[captainhook]

Am I really about to buy Cobra jets after 5 seasons...? Crap! I...I...I... damn you guys stuck!

I have wanted to improve the control of the boat when approaching boarders. My wife had to abort and emergency reverse as she was coming around to bring the wakeboard rope back to me. I thought I was done spending money on upgrades.

This is my second favorite time to have them-picking up wakeboarders. Second only to docking.

 

[lazergeek]

So I’m thinking about making the switch from the TV’s. What are your thoughts on the Fangs vs. no fangs?

My only trip out since getting I didnt do much reversing but what little I did was not any major diffrences between what articulating keel already offers. I got the fangs expecting this figured it couldn't hurt ordering it upfront rather then changing my mind and purchasing later.

 

[anmut]

That is easy ,once you have the nozzles totally even and the tie rods adjusted to match the rudder mounting hole and the nozzle mounting holes you add 1/2 turn out to one end of each tie rod so it pushes the nozzles about 1/8 inch out wider in the back than in the front so the super fins will have a very slight tow in on their leading edges. further if your boat is one of many that has an unexplained pull at high speed you can adjust the rudder to compensate for that, say the boat pulls to the left slightly you can readjust the rudder and place a slight right accent to it to compensate for that pull. I recall these boats reporting odd issues even with ride plate drag or the props loading unevenly due to non counter rotating impellers all minor but annoying issues, so with the 2 tie rods you can easily make simple corrections with the rudder without upsetting the nozzle alignments.

I've tried to chase down that "on-plane" pull since I've owned the boat. What I've found is that the "pull" is in direct relation to the load on the boat, there's not adjusting for it unless you plan to load the boat the exact same way every trip. If I'm out by myself, boat is fine. But wife and kids on the port side of the boat, steering then wants to pull. Add more guests / coolers / etc., and the pull might transition to starboard.

This is the same issue with any boat (due to hull design and prop/impeller twist), but with an outboard or I/O, you have a lot more "rudder" space to counter this.

 

[anmut]

So I’m thinking about making the switch from the TV’s. What are your thoughts on the Fangs vs. no fangs?

I had fangs on when I first bought the system. Then I hit a stump at low speed and bent one. Took them off, haven't noticed any difference.

 

[Betik]

I thought I was done spending money on upgrades.

You and the majority of the people here are delusional like that. I am sure at some point you means peace with the fact that mods and upgrades are like taxes and death, you cannot avoid them

 

[anmut]

You and the majority of the people here are delusional like that. I am sure at some point you means peace with the fact that mods and upgrades are like taxes and death, you cannot avoid them

The code is written like this:

IF [done with upgrades]
THEN [buy new boat]

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I've tried to chase down that "on-plane" pull since I've owned the boat. What I've found is that the "pull" is in direct relation to the load on the boat, there's not adjusting for it unless you plan to load the boat the exact same way every trip. If I'm out by myself, boat is fine. But wife and kids on the port side of the boat, steering then wants to pull. Add more guests / coolers / etc., and the pull might transition to starboard.

This is the same issue with any boat (due to hull design and prop/impeller twist), but with an outboard or I/O, you have a lot more "rudder" space to counter this.

That goes without saying if you load your boat unevenly get trim tabs , if your hull has a pull follow the above.

 

[RobbieO]

I've tried to chase down that "on-plane" pull since I've owned the boat. What I've found is that the "pull" is in direct relation to the load on the boat, there's not adjusting for it unless you plan to load the boat the exact same way every trip. If I'm out by myself, boat is fine. But wife and kids on the port side of the boat, steering then wants to pull. Add more guests / coolers / etc., and the pull might transition to starboard.

This is the same issue with any boat (due to hull design and prop/impeller twist), but with an outboard or I/O, you have a lot more "rudder" space to counter this.

Do you feel your boat handles better with more weight in the front ( Keeps the bow down) ?

 

[adrianp89]

Do you feel your boat handles better with more weight in the front ( Keeps the bow down) ?

I feel it does better with weight in the back when I keep bow up.