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Boat Tests Cobra Nautique
Boat Tests Cobra Nautique
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Cobra Nautique
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| Hugo Montgomery-Swan takes to the water to test flight the sun-loving Cobra Nautique RIB. A craft well known for offering the rare combination of a true sports boat fit out and the benefits of an offshore hull. There are very few RIBs on the market that offer a true sports boat fit out. Although there are a good few manufacturers that describe certain models within their range as being the ‘Sports model’, very often these only go as far as boasting brightly coloured tubes and a bench seat. Not that convincing, I think you’ll agree. But let’s not be negative boys and girls, for in this very issue we do indeed concentrate our attentions on a true example of a Sports RIB, one which in many respects remains unique after some 10 years of production. History/Background Picton Boats, the company originally responsible for the introduction of the Cobra Nautique range, have of course an even longer association with the sports boat industry ą having built hard boats of this type for some 33 years. In fact, during the occasion of RIBEX 2002, I asked Dave Picton, the company’s principal, if he were to add up all the time he had served at boat shows selling his wares how much it would actually amount to? After a lengthy pause and a scratch of the head he confirmed that it totalled a staggering two years of his life! No one could argue therefore the commitment shown on the part of this man towards the UK sports boat market. But of course, these days, it’s not just the UK where you’ll find a Cobra owner. This brand of RIB is now becoming increasingly strong in territories such as the Mediterranean where the combination of a comfortable interior coupled to a deep vee hull is proving irresistible. First Impressions Whilst being, in its best known and most loved guise, very much a leisure boat, the Cobra Nautique nonetheless has something of a serious look about it. It is clearly more than just a ski boat. Indeed, its substantial proportions and overall build quality confirm its offshore potential. Unlike some sports RIBs the Cobra is not simply a modified hard-hulled performance boat with a set of tubes wrapped around it. It is a proper RIB. A key indicator to this fact lies in the manner in which the boat’s moderate sized sponsons sit just on the water line thus providing enough stability to steady the boat’s stern quarter even at rest. The hull’s substantial vee is also noticeable to the keen eye as are other key ‘give-aways’ to this boat’s offshore suitability. These include the RIB’s beefy stainless steel work, big deck scuppers and strong transom. Available in a host of attractive and imaginative colour combinations, the Cobra Nautique is without a doubt a vessel of sufficient presence to turn the heads of passers by. Additionally, given the amount of choice, I have to say that I have not yet at least, seen a gaudy coloured Cobra. But as to whether that can be attributed to Cobra or the good taste of their clients I’m not sure? Fit out Much attention has been given to the matter of seating on these RIBs. I really do like the heavily padded seat cushions that form the semi-sculptured upholstery to these units. The latter of course prevents bottoms sliding into one another as they like to do on bench seats. (I do appreciate of course that this may in fact be a drawback for some!) Seriously though, when the going gets lively the last thing you want is to be slipping all over the place. The less effort it takes to ‘stay put’ the greater the passenger security. Being very generously squabbed, the Cobra seats also possess good shock absorbing characteristics. Compare them to some of the large volume RIB company alternatives and you’ll notice instantly that there truly is no comparison. Dry stowage is excellent on these boats too. We recently tested a sports RIB that my friend present at the time, described as possessing, “enough stowage to accommodate one’s favourite key ring”. Surely, a sports RIB has to be able to stow skis, picnic hampers, dry clothes, swimming gear and kids beaching paraphernalia properly, otherwise it just doesn’t ‘cut the mustard’. Having proper places to pack all such kit securely is essential on a sports boat. On the Cobra this most important requirement can be found in generous degrees beneath the sun-lounger, inside the main helm console and within the rear-seating unit. The moulded deck GRP shell is a sound idea and ensures the ‘leisure’ orientated feel of the boat is not lost to the still widely used, rugged and ever common RIB deck alternative - flow coat over chopped strand mat. Runners have also been inset to the deck to afford the user the opportunity of being able to slide the console forwards or backwards depending upon the space or weight requirements the craft is subject to. If there is one aspect of the Cobra I don’t like, it is the design of the helm console. In my opinion it’s dated in appearance and could benefit from a styling re-think. It may be practical, it may be sound but it’s overdue for a change in my view. The finish to the GRP consoles etc may not be ‘Sunseeker’ but it’s good nonetheless and I like the fact that need for good handholds has not been overlooked. Once again, some sports RIBs fail in this latter regard. Sponsons These are made of 1400 gsm hypalon and come complete with a variety of attractive wear patches, ergonomically designed cleats, lifelines and commercial spec straking. Unlike the ‘blue water’ alternatives popular down on the Continent, these tubes are not ‘oversized’ and therefore do not interfere with the hull’s hydrodynamics. They therefore perform the functions essential to a good RIB, namely, working as stabilizers, shock absorbers and fenders. Most Cobra Nautiques have a bow line cleat fitted to the top of the sponson ą a most practical addition. Hull The Cobra hull possesses a 24 degree deadrise coupled to a transom angle of 14 degrees. Spray rails that run the full length of the hull assist in keeping the wet area to a minimum and thus in turn also help to deflect the spray downwards away from the hull as opposed to out, over and in the face of the RIB occupants. The boat does have a pretty flat profile though and whilst this may be the optimum shape in a cross wind in helping to prevent unwanted heal, it is not the best profile in coping with the problems associated with running in following seas. Ideally, in difficult following sea states, you want a RIB with a raised sheer to its bow to help prevent ‘stuffing’. Everything is a compromise when it comes to boat building though, plus, the Cobra does in fact have a good amount of lift in the forward section of its hull which is highly important. Construction Cobra’s approach to boat building is low tech and follows the traditional, hand laid methods. When RIB International correspondents, Marc and Kim Millon of Topsham in Devon, said to Dave Picton that they liked the idea of a 6.5m but wanted the internal space of a 7.5m , Picton quickly overcame their impossible requirement by suggesting he build them a 6.85m. Upon their pointing out that he didn’t actually make a model that length he simply told them it was an easy task to make a 6.5m that bit longer and what was more would not charge them any extra for the privilege! Old fashioned service? A refreshing attitude would you not agree which also goes to show that each Cobra built is bespoke and totally original. On the matter of construction, I have never heard of a Cobra suffering major calamity. (Although, having said that, someone will now probably ‘come out of the woodwork’ and prove me wrong!) They have the reputation of being a sound boat of tried and trusted build design. Performance/handling I recently tested a 6.5m Cobra Nautique in conditions quite unlike those you see pictured here. The day featured minus ten conditions with a wind chill factor of a further 10 degrees and a biting 30-knot easterly wind. Snow showers flurried in over the gale tossed brown coloured breaking seas. This certainly was not the weather normally associated with boating aboard a sun loving RIB such as the Cobra Nautique. Nevertheless, my able accomplice and the vessel’s owner, Marc Millon, remained resolute, professional to the core. We duly pressed on, weaving our way up through the buoyed and ever winding channel that marks the Exe Estuary. It wasn’t long though before we started to pick up the short fetch blowing across the estuary from the direction of Lympston ą a little Devon village made famous by the Royal Marines barracks located there. As the hull began to be lifted by the easterly wave pattern, it was immediately clear that (a) the boat possessed good balance and (b) the hull’s efficiency gave evidence of minimum drag. Furthermore, the 150hp Mercury outboard mounted to this 6.5 hybrid felt just right, displaying good pick up and a steady cruising speed of 35 knots. The Millon family use this boat for a variety of watersports and Mark confirmed this boat/engine combination worked very well indeed for waterskiing. The RIB responded well in the heightening seas coming off the top of the waves level and landing true. This meant the soft riding nature of the hull was not impaired by the boat displaying a tendency to land on the flat of its chine as in the case of some deep vee craft I’ve driven. Though not necessarily a criticism, it’s my view that this boat is probably better in a head sea than in a following sea. Running back in the swell off the Exmouth bar, I felt we came close to stuffing it on one occasion. Admittedly, it was a tricky sea and to be fair, when I trimmed the engine leg out further again the bow lifted immediately. Whereupon, we skipped along with a bow up planing attitude clocking a speed of 22 knots. It’s clear the Cobra is a very ‘sure-footed’ RIB. Tight manoeuvres can be undertaken without any fear of sideways slip, the hull grips the water well and the boat gives no sign of becoming ‘flighty’ at speed. Besides the 6.5m, I have driven most models in the range and found all to possess the same likeable characteristics. My long standing views as to the sound nature of this model and its rightful place in the market were thus merely confirmed as a result of this mid winter evaluation. HMS |
