CABO 36 EXPRESS

[mjberrocal]

Anybody has one? Quality is out of the question: one of the best. I would like to know about the ride. I have been told that it rides a little bow high . . . is it true? I am going over to the FORT LAUDERDALE BOAT SHOW next week but do not know if I will have the time to try it out, or if they will let me. Please fell free to comment all aspects of the boat, but most importantly, the ride. I shall have it with a small marlin tower, NO TUNA TOWER.

What would be the second best alternative? HENRIQUES 38? OUT ISLAND 38? ALBEMARLE 38? CAROLINA CLASSIC 35? NORTH RIP 36? JERSEY CAPE 36?

[BoatDude109]

The 36 CABO now comes in ZF pod drive config. You can throw CAT C7, Yanmars or Cummins as examples. The ride is good but like any boat, if you put it in certain situations it will ride better or worse. CABO will have a pod drive boat at the show.

[CMP]

The ZF pod is shit compared to the Volvo program...

[mjberrocal]

Well, I just got back from the show at FORT LAUDERDALE. I sea trialed the CABO 36. As said before in this post, it had C-7's with ZF pod drives (new system from ZF). The boat had a marlin tower, the only way to go in a boat of this size in my opinion. The tower was gorgeous. The poles ran inside the cabin instead of in the outside, it was a new design. Easy to get up and down and the boat did not rock up there. Much to my surprise the boat ran as flat as you can expect, short of a bullet center console. Much of that in my opinion was due to the pods. I do not believe that the shafts would make the bow go that much more higher. I was very satisfied with the boat. I tested the boat on Monday and the seas were 4 to 5. Ideal nasty sea to try the boat. I felt the boat very light, perhaps due to the fact that it had 1/2 tank of diesel and of course no fishing gear. We were 6 people in it. I also felt that the C-7's were very powerful. The acceleration was very quick. The boat was very responsive due to the pods. It was like riding a big center console. I wonder how much the boat would loose in terms of efficiency with regular shafts. Could not get an answer from the ZF or Cabo people there. Here are some pictures, not good ones, but at least some pictures. Quality was outstanding. The boat did NOT pound and we DID NOT get wet. I tried the sucker in all directions at different speeds. Only down side was the price, for a boat this size.

I do not care about pods. They are expensive and would not last 48 hours in the Gulf of Panama, due to the amount of logs in the water. Besides, no one can fix them down here. They have to invent a system that when they hit a lug, they lift, much like an outboard to avoid rupture.

[BoatDude109]

They still make this boat in it's conventional drive set up. The boat does ride a bit more bow high with the conventional set up but not much difference. If you are worried about logs and the pod drives, shafts / struts and props on a conventional drive are not cheap and they are just prone to being destroyed when you hit a log. Pods are designed to shear off and close all openings to keep a water tight seal if a severe collision was to take place and although not cheap could be cheaper that replacing all the underwater gear on a conventional drive. I do not know if the system truly works and hope that I will not have to find out. Pros and Cons to every system we just have to accept which one we choose.

The ZF pod drive system is still in development but always keep in mind that ZF is found in almost all areas as a leader in drive propulsion systems so you should be able to find maintenance through a dealer.

I have run the Volvo IPS as well and can say that it is a very well thought out system and truly a leader in this technology.

CABO also runs the ZEUS system and it performs very well on the 40 model. Both the ZF and ZEUS technology need to catch up with the amount of horsepower that can be thrown at them, which is where Volvo has currently got them.