Cabo 35...

[MarkP]

A friend of mine is consdiering a 1997 35 Cabo and asked me about it. Having never run or been in one, I figured I'd ask here. I seem to recall a problem with these hulls years back-that they were pounders in a headsea and were re-designed. Any ideas? Thanks...

MarkP

[JCJP]

A friend of mine is consdiering a 1997 35 Cabo and asked me about it. Having never run or been in one, I figured I'd ask here. I seem to recall a problem with these hulls years back-that they were pounders in a headsea and were re-designed. Any ideas? Thanks...

MarkP

I have fished on a 35 and it is a stiff ride on the nose...the 31 was a better seaboat than the 35. The 35 reminded me of the ride of the 36/37 topaz. What you do get with cabo is a boat that is built much better than anything in its size range. ( you also pay a hefty premium for it.) Bill Crelock designed the 35 and if you see the boat out of the water you can tell just by looking its going to ride hard. Lou Codega( albemarle/ Carolina classic/regulator.. among others) designed the 31 and he is more of a deep v guy. In 1999 cabo brought Lou Codega in to retool the 35 to give it a little more entry for a better head sea ride. And if you look at older vs newer 35 hulls you can see the changes. More entry foward and midship. I only was on the older hull so I cant say if there was a big difference.

[iguana1]

I have heard it is a VERY wet boat. Even the post 2000 design is, but the pre-2000 is a real soaker. I talked with an ex-owner who said he had too chamois the tower even after bass fishing.

[Big Jay]

WET WET WET WET

The ones with 3116's:

1) Didn't make full speed and Cabo recalled a bunch
2) Blew through heads like a stripper blows through and 8-ball
3) Usually don't make it more than 1-1.5k hours

[reel fishy]

I currently captain a 2005 35' Express. This 35 is the 4th that I have put some hours on. First one was a 1999 EX, then 2002 EX, 2008 FB and now a 2005 EX. Have ran them from the Bahamas to New Hampshire and around to Louisiana. Let's just say I've put a few miles under a 35 Cabo hull.

It's a 35 footer, if you want a super dry head sea boat start looking in the mid 50' range. Want to know why the boat tends to be wet and sometimes pound? Look at the beam forward in the v-berth and all of the room you have down stairs. You have to support all of that interior space with a wide hull surface. Yes it can pound if you try to go too fast for the given conditions. A lot of times all you have to do is back off the throttles a little. If you were to put more deadrise in that hull it would roll so much you would be complaining about that instead of the wetness. It's a well built boat that can take a pounding if necessary. There is always a sacrifice with boats... ride, dryness or useable space.

Cabo has some of the best wiring in the industry. It's easy to maintain with plenty of space to do maintenance in the engine room. The cockpit is more than big enough. I would opt for a rocket launcher over a chair. If you have to chase a fish backward that little boat will surprise you. The only annoying thing is the flappers on the deck drains. I have run them both with and without a tower. The 1999 and 2005 had tuna style and 2002 had a marlin style. The boat ran better with the marlin tower, but I love the height of the tuna style.

Engine choice, bigger is better for the 35. The 1999 and 2002 had 3126B Cats @ 450hp, good reliable engine but a bit slow. The 2008 had Cummins 8.3s @ 540hp, lost one at 80hrs that had to be replaced. The boat really liked the extra HP and burned less fuel than the smaller HP motors. The 2005 has Cat C9s @ 503hp, I like them so far but they are a sooty motor. 2100rpm, 34GPH at 28kts or .8mpg, not too shabby IMHO.

Hope the info helps.

[canyonjunkie]

I have heard it is a VERY wet boat. Even the post 2000 design is, but the pre-2000 is a real soaker. I talked with an ex-owner who said he had too chamois the tower even after bass fishing.

ditto. i may even know the pre-2000 owner he is referring to...

[jawz12]

trust me,that cabo is gonna beat you to death in a sea...that big price tag that rig carries,it should match it's ride,but it doesn't...rides like a **** star,hard and wet !!!
backing off the throttles,well...that's gonna help,but the problem is,when you back off,you're also off plane and creeping along...kinda like how a big grady rides in a sea ...trust me,you can do alot better than that dog,tell him to take a look at the same size carolina classic...i heard when it gets rough,guys in cabos chase the carolina classics,for a ride home...