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Cabo Yachts

Discussion in 'Cabo Yacht' started by SportFishdaze, Sep 18, 2005.

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  1. Mike Tugboat

    Mike Tugboat New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2011
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    Location:
    Bradenton, FL
    I own a 1995 35 Cabo Flybridge, AWESOME ! Love the boat, and great to work on. Highest quality boat and equipment you can find. Owned it a year and using all the time. Great running boat.
  2. Islanddoc5

    Islanddoc5 New Member

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    Feb 17, 2014
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    Location:
    Jamestown Rhode Island
    Question for Cabo 35 flybridge owners

    Question for Cabo 35 flybridge owners

    I am considering purchasing one of these and have admired the design and quality construction. My only concern is the reputation for very high fuel burn. Can an owner give me an idea of the fuel burn with the cats and the later common rail cummins engines?

    Thanks,

    Islanddoc5
  3. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    The engine burns virtually the same GPH no matter what boat you put it in if you're running them all at 80% load and they're all propped to achieve rated max rpm's. I think a pair of 3208's 425hp burn around 35 gph at cruise if I remember correctly, which is around 25 knots or so in the 35' FB. Most all of the 35's I ran had 3126's..... or c7's... with c7's at 28.6 knots they burn 31.6 gph......I don't think they burn a lot of fuel....if you look at gpm compared to similar boats.....

    I took a 35' Cabo FB from Fort Lauderdale to Placencia, Belize one time. They're a great little boat......a touch wet, but stable especially at trolling speeds for a 35' FB.

    Here are a bunch of CABO boat tests for all of the various models with fuel burn:
    http://media.channelblade.com/EProWebsiteMedia/2964/Std_Sea_Trial_C32X-08_CAT_C7.xls.pdf

    There are a bunch of different engine tests for the 35' express, just figure the same rpm, same fuel burn and 1-2 knots slower for the FB boat.
  4. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Miami
    I got a call this afternoon from a buddy of mine who is in the market for a used CABO, he asked me when did Cabo build there last CABO? I couldn't find an answer on Google...anybody know? He doesn't want a Cabo built by Brunswick.
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Prior to Jan 1st, 2012. Jan 1st, 2012 was when operations were switched to Hatteras. I wouldn't worry about a Hatteras built boat either however. I believe Brunswick bought Cabo in the beginning of 2011. I'd have to look at old invoices, but nothing changed with their build quality or build from the old owners to Brunswick while they were built in Adelanto,CA. Brunswick bought Cabo February 2006.
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2015
  6. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    J, I wish you'd check....seems like they changed hands years earlier than that. 2006 seems like a better time frame.
  7. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Location:
    Dana Point, Ca
  8. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Thanks PacBlue, 2006 is my cut off date for Cabo's then.
  9. MBY

    MBY Senior Member

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    Location:
    Newport Beach, CA
    February 15 2006 was the official date Cabo changed hands to Brunswick. They built boats in Adelanto until 2010 then the molds were moved to New Bern. They never built a flybridge boat in New Bern.

    If you want a Cabo built the way it was before the Brunswick takeover your cutoff date is early 07.
  10. NEO56

    NEO56 Member

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    Thanks Captain CABO.
  11. jim needham

    jim needham New Member

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    May 1, 2020
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    Location:
    Dana Point Harbor, CA.
    I recently discovered a problem with my 2004 Cabo Struts. Any comments by other owners??

    Thanks for reply
  12. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    UMMMM........What kind of problem?
  13. CaboFly

    CaboFly Member

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    Aug 24, 2018
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    Location:
    Seattle
    I have heard of a few Cabo's having an issue with the struts regarding a bad alloy from the foundry that built them. The pics I have seen showed visible electrolysis and over time cracking. I was unaware of this issue until recently and I noted on the two folks that commented had boats in that 2003-2005 era. I think it is a pretty rare issue.
  14. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    I think they used a local foundry on a lot of their cast bronze parts, a bit of an unusual approach, maybe these guys if my memory serves me right:

    http://www.montclairbronze.com/
  15. jim needham

    jim needham New Member

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    May 1, 2020
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    Dana Point Harbor, CA.
    Thanks for replies! I am in touch with Mt.Clair Bronze.inc.
  16. Scott Roush

    Scott Roush New Member

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    Nov 2, 2019
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    Location:
    Pompano Beach, FL
    Looking at a 2001 45’ Cabo Express with Man 800’s any thing I should be worried about or looking for. Any know problems with the year or engines. Keep on hearing about “man grenades”, where these issues with the mans during specific years or models. Today heard about Cabo’s being notorious for Gelcoat crazing, what’s their core material? Still doing a lot of research, anyone know of a good site for more info on how these where built. Thanks
  17. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Cabo's are some of the best built boats, bar none. The 45' is a great running boat and one of my favorites. No issues with the MAN 800's as well as they're maintained, the 45 will/should cruise at 28.5 knots when trimmed properly at cruise. They like the aft fuel tank kept full and transfering the bow tank as you burn off the aft tank, like a little bit of trim tab at cruise. Cabo 45' hulls are not cored as far as I know. Some Cabo's would get a little gel coat crazing near the helm windows. Hull was redesigned around 2001. The newer hull held 800 gallons of fuel, the older hull held 600 gallons.
  18. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    Sardinia
    That's what I've got on my boat.
    V8/800 engines are the very last of the old school MANs, 100% mechanical.
    Solid stuff, almost as good as the newer common rail engines but without the annoying occasional sensor faults, hours count going nuts, etc. associated with them.
    What gearbox are they mated to?
    ZF350 was the most popular combo, which according to a ZF chief engineer is one of their best (if not their absolute best) gearboxes ever.

    Usual maintenance aside, you should check the following:
    - injectors should be pulled and tested every thousand hours (though once you pull them out, it's also worth replacing their nozzles even if still in decent conditions, for not much more money - that's what I did, anyway);
    - heat exchangers and aftercoolers should be cleaned every 2 or 3 years/400 hours, though to some extent that also depends on where the boat is being used. Check also that there's no leaks around the side round covers of the HE, particularly those on the left side.
    - valves should be registered every 400/500 hours.
    - last but not least, it's worth mentioning that the aftercooler is rather peculiar. In a nutshell, it's split into two sections: one of them feeded by the close cooling liquid, and the other by raw water. But the latter, which is the most important, is controlled by a valve that allows raw water to circulate only when sensing turbo pressure. In other words, the aftercooler is designed to actually warm rather than cool the air, when the engine is spinning at low rpm/load (in order to optimize combustion and reduce smoke). Which is all well and good, but only as long as that pressure-sensitive valve is not stuck, otherwise air is not cooled as it should, north of 1400rpm or so, which is when the aftercooler really matters.

    Should you go ahead and seatrial the boat, I for one would be interested to hear your impressions on the powerplant.
    Good luck!
  19. motoryachtlover

    motoryachtlover Senior Member

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    I have 12 years with V10 820s and would add the following. I had to replace the torsional couplers on mine (25K for both Labor and materials). One went apart offshore of course. I think most on this forum find my maintenance regimen extreme but it has served me well. That being said I would budget to send the fuel pumps off for a reconditioning (8K ea if nothing is wrong). My experience leads me to believe turbo reconditioning could be in the somewhat near future. I had mine blueprinted and boost went up and EGT went down. Also had my injector lines replaced as well. I do my 1000 hr service every 3 years. I never hear that the heat exchanger looks clogged or scaled but I am told the real reason to do this every 3 years or so is to lubricate where some dissimilar metals touch. I might not have that exactly right. Mapism/others will correct me. Mapism’s knowledge far exceeds mine but I had the ZF 350’s and one of mine cracked its case (no hard strikes). The 350s are no longer made so I had both changed to 360s. I was told that the 350s were not well thought of but that is just my experience so perhaps my experience there is an outlier. Lastly the Mangrenade thing has been way overdone. MANs are just like all engines manufacturers in that they have some good ones and some crappy ones. Yes they are expensive to maintain but they have been very reliable for me over my ownership. Good luck and don’t be scared of the MANs.
  20. mapism

    mapism Senior Member

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    MYlover, if you don't mind me asking, what ballpark hours had you clocked by the time you had:
    1) the torsional damper falling apart?
    2) HP pumps and turbos needing reconditioning?
    3) the ZF350 cracked?

    1 & 2 sound like pretty high hours items, and Scott Roush only mentioned the year but not the engines usage, in the boat he's considering.

    Ref. the gearbox instead, I am sorry and surprised to hear of the problem you experienced.
    Even if your V10s are a bit more powerful and torquey than the V8s, they are still well within the 900hp @ 2300rpm the ZF350 are rated for.
    Did you possibly run the engines under heavy load at less than the max rated rpm?
    The reason why I am asking is that the output of your engines is supposed to be in the 500 to 600hp ballpark, when spinning at 2000rpm at the typical prop demand curve, but they can actually produce almost 800 hp already starting from 2000 rpm, if that's what the boat (hence the props) demand. That can be due to fouling, heavily loaded boat, sea conditions, whatever.
    Now, while this is still within the engines capabilities and therefore "tolerable", at least as long as the engines aren't kept running forever in these conditions, it can quickly become critical for the gearbox.
    In fact, the same gearbox rated for 900hp at 2300 rpm forever could well be unable to sustain 800hp or so at 2000 rpm, for more than a very short time.
    Not saying that this is what happened to your gearbox, of course.
    I don't think there's a way to know for sure, as I suppose also your mechanic told you. I'm just trying an educated guess.
    It could also have been a defective case, though that would have more likely surfaced relatively soon.
    And since you say that the gearbox was already phased out by the time it happened, I suppose it was after some years (and hours).