First, the disclaimer – I’m in no way a professional tester or boat driver. The following represents my own personal observations and opinions. YMMV. No animals were harmed during any testing. Specifications subject to change without prior written notice. Etc., etc., etc.
I must also point out up front that prior to this season, the so-called steering assist system that applies throttle when the engine is idling and the steering wheel is turned fully right/left, was not working properly. That was corrected in the off-season and is working as it should now. I point this out because one of the selling points of the Cobra Jet Steering (CJS) unit is its slow speed handling improvement. More on this in a moment.
For those that haven’t read/seen my post on the installation of the CJS, you might want to take some time to read it. It’s not necessary for the sake of this evaluation, I just think I did a helluva good write up.
(shameless pat on the back). Anyhow, I took the necessary tools with me just in case I needed to remove the CJS.The wife, kid and I spent a week on Lake Thurmond during the 4th of July week and probably put 20+ hours on the engine. The boat was launched and retrieved 8 times. Overall the CJS had no negative effect on the handling of the boat from idling all the way to WFO. Now for some specifics.
My single biggest hope was that the CJS would make a significant difference in the slow speed handling of my Speedster - most notably, when docking and/or driving onto the trailer. This is probably the toughest part for me to evaluate due to the steering assist system now functioning properly. You see….because it wasn’t working correctly last year, I became accustomed to the handling quirkiness and adapted to it. So this year, the boat handles and responds differently than what I’m used to. Having said all that, I’m fairly certain that the CJS does contribute to better slow speed handling, but mostly when one is just off-idle like around 1500rpm.
Backing up, the boat responds much better to the helm. I also felt that when docking and loading onto the trailer, the boat responded a bit better when drifting forward in neutral (I’m not sure what your technique is, but when docking/loading, I “bump” the shifter in & out of “FORWARD” and let the jet thrust drift me forward as I make my steering corrections). Again, the CJS seems to have made a difference, I just can’t say how much is attributable to the CJS.
Mid-throttle (30 to 40 mph) handling felt neutral and there was bit less pressure on the steering wheel (the pressure is due to the torque of the pump impeller and water stream. BTW, propped boats have this same torque but tame it with a trim tab. That trim tab is that little fin looking thing that is attached to the bottom of the drive’s lower unit anti-cavitation plate just aft of the prop.). Response to steering wheel input was crisp and slightly better than before the CJS.
WFO throttle was secure feeling without a hint of touchiness. This tells me that the CJS fins are not in the water which would result in too much response from the helm. I ran WFO for almost 10 minutes and never felt uneasy. Now the jet ski that was trying got outrun me was a different story. I’m sure he was wondering how in the hell that boat, with a bimini top and 3 people in it was keeping up with him! Hee, hee.
Spinouts??? Not a problem. Done very easily at just about any speed. Only the passengers had a problem. BUWHAHAHAHA……
It had no effect on the trim of the boat or (unfortunately) the porpoising my boat exhibits.
My conclusion is that the CJS works pretty much as advertised. It does make an improvement in the handling of the boat. Now…how much improvement it makes is debatable. I’m not keen, however, on the mods I had to make to make the unit fit. In my conversations with the inventor, I’ve learned that he’s made design changes to eliminate the severe interference I encountered. Which is nice to know, but still leaves me with having paid full price for a product that didn’t fit, had to be modified significantly and now looks rather, uh, “homely”. I’m also disappointed that the inventor, upon seeing what I had to do, never bothered to offer me any type of compensation for my troubles or offered to replace mine with the new & improved design. One would think that the last thing one would want is to have one’s buggered up product on display. I mean, if someone was looking to buy a CJS unit and saw mine, I doubt they’d order one. Be that as it may.....
Would I buy one again? Yes, but only at the current price. IMHO I don’t feel the CJS unit makes such a significant improvement to warrant paying more than the current price. However, like I said in the beginning, it's just my opinion.
Hope this helps.
Tom
