Cobra Super Ultimate Steering Install and Review

[Ando]

After owning my 08 AR230 for 8 months I decided to upgrade the steering.
The decision about which system to get was hard until I talked to Jeff at Cobra Jet steering.
A couple of emails back and forth with Jeff and I confident to place my order for Cobra Super Ultimate Steering and the EZ locks.
I was already happy and pleased with the purchase just from his customer service.
Got the product in, emailed Jeff to verify install and next thing I know he called me. I was amazed at how patient and carrying he is.
Got everything installed same day and ready for the water.

Now let me tell you guys this. When I first got the boat I was afraid of boat ramps and stayed away until it cleared up.
After 8 months I felt fairly confident in my skills, but still felt like I was really concentrating hard and had no room for mistake when docking in crowded ramps.
I was constantly fighting to keep my boat straight in no wake mode. I would look back and see a snake trail behind me. Kind of embarrassing especially when friends on board. Until now most of my boat experience was at 6000-10000rpm and I would simply avoid slow speeds as I hated the steering.

After my first time on the water all I can say wow! It's like I got a new boat. No wake mode, no problem, throttle only forward no problem, docking, no problem.
Now I enjoy slow speed more then anything. I can just turn on no wake mode and cruise around for hours.
I did my first parallel docking Don't care anymore if the ramp is crowded or not. The steering just responds back to what I do instantly.
Now I enjoy docking instead of stressing over it. I come in with a smile and get it at first attempt.
My friends like look at you all pro now. Obviously I didnt' tell them I added steering assist lol.
It turns on a dime compared to no fins. 180 turn is instant.
This is how it should came from the factory!

Let me tell you this is a MUST upgrade. If you are a new owner like me get comfortable the first few months but eventually you do need this.
You can never have enough steering and control on your boat.

As for the EZ locks man it's so easy I don't know why I waited. A must as well, no excuses!


Jeff thank you for a great product and the support you give to the community. Thank you for making my jet boat more enjoyable!

 

[Ronnie]

You toughed it out a lot longer than I. I ordered the original cobra jet fins after the maiden voyage on my first Yamaha Jet boat, an 06 SX 230 HO. If they didn’t improve slow speed steering I was ready to sell the boat within 2 weeks of buying it.

You may want to check out fangs to improve your steering responsiveness in reverse.

 

[Ando]

You toughed it out a lot longer than I. I ordered the original cobra jet fins after the maiden voyage on my first Yamaha Jet boat, an 06 SX 230 HO. If they didn’t improve slow speed steering I was ready to sell the boat within 2 weeks of buying it.

You may want to check out fangs to improve your steering responsiveness in reverse.

Getting it right away is cheating.
You want to really get better without it so when you add the fins you become pro and take it to another level.
Everything is much easier now since I got the basics down without the fins

 

[Ronnie]

Getting it right away is cheating.
You want to really get better without it so when you add the fins you become pro and take it to another level.
Everything is much easier now since I got the basics down without the fins

Agreed in a perfect world where I could boat all of the time And I’m the only driver I would have gone without the fins but I recognize that I can only dedicate a limited amount of my time to boating so i went for the crutch.

Besides hoping that any guest drivers or even my wife and son would be able to pick up driving finless quickly is not my idea of a plan or strategy for safely getting out from behind the wheel and possibly behind the boat tubing or wake boarding. The last thing I want to see is my boat coming at me with a driver that is not comfortable driving it slowly when I am floating in the water.

 

[JetBoatPenguin]

Ronnie,
you had the exact experience I felt after my 1st and 2nd run with my stock AR240. I was thinking after the first run . . . maybe I'll switch to a Moomba. Talked myself into being patient. The 2nd time out was complicated that my starboard reverse bucket dropped the fastening screws and was only holding on via the throttle cable (bucket saved though). Putting it in the slip was interesting - especially when you expected reverse to occur and one engine shot forward. It did spin the boat and it ended up being ok as I put the boat in stern first. After installing the Cobra Jet Steering Ultimates I felt much better about the steering, just like you Ando. Ez-locks as well. Jeff provided great insight as well and solid customer service and responsiveness . . . even when a hurricane was bearing down in the direction of FL.

Ando, I personally wouldn't have lasted 8 months without the CJS upgrade. I would have sold it and bought a new boat . . . mainly because when others drive the boat . . . it needs to be more intuitive (translated - my 15 yr old driving the boat with his friends).

 

[nawlinstornado]

Agreed in a perfect world where I could boat all of the time And I’m the only driver I would have gone without the fins but I recognize that I can only dedicate a limited amount of my time to boating so i went for the crutch.

Besides hoping that any guest drivers or even my wife and son would be able to pick up driving finless quickly is not my idea of a plan or strategy for safely getting out from behind the wheel and possibly behind the boat tubing or wake boarding. The last thing I want to see is my boat coming at me with a driver that is not comfortable driving it slowly when I am floating in the water.

Agreed with this 100%. After one day without, I was doing pretty well. But I want to be able to hand over control to less-experienced or less-skillful drivers. Jeff convinced me yesterday morning. So mine are on order, too. Actually, he put them in the mail yesterday and USPS tracking says they will be here Saturday! I'm doing my break-in service Sunday morning and I'll install these while I'm at it. Too bad my trim tabs won't be here so I can do it all at once.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Let me say something here, people who have never driven a jet boat with MY super magnum or super ultimate steering on it really have no idea. Slow speed assistance is easy to provide wayyyy back that was the huge complaint and the reason jet boats got no respect. People laughed at them.
Even today they are registered in the P W C class on the N A D A web page. These are NOT crutches or training wheels for slow speed steering for novices who can not handle the boats.
This is extreme performance steering for all speeds and for all conditions they add in steering capabilities that no stock jet boat has, @swatski showed you that with a few of his videos like the S turn with no thrust or the 180 turn at W O T in place and with very little speed bleed off.

Even the factory rudder can't hold a turn while rapidly decelerating or off power.
So if you don't want extreme performance steering for your boat and all you want is at the dock steering you can do that as well just set the steering in off plane settings where the fins only help when the boat is off plane.
If you want precise control all the time in all conditions and for watersport control even slaloms skiing or tubing , Then by all means get one of my the patented steering system that will provide you with all that at a great price, from the innovator of after market jet boat and p w c steering. Making drivers smile and jet boats steer since 2001. the 24 foot boat in this video was trying the first version of the spring loaded steering on a set of original magnum 16x years ago,

. Note how close the markers are. in this video. Also the operator of the boat in this video was a retired customer who lived close by and volunteered to test the steering on his personal boat. I felt having a boat owner do the testing would better represent an average person . Remember these words " extreme performance steering " nothing less. So don't let a few people try to convince you that it's all about not being a competent boat operator, it's all about making it easy and stepping outside the normal realm of jet boat capabilities as well as shortcomings using the words wow rather that oh no or worse when operating your boat.

 

[Ando]

I think i can handle the boat a lot better now since i had it soo long without fins.
With fins i feel like untouchable.

I was in this marina as you see almost one way through for our boats. Ver tight space when there is oncoming boat. I was in there with only throttle forward or no wake mode when i wanted to pass kayakers.

The best part is I didnt even sweet or fight with steering. I even did 180 in there.

I love the Cobra fins. When you get is all a choice and will be different from person to person. I am the main driver of my boat.

 

[dzeppos]

See that you were in Naples Long Beach. Where did you launch from? What’s the best marina there ?

 

[Ando]

Launch it from South Shore by Queen Marry

See that you were in Naples Long Beach. Where did you launch from? What’s the best marina there ?

 

[nawlinstornado]

I installed my Super Magnum AK-19 and FANGS yesterday. Installation was relatively smooth. I'm curious if there was a change in the design of the anode or a change in the length of the anode bolts for the 2019 model year. The instructions from Jeff reused the anode bolts to attach the relocation brackets, but the factory bolts were too short to reach the nylon in the lock nut. I ended up making a small modification to the anode. Other than that, the install went smoothly. I measured, remeasured, and measured again to get the jets aligned - the starboard jet was off by 3 turns! Can't wait to take it out in the water next weekend and experience the change.

Jeff, thanks for getting the kit in the mail so fast!

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I actually cover that in the email I send with the tracking number I also send a picture , in some cases the emails get blocked due to all the attachments and photos in them,
For anyone else, here is the paragraph copied from the email I send giving you info to help you with the install.

"When you relocate the anode place the flat side of the anode against the new brackets to allow for the original bolts to protrude through sufficiently to attach the nuts. I send nylock nuts but in this application they are really not needed so do not be concerned if only 3 or 4 threads go into the nut . Remember the original bolts will now be used to hold the anode to the new brackets and the new SHORTER BOLTS with WASHERS will hold the new brackets to the pump! " This is the picture of the relocated anode that I send in the email so you can see the anode is turned around with the castings on the outside .

 

[nawlinstornado]

I actually cover that in the email I send with the tracking number I also send a picture , in some cases the emails get blocked due to all the attachments and photos in them,
For anyone else, here is the paragraph copied from the email I send giving you info to help you with the install.

"When you relocate the anode place the flat side of the anode against the new brackets to allow for the original bolts to protrude through sufficiently to attach the nuts. I send nylock nuts but in this application they are really not needed so do not be concerned if only 3 or 4 threads go into the nut . Remember the original bolts will now be used to hold the anode to the new brackets and the new SHORTER BOLTS with WASHERS will hold the new brackets to the pump! " This is the picture of the relocated anode that I send in the email so you can see the anode is turned around with the castings on the outside .

Yeah, I saw that. But I didn't like it, so I just made a small modification to allow the bolt to protrude a little more. Cleared an extra 2 threads and the nylock worked perfectly.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Ok then but the way you wrote it up it did not mention that .

I installed my Super Magnum AK-19 and FANGS yesterday. Installation was relatively smooth. I'm curious if there was a change in the design of the anode or a change in the length of the anode bolts for the 2019 model year. The instructions from Jeff reused the anode bolts to attach the relocation brackets, but the factory bolts were too short to reach the nylon in the lock nut. I ended up making a small modification to the anode. Other than that, the install went smoothly. I measured, remeasured, and measured again to get the jets aligned - the starboard jet was off by 3 turns! Can't wait to take it out in the water next weekend and experience the change.

 

[nawlinstornado]

Ok then but the way you wrote it up it did not mention that .

Hey, man. Take it easy on me. I only had one cup of coffee this morning so I'm not firing on both engines. Wasn't beating up your product, and I even thanked you for getting it out quick.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Just making sure people don't get confused ! if it is done the way I explain it in the directions there is no problem, if you want to modify your anode that is up to you but I try to keep it simple and uniform .

 

[redeye5]

Just bought the Super Ultimates, thank you Jeff for continuing the development of this steering mechanism, I'm a huge fan.

I've had the Cobra Fins since circa 2003 on my LS2000 and when I upgraded to my 2011 SX240 I added the original Venom Ultimate system and EZ locks almost right away, the larger Fangs about a year ago. Really excited about the upgrade since slow speed maneuverability is super important to me. In addition to leisure boating, wakeboarding, and tubing I also use the boat to single engine troll for Salmon on Lake Michigan so having the fins was an incredible help. I'm sure the larger surface area of the Supers is going to give me even more control!

 

[mrwunsch]

This is an old post, so I'm not sure what kind of response I'll get, but anyone with the Cobra Super Ultimate Steering pull people on tubes? I have the competitor Thrust Vector XL fins on my 2007 230 SX HO, and the spray hits tubers right in the face. I have lengthened tow rope by another 25', which helped marginally. Wondering if the Cobra Jet system would help this? Or maybe it's just a byproduct of the jet boat itself?