We clear the breakwater, meet the Pacific breeze, and suddenly we’ve gone from slick-calm to climbing mountains. There wasn’t much wind when I tested Cabo’s 40 Flybridge, but there was one heckofa swell rolling in from distant storms. Good thing we were in this boat; the Cabo has a solid glass bottom with hullsides stiffened via foam coring from the waterline up. Cored areas are vacuum-bagged, ensuring the optimum resin-to-glass ratio for maximum strength with minimum weight. The decks are also foam cored, as are stringers—except in the engine room. Here, where they take the brunt of 1,400 diesel horses pulling for all they’re worth, the stringers are cored with fir and are beefed up with encapsulated steel plates. All major parts of the boat (there are five, the engineroom, salon, hull, deck, and flybridge,) are fiberglassed together. The hull to deck joint is through-bolted every four inches, sealed with 3M 5200 Adhesive/sealant, and fiberglassed shut. Solid? Damn straight—when you come back down that mountain, this boat lands with a vibration-free kerchunk instead of a slam or a bam.
Electrified
Now check out the wiring on this boat. Look behind the helm, in the engineroom, and on the bridgedeck. When I laid my eyeball on these places I was psyched to find that the 40 holds with Cabo’s past practice of building insanely good wiring harnesses. Wires on this boat are as straight as a ramrod, and are loomed and supported so tightly you could do chin-ups off of them. Added bonus: they’re all clearly labeled, too. The same goes for the wires behind the panel in the salon, which, by the way, are easy to get to since Cabo secures it with a latch instead of the commonly used screws.
Flip up one of the resin-transfer molded (RTM) hatches, next—yes, these RTMs have ideal resin-to-fiberglass ratios, as well as being fully finished inside and out—and you’ll discover they all swing up easily, supported by gas-assist struts. One exception: the integrated fishbox hatches. Since these suckers are big and heavy, there’s a pair of struts on ‘em. In other words, they may be heavy, but you’ll never know it.
More about those fishboxes: they’re large enough to eat a pair of 100-pound bluefins, and they’re thoroughly insulated as well. How are you going to fill them? By utilizing the wide-open cockpit and its accouterments, like a 48 gallon lighted livewell. You’ve struck blood? Good deal; now rinse the cockpit down with the raw water washdown, which is equipped with quick-disconnect fittings.
Energized
The 40’s performance is on-par with most boats of this class with a slight edge when it comes to efficiency. At a fast cruise it’ll get 0.8 MPG, which is a hair better then most 40’ convertibles. And that’s while moving along at 36.6-mph. Oppose the engines, and this boat spins in its own length. I also liked how it handled in reverse, tracking straight without much rudder chatter or vibration. Oops—one negative note here, the transom door let in a lot of water when I backed down. Adding a gasket would help.
Here’s a surprise: you can check out all of these performance attributes in water just 3’5” deep. That’s half a foot less then most boats in this class require, thanks to a pair of prop pockets that bring shaft angle down and the props up. Ready to cruise over to the islands? Those shallow Bahamian channels are no problem, mon—nor are those big Pacific ocean rollers.
Cabo's site is http://www.caboyachts.com
LOA – 42’10”
Beam – 15’9”
Draft – 3’5”
Dry weight – 32,000
Fuel capacity – 550
Max. HP – 1,400
Price – About three quarter mil.
Observed performance notes w/5 people and half load fuel, twin 700 HP Caterpillar C-12 diesel inboards, swinging 26” x 32” four bladed nibral props:
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Cruise RPM
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Speed in MPH
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Gallons per hour
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Miles per gallon
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Slow cruise/1800
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30.2
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38.8
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0.8
|
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Fast cruise/2100
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36.6
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50.2
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0.8
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Wide open throttle/2350
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40.8
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66.2
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0.6
|
|
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| The Cabo 40 Convertible: Ahhh, just look at that cockpit. |
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