Cabo Yachts

my father currently owns a Cabo 40' Express. We have fished 3 seasons on it. It is amazing, the hull wil take anything. In a recent tournament we were able to run 22 kts in 6-8/10 ft seas on the way back, we were really impressed with it.

Hello All.

I posted this thread in General Sportfish Discussion because there wasn't a thread for Cabo Yachts in the Sportfishing Category. Anyone else feel there should be?

Anyway, I am currently in the market for a new or late-model Cabo Sportfisherman. I currently have a 32' Wellcraft Coastal and I'm looking to move up to at least the Cabo 38 Express. However, I'm looking at any Cabo from the 38' Express to the 52' Express and all the Flybridge/Convertible models in between. I may be purchasing the 52' with an uncle who previously owned Hatteras sportfishers, his last being a 65'. The thought of downsizing to a 38 scares him, but the thought of upsizing to a 52' scares my bank account I'd love to hear from anyone who currently owns, works for, sells, or is familar with Cabos and their performance/longevity/fishability/reliability specifications. Any help, info, and/or advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

~CaptainSilva

Anyone???

Hello, Capt. I do not have experience with the new 38' but have ran the 31,32,35,40,45 express and the 48 fly bridge . and I love a Cabo they are set up for the fisherman , every space is well thought out and user friendly . The older Cabos are a little wet but they have fixed that in the later models. Not so much a head sea boat but will eat up any thing else you through at it . They also have a reputation for raising bill fish, and I have to agree they do raise fish. I don't think you will be disappointed in a Cabo especially if you are a fisherman, you will be able to appreciate things others will not about the boat.

Hope this helps a little....
Captain Jeremy Cox

Cabo 43

I am a 2005 Cabo 43 owner who loves his boat. The 43 is Cabo's best boat in a headsea condition because the deep v runs all the way to the stern. It boat handles great whether backing down, turning, etc. Draft is 4'4". I have operated the 40 Cabo and it is also a great boat although it is not as good in a head sea. If you have more questions let me know.
Skip

43 Cabo FB 2005

I own a 43 and love it. Cabo makes a great boat. What questions do you have and I will try to answer. It is powered with twin CR900hp.

I am not an owner but was a fulltime captain on a 2005 45' Cabo. It is a great boat that is built strong, well engineered and thoughtout and excellent electrical. The '45 is also my favorite. It's fast, handles very well, raises fish and is very stable at trolling speeds. We caught quite a few billfish as well as numerous wahoo, Tuna, and Dolphin.

But I have run every model that Cabo makes for seatrials and engine startups and so forth. They all run well and are engineered, designed, and well built. In their size range 32'-52', I cannot think of a competitor that is as good.

How do we get a category for Cabo yachts setup. Doesn't make sense why there isn't one.

Cabo Sportfishing Yachts

Okay I understand. What about the question why there is no Cabo section under sportfishing yachts?

I too have run ALL of the Cabo lineup. My favorite model and the best compromise would be the 45' express. It has all of the features and ammenities of the 52' express yet in a smaller package. The extra space in the 52' is a bit of waisted space IMO. The bridge is larger, the salon is larger, but not much else. It's not usable space. The 45' offers everything you need for serious fishing like a bait freezer, ice maker in one of the fish boxes, plenty of range and speed, and I've run one extensively and it raises billfish.

The trick with keeping the 45' dry is keeping the aft fuel tank full. If you transfer fuel from the foward tank back and keep the aft tank full. The boat is faster (she likes to run with some trim tabs) and dry and rides great. I've run a 45' with C18's around 3,000 NM's and only had to slow down from a 31knot cruise 1 time to 24 knots........

The 38 is a nice riding boat, but I much prefer the helm/bridge layout of the 40'+ expresses with the center helm and wrap around seating.

I just joined and LOVE these forums! I am considering a 200 35 Cabo flybridge with 3208's. Boat is absolutly pristine, engines have about 2000 hrs but are very quiet and smooth. Like the easy access instead of crawling down into a "hell hole."

Thanks..been spending a little time and $ getting her ready, just about there..So far I think she's a great boat.

45 express

Capt J what do you think about a 45 express powered with C12 cats? performance wise and fuel burn. thanks

I've never run one with c12's, however I've run C12's in other boats and they're torquey and run well. I've run a 45 with 660hp 3196 cats, 800 mans, 1050 mans, 1100 common rail mans, and c18 cats. I really like the cats.

with 660hp they cruise at 26 knots, with 800hp mans or series 60 they cruise at 28 knots. with c18 cats or 1100mans 31-32 knots at cruise. With c18's they burn 75 gph, 1100 mans 73gph, 800's around 62gph and c12's should be about the same. The boat should perform well and in a rough head sea they seem to do best at 24 knots. But I think it should be a good combo with the c12's and should cruise around 28 knots I would guess. Just transfer as much fuel from the fwd tank to the rear tank as your burning fuel off of the rear tank.

For fishing the slower idle speed (sog), might be a little better for trolling. Since the C18's spin so much pitch on the propellors I'd have to run 1 engine in gear trolling ballyhoo's and left one in neutral. With c12's you might be able to run both in gear at idle and have better steerage (not that it was bad with one in gear) while trolling

45 cabo

capt J acouple more questions is the 45 cabo a boat you could handle yourself to go out and fish? most of the time I would have others along but I ran into a guy at aboat show who was selling his 43 viking to buy a 40 abo because he had a hard time handling the viking by himself. also are any of the engine packages noticeably quieter than the others or most of the others? I realize an inboard expess is gonna be loud but just trying to find out if there can be less noise while running. thanks

Yes, the MAN's (more fuel efficient and slightly faster) and series 60's are quieter then the CATS.

It depends on what you call fishing. Technically you could run the boat yourself at 45', but how do you run and fish something bigger then a 30' center console yourself? You could fish and run the boat at the same time with a CC. I see no advantage of the maneuverability of a 43' viking and a 40' cabo. They are essentually the same. It's also very unsafe to fish by yourself. Also on any SF express, it takes a lot of steps to walk to the cockpit and down the side of the boat to get to the bow.........

I agree with Capt J.

IMO you face the same boat handling issues with either SF. My boat handles well around the dock and since I have 2 sets of poles at my slip, single handing the boat is not an issue. However, I generally do not go out fishing alone.

For me it is a practical matter. I can wear a pfd, no issue there. However, you can't effectively troll by yourself and the process of dropping the hook, retrieving it and securing it requires movement back and forth to the bow. Someting I feel a bit uneasy with.

One of the reasons a center console or WA is in my future.