Wow, I have to stop working so much. Cobalt’s all-new R26 showed up on cobaltboats.com with a press date of August 13, 2026, and here at MyCobalt we completely missed the boat. Same story as when the 296 dropped back in 2008. The factory even ran a teaser at cobaltboats.com/nextchapter that said “Coming August 17.” I was busy. The site is a hobby. That is my only excuse, and it is a thin one.
This is the sterndrive that takes the old R6 slot. The R6 name is gone from the sterndrive and surf books; the only R6 still on cobaltboats.com/models is the R6 Coastal outboard. If you have been waiting for “the next R6,” this is it, just with a new number. The R26 is 26′ 5″ overall with the swim platform. That puts it between the R4 at 24′ 3″ and the R8 at 27′ 10″. The names are not in length order. The new boat is shorter than the R8 and, on the spec sheet, a little heavier. Club people who trailer an 8′ 6″ beam Cobalt already know this width. It is the same 8′ 6″ as the R4, the R8, and the CS boats.
Factory specs
- LOA (w/ swim platform): 26′ 5″
- Beam: 8′ 6″
- Fuel: 68 gal
- Freshwater: 10 gal
- Capacity: Yacht Certified on the current product card and detailed spec list; the August 13, 2026 press release said up to 14 people
- Head: yes (press: Porta-Potti standard)
- Dry weight (varies with options): 6,750 lbs
- Draft, drive up / down: 28″ / 43″
- Engines: Volvo Penta 300–430 hp, MerCruiser 300–430 hp, Monsoon 350–430 hp
I am not picking a fake passenger number. Cobalt’s own pages do not agree with the press on capacity, so you get both. The product page card and the “Boat Certified Capacity” line now print Yacht Certified. The August 13 press, and the earlier notes we had from the spec sheet, said 14 persons. If you are shopping, look at the plate on the boat, not at me.
On paper this is a family-size day boat, not a mini-yacht. Sixty-eight gallons is enough for a long afternoon on Lake Washington and not a Key West run. The 343 I used to knock around the Gulf on was a different animal. The R26 is the size a lot of club members actually use: bow, cockpit, sunpad, extra-long swim platform, a board cubby on the aft port side. Dual Garmin glass cockpit is standard. The press talked about a redesigned Prisma Tower with an electric-fold option and a new Ultra-Lite Hardtop. Head is on the spec card. Press said Porta-Potti is standard, with the usual pump-out, VacuFlush, and sink-console upgrades if you want them. I am not dumping the options catalog. You can read that on the factory page.
Power on the spec list runs Volvo, Merc, or Monsoon, 300 hp on the small Volvo/Merc packages up to 430 hp on all three brands. That is a real range. The 300s will move it; the 430s are the ones the ski-and-board crowd will tick. Kevlar-reinforced hull, composite floor and transom, fiberglass stringers: still a Cobalt. Dry weight is listed at 6,750 lbs, which is actually a bit more than the longer R8’s 6,400. Draft is deeper too (28″ up, 43″ down versus the R8’s 18″ / 35″). If you keep a boat in a skinny slip or a shallow lake, that is the number to stare at, not the marketing line about “the perfect balance of performance and comfort.”
Cobalt president Jason Turner called it a flexible boat with room, effortless control, and a composed ride. Fine. I will believe it when somebody on this club puts one in the water and tells me how it actually runs. The R26 Surf is the sibling, same week, same length, with ballast and Surf Gate. There is no R26 Coastal. If you wanted the outboard in this size, you are still looking at the R6 Coastal.
If somebody on the club gets one of these, I live in the Seattle area and I would love a ride, plus an owner feature with your photos. Send pictures to editor@mycobalt.net. If the R26 means the old boat is coming out of the slip, list it here for $25 (or $50 premium). This post is not a boat for sale. It is me catching up.
Photo: Cobalt Boats. Specs from cobaltboats.com, August 2026.
