History of the company

In 1968, the renowned player of the University of Kansas football team, Pack St. Clair, decided to realize a long dream and converted a small fiberglass factory into a shipyard. So a new brand Cobalt appeared on the market. To achieve success, the young shipbuilder had to learn a lot, because when he started, he had almost no experience in this industry.

The first exhibition, in which the shipyard took part, was a complete failure. The company failed to conclude a single contract.

«My wife had to sit in the salon throughout the show," recalls St Claire. - Every time someone stopped to look at the boat, I knocked on the hull and she held the upholstery poorly attached.

Strange as it may seem, 45 years later the main competitive advantage of Cobalt boats was unsurpassed quality.

The difficulties did not stop Puck, he decided to invest the remaining family savings in the development of the company and focused on the California coast market. At one of the next exhibitions, the shipbuilder decided to go for a trick. To attract the attention of visitors to the event, he put his boat in the service department, which was located opposite the exhibition models.

This was fruitful and by the end of the event Cobalt had signed a contract with its first California dealer. Today, the company's products are sold through a large dealer network of 132 showrooms in the U.S., Canada and other countries.

Status .

In 2017 Malibu Boats bought the shipyard for $130 million and continues to produce Cobalt Boats.

Production .

The new owners did not shut down production and transfer construction to their companies, leaving everything as is. Therefore, the factory located in Neodesh in Kansas continues to work, and hundreds of qualified employees have kept their places. The average annual production is about 2000 boats, and the net profit reaches $140 million.

Model range.

Cobalt is firmly established in the popular pleasure boat segment and produces fiberglass boats from 5.8 to 12 meters in length. In a lineup it is collected more than 20 boats both for fans of active rest, and for fans of quiet pastime on water.

There are bowriders, sports tugboats, models with outboard engine and stationary engine, cockpit cruise boats, boats with hardtop and semi-closed salon.

Features

New boats are much more expensive than similar models of other manufacturers, for the company Cobalt in the first place is quality, not price. At the same time the client gets a boat which is practically not killed, about what eloquently speaks the guarantee offered by firm: 10 years for all details of a deck and hull, 5 years - for the engine and electronics.

High quality is achieved through the independent production of most elements and components, and the company owns many patents.