Warning: This post contains hearsay and unconfirmed rumors but it’s probably all true.
Recently the owners of Cobra Kayaks USA sold out to their sister company, Cobra Kayak of New Zealand (AKA Aquatx). Here’s what we’ve been able to confirm:
- Cobra’s factory here in the US is going to remain in operation so not all kayaks will be shipped here from down under.
- The Cobra fishing team still exists and new boats were given to some team members last week.
- No new designs for 2009.
Now, the buzz is that Cobra is bringing back the previously launched and immediately pulled Pro Fisherman. When this boat was first shown off in 2005 the reception was so lackluster that the kayak was pulled from production and never fully released here. Cobra NZ, however, put the kayak into production and sells it still today. I was there when the kayak was introduced and I can say that if by the standards of the day 4 years ago it was panned then comparing it to today’s offerings wouldn’t be close to fair. It’s got the dimensions right for the current sweetspot – 13′7″ long and about 29″ wide (think Tarpon 140) but the two non-draining cup holders, two non-draining deck “boxes”, lack of a standard A hatch up front, closed rectangle hatch behind the seat and a shorter tank well are a pretty long list of ideas that haven’t worked out.
It’s sad that Cobra Kayaks has had these problems as they were one of the very first companies to embrace kayak angling as a serious niche. We haven’t had any new models since 2006 (Maruader) and I think that is why, at least here in Southern California, the Cobra kayaks are being put down as a 2nd tier kayak brand. The innovations that brands like Hobie and Wilderness Systems are putting into their already very successful lines is a sign of the importance of growth to the A-List brands.
Since no discussion of industry or business can leave out a sentence like “In these troubled economic times” I’ll add one. In these troubled economic times I might expect Cobra to use their lower cost of goods to capture more of the low-budget market. Lower prices on their kayaks by $200 across the board and they’d blow out the doors, I’m sure. We assume a lower cost of goods because of the lack new molds or development but if sales are already in as steep a decline nationally as they are locally then it may be too late to reorganize in that direction.
Nate spent the better part of yesterday and some of today (and some more tomorrow) working on this. The Adventure Island from Hobie Kayaks only comes in red or yellow…or does it? Turns out the factory had produced a few Ivory Dune colored upgrade kits for the brave owners of a Dune Adventure kayak. It involves a fair amount of work and some swearing is apparently mandatory but the result is really awesome.