They say you can’t please all the people all the time, but you might be able to toss that saying overboard if those people are pleasure boaters and the boat you’re talking about is the new Formula 360 CBR. In fact, unless you can find a boater who doesn’t like maximum luxury, spiffy performance, sleek lines, and day-boating and weekending abilities all rolled into one, making someone “pleased” will probably be an understatement.
The 360 CBR is termed a crossover boat (CBR stands for Crossover Bowrider), because it crosses so many of the usual boating borders. The biggest is its aptitude as both a day-boat and as a cabin boat. With a bow cockpit forward and an open aft cockpit the day-boating abilities are obvious, but you’ll have to dig a bit deeper to discover its overnighting accommodations. When we walked through the boat at the Annapolis Powerboat Show, it became apparent Formula had disregarded the old-school bowrider playbook as we walked up to the bow cockpit. Rather than a split helm station with a center fold-over windshield, we went through a walkthrough along the port side. This allows Formula to dramatically expand the helm console both forward and athwartships beyond the centerline.
Step down below, and you’ll discover that they expanded the accommodations even further by carving out a mid-cabin berth under the helmdeck, adding additional space aft of the galley, settee, and head compartment. And note that this head is no shoe-horn-in version; it’s transverse, full height (there’s six feet, two inches of headroom down below), and has a shower.
Another red line this boat crosses is between pleasure boat and performance boat—especially if you redline those engines. The 360 CBR comes in both twin sterndrive and twin or triple outboard flavors, ranging from a total of 600 to 900 horsepower. Even with a middle-of-the-road power choice (a pair of 380-hp MerCruiser sterndrives) the boat boasts a cruising speed of over 40 mph and pushes near the 50-mph mark at wide open. Jump up to triple outboards, nail the throttles, and you’ll be crossing the Bay at speeds that would earn you a ticket if you were crossing via the Bay Bridge.
Ready to break through yet another barrier, this time between bowrider and luxury boat? Again, the Formula 360 CBR makes the crossing with aplomb. Plop down in any of the contoured multi-density foam-filled seats, and you’ll naturally find a drink holder close at hand. Plop down at the helm, on the cockpit lounge, or even on the head, and you’ll also find a wireless cell phone charger within reach. And you won’t be perspiring during all that plopping, because you can enjoy the cool breeze of air conditioning not only in the cabin but also on the helmdeck. When it’s time for stretching out you’ll find that an entire crowd can kick back, too. The bow cockpit can be cushion-filled to turn into a “playpen,” there’s a lounger built into the passenger’s side of the helmdeck, the cockpit dinette table can be lowered and filler cushions added to convert into a gigantic lounger, and the seatback of the aft cockpit lounger folds back to expand the relaxation zone even more.
While we’ll leave it up to you to determine if the boat’s racy graphics and curvaceous lines are pleasing to the eye, we guarantee that taking a close look at the detail work will be. Those graphics provide a great example of why, because they aren’t like those found on other hullsides. Formula uses a unique application of gelcoat, pigments, and Imron clearcoat, which you can personalize to match your own tastes. Or, check out the way the cockpit wet bar unit is finished. The grab rail is blind-fastened, the refrigerator frame is inset into a recess, and the flush-fastened hatch swings up on friction hinges.
Sure, there’s bound to be a few curmudgeonly captains out there who won’t find the 360 CBR pleasing. There are also some folks walking the face of this planet who don’t like neither Old Bay nor steamed crabs (shudder!). The rest of us, however, would be beyond pleased to cross over to the 360 CBR Crossover Bowrider.
By Lenny Rudow
Formula 360 CBR Specifications:
LOA: 36’0”
Beam: 11’3”
Draft (max. with sterndrives): 3’6”
Displacement (approx., with sterndrives): 18,000 lbs.
Transom Deadrise: 21 degrees
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal. with sterndrives; 275 with outboards)
Water Capacity: 36 gal.
Max HP: 36
For more information, check out PropTalk supporter Formula Boats at formulaboats.com, or call (260) 724-9111).