Speedmaster Two Drives

[bryanspeedracer]

Anyone know anything about the speedmaster two drives? How do they hold up? What kind of horsepower can they reliably take?

Thanks- Bryan

[Biggus]

Parts for the Speedy II are pretty much non existant..

[Biggus]

Does you new boat have TRS drives?

[Comanche3Six]

I have seen them take 550 reliably. They take a higher X dimension than the TRS. They were scarce 10 years ago.

[bryanspeedracer]

ouch...

I just bought a 1984 Fountain 10 meter. It has no. 2's that were rebuilt by speedmasters in Fla. about a year ago. I have no reason to get rid of them, I'm just looking ahead.

[Biggus]

If they are fresh you should be ok as long as you don't put too much power through them and don't hit anything.

Last year I found a fantastic deal on a pair of Speedy II's (my TG has TRS drives) but I passed because you could not even get a propshaft or gear set for them.

What are you going to run for power? Did the boat come without motors or were they just in need of replacement.

I had a 10M ICBM several years ago and repowered it with a pair of 454HO crate motors from 1800RUNSNEW. They worked out great, and the boat ran 72 on the Nordscog speedo.

Your Speedy II's would hold up real well with similar power.

Post some pics, Love the project boats!

Kurt

[KAAMA]

You can have gears made up for just about any drive---it's just that it will cost you some $$$. Chris Merrill of Merrill Marine in Southbend, IN had to have some made up for his #4SSM's.

Merrill Marine 574-272-1697

[bryanspeedracer]

Thanks guys.

How do I post a photo?

[phughes69]

Ok I have a question about the speedmaster IIs. What makes them better than a TRS drive? I know that it uses the TRS upper, but what is the difference between the TRS lower and the Speedmaster II lower ( other than the shape and prop)

[Ed]

Believe it or not...The TRS lower unit can take more horsepower than the Speedmaster lower unit. The upper halfs of the TRS/Speedmaster ll are the same. The hydrodynamics limit of the TRS is in the high seventies, at best, before blowout(excessive air entering the slipstream). Of course, you won't notice this on a twin application and therefore you can continue on past that speed range, no problem...you simply will need an excess amount of horsepower & prop-pitch(to compensate for the cavitation)to achieve this. Nose-cones can help, but then you are supplying a larger volume of water to the exsisting propeller size, which calls for a lower pitch propeller(s) to compensate. What you are approaching is the Speedmaster effect & efficiency(and therefore a higher volume of water flow), which is the reason a Speedmaster spins a much lower pitch size than a non-Speedmaster gearcase shape. The Speedy ll is superior, hydrodynamically, but is weaker & is never taken full advantage of properly, X-dimension-wise, as most people simply bolt them up to their exsisting TRS drive with it's low X. A Speedmaster & Speedmaster propeller that is completely submerged is very inefficient. All Speedmasters are designed for much higher X-dimensions(surfacing) which is the reason that Speedmaster propellers are also a much larger diameter as well. The only "Touch With Realty" in a properly set up Speedmaster boat is its skegs & its large diameter propeller blades that are in the water. This is the reason all Speedmaster skegs are so large & should never be cut down or cut off. This goes for outboard installations as well. If you want a gauranteed 10 m.p.h. speed/efficiency(minimum) increase...swap everything out for Bravos. Then, if you want more speed, install the newest Bravo One XR's(that have the low-water pick-ups like Speedmasters) at a higher X-dimension(a minimum of 18 1/2"), combined with the Bravo One four-blade propellers, & go another 4-6 m.p.h faster...I could go on & on...Hope this helps. Ed