A friend of mine has a 2003 292 Islander with a 496HO in it. Over the summer he blew up the drive (didn't get the details) and is having it replaced this winter. It currently has either an X or XR drive on it, does this make sense? Can he replace it with a bravo 1 drive?

It Would have most likely had an X drive on it, yes you can put a std. bravo on it