Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

has anyone ever tried extension boxes on a cafe racer with bravo drives. if so with success or failure or no change in ride or performance. also what brand, stellings or imco boxes.

Call Tres at Martin Offshore! He would know!

just installed stellings trs to bravo boxes on my cafe per stellings and the boat slowed down at least 12 miles per hour. blocked the transom, raised the boxes 3 inches, and installed imco 2 inch shorties. got the 12mph back plus some. still trying props to know exactly how much. stellings realy screwed up on thier measurments but one good thing is that with the drive shafts the motors dont have to be raised. would have been alot easyier if i hade not used 5200 on original install. boat handles great with new setup.

I've been thinking about doing the same thing to my Cafe...

a smith, can you post or email pics of your configuration? Are the boxes built wrong or is the x dimension that Stellings gave you wrong? What did they have to say about your particular install?

I also spoke to Tres and he thought the addition of boxes would be an improvement.

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sean, what kind of improvements did tres say you should see. im trying to get as much info as possible because of the cost of the stellings boxes. i guess imco has boxes also at about 1/2 the price. what brand are you thinking about?? thanks doug
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Not to step on your thread........But....I have been thinking about this for my Bullet....anybody tried it ?
Thanks

sean when i ordered the boxes from stellings randy told me that they had sold them to another cig owner and that he didnt pick up or lose any speed but the handling had improved. so i went into the project expecting to have to buy imco shortys to pick up, but did not expect to lose 12 mph. after talking to tres we figured out that the x demenision needed to go up 5 inches. so with the imcos i still needed to go up 3 inches. the stellings boxes are supposed to be direct replacements and bolt to the same hole that the trs gimbals came out of. if you do that you will be as disapointed as i was. with that being said it was a pretty easy fix once i pulled everything back apart. take a trs gimbal gasket raise it 3 inches above the old holes and redrill. you will have to block the bottom of the transom at least 3 inches so the bottom two bolts will have somthing bolt to which is the hardest part but still not to bad. worst part of the whole deal is just having to do it twice. stellings knows that there is a problem with the boxes and will give you a very good deal if you ask. i got a very good deal on mine.just make sure you raise them on the transom. i was only going to go up 2 inches but like tres said if its too far you can always space them down. its a whole lot harder to go up. mine just barley blows out the props when getting on plane. i am going to leave them where they are. i will try to post pictures later this week

X Dimension off FIVE INCHES
 

This is HUGE amount!!

I would expect an inch at most.

Somebody did not know what they were doing (like taking the dimension off the wrong part of the transom) when they told you that. I would be mad as heck.

Glad it turned out OK.

Wannabe

a smith,

thanks for the reply...it sounds like they need to redesign those boxes...

the funny thing is, they show them in their ads in Powerboat...ther must be alot of pissed off people out there...

what affect does raising the x have on the drive shaft angle and universals?

sean when i put the boxes on the driveshafts had a downward angle to the boxes. could not find my angle gauge to check but it looked like more than what mercury calls for, but i figured stellings new what they were doing. when i raised the boxes up the 3 inches i needed it put the drive shafts perfectly level. where they should be. as to the bunch of pissed off people when i talked to stellings about a month ago about my problem to ask them if any one else hade the same problem they told me they had only sold a couple of sets.

Have a friend on Lake Lanier w/'94 Cafe. He put Imco 12" boxes w/a 1" rise on, running Imco extreme drives w2" shorties. He saw a dramatic(his words) improvement in handling, and gained about 5mph.

If you need I can pick his brain more.

Greg

i would like to speak with him. thanks for the help!!!
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Greg,

Is that the Cafe with the red bottom that you refer to ?

still need advice.. thanks

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

Anyone have any more updates on these?

Allan how's your running? Can you give us any performance comparisons?

I've been contemplating many options as I will be completely repowering this winter...

The boat was originally a TRS boat and I'm leaning towards 496HO packages with XR drives.

1. My real dilema is that I would prefer to leave the transom alone...no cutting or filling...

2. I'd also like to leave the engines where they are...and hve driveshafts fabbed.

Anyone have a number for Stellings?

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

FYI,

I spoke to Randy at Stellings...he's a very nice and helpful guy.

He tells me they now sell the TRS to Bravo box without the holes drilled on the transom side allowing you to set the X at whatever height you want.

I think this should alleviate any X-dimension issues provided you don't have to go up too high?

And...im also wondering about the driveshaft angle...Rand tells me Mercury says it should not exceed 8 degress...

Anyone have any thoughts?

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

I'am running the stellings ext box on a single step fountain , and I also think that the X -is to low and the boxes are as high as they can go. I am looking at putting on minis two drives and working from there. What does your boat have for a x dem now?

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

why not just give the konrad set up a try, thats what im doing........ i think....

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

I've thought about it too...and I'm sure Konrad build a great product but in the end, i'd like to stay with mercury...

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

I think the Konrad has its calling with the TG guys. Bravos on a Cafe' should hold up just fine up to about 650HP. Getting rid of the trannies and moving the engines back is a good thing. The Cafe' and TG are balance very similar and run with the same attitude. Going to the Bravo with a box will change the CG alittle moving the engines back and the box will give you some levelage making the boat feel like a 38'. I would consider a Hydormotive 5 blade and that thing will fly.

my $.02

A.B.

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

If you raise the X (with the box)...I believe you'll need to raise the engines.

Unless the cav plates are too low, I'd just put shorties on.

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

HH,

I've been thinking about that too...

From what allan was saying, it sounded like 2" shorties weren't enough...and that they went up a total of about 5" :eek: I think I'll have some room under the hatch to go up if I need to...

this should be an interesting project.. :)

I can see myself spending way more money than I originally intended...or than the boat is worth...but it wouldn't be the first time :) (I'm in the process of building the most expensive 16' Superboat center console ever) :)

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

I dont get it, sean...Why would you go to all the time & expense to change to a drive you know will not live ?....&
chance screwing up your CG in the process ....

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

perhaps i'm in denial because i think the bravo will live...besides, i don't plan on putting big power in it right away and by the time i do, perhaps mercury will have come out with a replacement for the bravo that will handle bigger power...not to mention all of the aftermarket upgrades available for the bravo drive.

and the reality is, i'll probably never put more than 600hp in the boat anyway. my boating philosphy is focused on reliability and while many think the bravo is unreliable, if properly maintained and used, it should certainly last behind a boat like mine.

as far as the CG is concerned, while there is a "chance" of screwing it up, i've done a bit of research and talked to several who think the added setback will enhance performance given a proper x-dimension. I can fool around with moving the engines back and forth to make sure i get the right balance without too much trouble... i think :)

besides...extension boxes with polished shorties will look real cool :D :D

Re: Ext Boxes On A Cafe Racer
 

Thanks for the reply.....Having had Alpha & Bravo boats all my life & now having trans, I couldnt imagine going back. Thats why i asked...When I was T/G shopping i planned on a TRS boat & upgrading to Konrads. Got lucky & found a SSM boat..
And yes I agree..Ext boxes & polished lowers ARE cool ! :D