Hi,

About three or four weeks ago I found a 1987 Scarab III that I absolutely loved. Overall, the condition was very good and the survey was a positive, too, as far as structure.

The thing that eventually made me walk away was that the 454's were backed up with Alpha 1's.

My question to you is, was I correct in being concerned about the Alpha 1's or was I overly concerned? I won't be modding the boat to make much more power than it currently has. But I've always believed that Alpha 1's were really only good to 300 hp and not more than that. Was I wrong? The broker, of course, said I was wrong and that the Alpha I's had never broken yet so they are fine.

If I am wrong, I'd really like to re-visit this boat and probably bring it home.

Thanks for all advice and information you can give me.

Well, Merc offered the 454 with an Alpha for only a couple years. That should tell ya everything you need to know. Personally, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Too many other boats out there with a 454 and bravo, at a reasonable price.


Darrell.

I agree, everyone that had a BBC in front of an Alpha had some issues bactk in those days it seemed. BBC torque kills the alpha in anything but a very small boat.
I would offer a price that considered the cost of switching to Bravos. If that doesnt do it.. keep walking..

I had a 22' pachanga with a 454/alpha combo. never had an issue. No hard holeshots, ect. With 2 pushing 1 boat it is a little easier on the drives. One other thing was, I could get a new alpha with a 3 year warranty for 1k. you will spend that just rebuilding a bravo. Just my .02

Like Mr. Gadgets said, they can last awhile in a small boat like the 22 above, but that is not the norm. If anything is babied enough it can last. Yes Alphas are cheap to replace, but what is your time worth? And yes, MR Murphy will always break things on the FIRST day of your vacation.




Darrell.

I had that set-up in an 1987 32 Pachanga...
....not only did it have the Alphas, they weren't counter rotating drives... Yech!
After 2 years of normal boating, the gears were shot in both Alpha drives, and we had to gut them and replace.
...the Bravo's came out the next year and the Alpha set up dissapeared... hmm. Carder

I think your better off walking away...the ScarabIII's were heavy to begin with and punishing an alpha to push a heavy boat on top of a BBC torque will only spell trouble...

I want to thank everyone here who took the time to answer. It is as Carder says, Alpha 1 Counter Rotation drives. What a darn shame. I love that boat, but the broker won't move down off of the price at all due to the drives. Honestly I'd agree if he would just discount the price of what 1 drive would cost (because otherwise this boat is exactly what I had hoped for). It's looking like the drives are $4100-$4800 per drive at most places.

Now what I *wanted* to hear, but definitely what I *needed* to hear.

Thanks.

And that cost is generally for the drives themselves. Tack on another couple thou for the gimbal assemblies.

I busted my SE106 (aftermarket Alpha) this past sunday, but I think it was heat more than anything that killed it. I had run her at 3800 to 4000 RPM (max RPM for my 383 is just under 6k) for a good 15 miles or so going from Virginia Beach to the Eastern Shore.... no warning... she just came apart. Anyway...

My Stinger will have a lot more power pushing her and I think I'll be looking to install a Bravo this time around even though she is a much lighter boat than my Four Winns and would probably be fine with the Alpha. I just want the piece of mind.

Too many other boats out there with a 454 and bravo, at a reasonable price.

Well said...