I just purchased a little 24' Freeland Cat that has a 260hp 5.7 liter 350ci V8 in it. I bought the boat with a bad Alpha 1 drive so I need to replace it but I dont know what the ratio was previously...

I thought about buying a 350 Mag for the boat but also thought about building BBC for it. I know the Alpha 1 will only take so much but swapping to a Bravo is out of the budget right now.

If I stick to the 260 or 350 Mag I know the Alpha 1 would be fine but I'm not sure what gear ratio to go with to get the best performance out of the boat. The previous owner told me the boat did 78mph on GPS but she was a dog out of the hole. I know this is not allot of information but your best suggestion is appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

1.47 would have been the stock ratio for it, you might want to try a 1.62. Is it a Gen 1 or Gen 2?

Marc, I'm not sure if it is a Gen 1 or Gen 2....Jeff's dad is leaving Orlando tomorrow with the boat and I will have it on Sunday and I can update you if it's a gen 1 or 2. I thought it would be a 1.47 but wasnt sure.

BTW thanks for helping me trying to locate the Merc transom adapter for me the other day....it was a pleasure to talk to you on the phone.

Steve

That is really fast for 265hp it must be very light and efficiant

Marc,

A buddy just repowered his 1987 24 Checkmate with a 383 replacement engine from Mercury. The original engine was a 454 Mag. The drive is also the original Gen 1 Alpha with a 1.32:1 ratio. The prop has not been changed, it's the original 19p Mirage.

The new 383 does not like the 1.32 gear ratio, the boat is pretty numb and will only pull to 4200.

My question is if we swap out the 1.32 gears for the 1.62's, will the Gen 1 Alpha (1.62:1) hold up behind the 383?

Thanks,

Kurt

I think so, back in the day we ran a dual turbocharged 350 for years with no problem. 1.62 will really wake it up. Might have to add some prop to it.

How did he deal with the shift interrupt?

Probably a stupid quedtion but I have Number 3s and how can I find out what ratio. They are on the boat with the engines in so what would be the easiet way