Go to bravoshop.net and talk to the owner. About a month ago, I talked to the owner of BMAX. The new BMAX drives are built better than the older ones. A lot of bugs have been fixed. Don't get used ones. The new ones are rated at 900hp. I can't remember how much they cost, but I remember they were not too much. I think $14,000 per side, but I may be way off. When the time comes, I may be getting BMAX drives because of cost and HP rating. I would rather have Arnesons, but ....$$$$$

Everyone is beating up Arneson on cost. How much is a bravo setup from bellhousing to prop shaft new from merc. Since that is junk for over 600hp, maybe a better option is to look at the cost of the nxt setup again from bellhousing to prop shaft. No used parts should be considered to compare apples to apples.

If the Arneson surface drive bolted on the bravo gimbal, I'm sure it would be alot cheaper.

From experience, the customer service/support with Arneson is far superior to Merc and doesn't matter if you buy new or adapt old used ones.

Kris Vogt

That's the rub...pioneers got shot in the azz with arrows. BUT the BIG difference with the arnesons over the scx or the bmax or whatever is the ability to run REAL props. The gain in bite, speed and handling is where its at. And regardless of whether or not you go to the arneson an NXT or Indy you will also likely require some adjustment to motors/drive height. If I can get comfortable the arneson conversion would really work, I'd do it. BTW have you priced a set of sixes lately?

two for sale
 

might be worth a look 2 A/Drives on boat for sale whole boat is for sale 454motors one needs re build its in the general boating discussion its on E!!!! 2 days left to run worth a look guys .if i lived over there i would want a pair o those drives instead of the b1 i have on the boat looked into it too rich for me looked like a fantastic bit of kit , i thought it did bolt up to part of the b1??? regards paul from england

Wonder if it is possible to install the arneson on my 38 ocean yacht. Replace the straight inboards. Might go faster and throw the rootertail out to the canyons fishing. It would be hard to fight a marlin , tuna close to the back , cut the line easier.

That would be neat.

Single Drive V Hull Handling
 

I'm pushing 650Hp now and worried every time I go out that I will break the drive. I need to upgrade the steering and drive so it seems to make sense to consider an ASD6 kit. My biggest concern is handling, I do a lot of river travel and docking is tough enough with a cross current. I don't use much trim now with the Bravo so I'm not too worried about bow lift. What is the experience with a single drive in a stepped V hull?

Compare all you want, but is there anything more intimidating than this? [IMG]http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/...rbus1/asd8.jpg[/IMG]

ok 4bus you have my attention, you have a side by side what size fountain, what year, it has the early 90's rub rail so im assuming it is a straight bottom boat what model are the drives, what power in frt of them. and what speeds. Did you convert the boat and what was your experience, it looks like the notch has been filled has it?

later

Not my boat, belongs to some friends. This is a 38 fountain straight bottom..1992? but not sure, boat was fully restored 3 years ago and it has Miami boat show class. Glass conversion was done by KolorKraft in Syracuse. Not sure on notch but I can check. The drives and motors were used, they are from a 1988 33 fountain that was rigged by Dennis Ferrara in the late 80's, my friend owned the old boat. The old was was mint as well, they bought it as a doaner for the larger 38

Central NY has the Arneson bug. On any given sunday you will find many Arneson boats on our lake.

The speed gains are real....without question!

I have to get some more pics of my friends Manatee killer with triple ASD8's which are turned in, I have a new computer and don't have them all. Bottom line these drives don't break, the triple is a 47 custom built Sandler, that comes in a 24000 lbs. It has steps, but also has a full head with shower. Boat does 103 MPH with 3 900HP Ferrara engines, and the owner is the craziest dude you will ever meet...always on it! Name a drive that would last 500 hrs on a boat like this with no failures?

3 late 80's fountains, 1 hustler, an early 90's sig and early 90's sandler.....all have huge power, and the original...untouched Arneson drives.

And.....the roosters :) 47 ft sandler on left, 40 fountain on right.

[IMG]http://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/...rbus1/fnt1.jpg[/IMG]

Several of those Fountains were setup at the factory with Arnesons.

This is in repley to Performance stats:
I did the conversion on the Formula 382.
I have not logged into OSS for 18 months and I ran across this thread. Ok I can say that that Formula Blew up 8 F&@kin BRAVOS. I met Rik the day it blew up the 8th drive at a APBA offshore race in CA. I think we were one of the first ones to do a conversion. The boat is 10 MPH faster with the same engines. We did the conversion in Feb. 2004. PowerBoat Magazine did a article on the conversion in Aug issue 2004. We have about 250 Hrs of time on them. Boat handling from Idle around the docks to WOT is better than the Bravo's. We have spent o.oo on repairs to these drives! I have run the boat to Catalina Island in Southern Ca a dozen times at 75 to 90 mph in 3 to 6 swells and the boat is amazing out in that kind of water. I would never ever do that with the Bravos! 3 hr idle back if ya did on one motor!!
As far as price go's its worth every penny to change it out. Sell your bravos, Transom assys. bell housings and Hyd steering and if in good shape should almost buy 1 Arneson system. We are running 800hp blower motors.
As far as time to dial it in, we ran 103 Mph with the first set on borrowed props as I recall. If you have bravo drives and are running 30 pitch with a 1:50 ratio then thats where to start. We are running 5 blade Herings 17 x 30. Rock solid.
There is nothing better than running over 90 mph in 5 footers and knowing you are not going to blow a drive off your transom!!! No one will run that fast with us if they have Bravos because they WILL get towed in. We are known in our area as the Bravo breaker due to blown bravos that try to keep up!!
PS. This was not a paid advertisement just a happy boater who has run the crap out of those Arneson's and can't break them!

Hey Seaton:

Is your Formula the all Silver metallic one with the matching silver Arnesons on it? You attended the SCOPE Poker Run to Catalina this year.

If so you have one bad ass v-bottom a sleeper for sure... speed, reliability, and comfort all in one boat.

I came by your slip to checkout your ride never got a glimpse of the motors, but I think I spoke to your son and he informed me you had some power under the hatches.

Next time I'd like to go for a spin in that boat and make your acquaintance.

KAP

Bravo to Arneson Conversions !!!
 

Kris,
I think you're missing the point of this thread... we are talking about "Bravo to Arneson Conversions". These are people that already own Bravo based drives. If they want to consider a replacement for their pos drive, they do not have to re-buy everything from the "bellhousing to prop shaft new from merc". They can simply buy a bolt on upgraded alternative drive from someone like Bmax, Teague, Imco, etc. They dont have to buy a new bellhousing, prop, etc from Merc for this upgrade.

If you look at the cost of just swapping out the drives vs this Arneson conversion, it's MUCH more expensive to do the conversion by the time you add in the kit price, the installation, testing, props, and possibly even glass work if your notch needs to be filled. We aren't even remotely in the same $ ballpark when it's all added up... by a long shot!

Again, I'll be the first to admit that I think the Arneson product is superior, but it's not cost effective to do the CONVERSION. IMO, you're better off selling your bravo based boat and buying one with 6's or Arneson's already on it.

Now if we're talking NEW boats, I think it's the only way to go... and I wish every boat sold going forward came std with them!

Hey Dolphin boy, maybe the Hawk would be fun with surface drives! If I got 8 to 10 MPH out of the 40fter, I would be very satisfied! How much do you think I could get for my complete drive set ups? .. Gimbal housings,Stelling extension boxes, Imco Extreme drives, hydraulic steering, 5 Blades, and all the othe misc parts????

I'm sure you could get decent money for all that stuff! I think you'll still be into the conversion for a significant amout... especially compared to what you bought the boat for. With that said, I love the idea! :cool:

SA2

I run surface drives on a 47 fountain with Cat power and have never broke anything, just bent props when I hit bottom at Put in bay ohio

Perfect! Now you dump a bunch of money into it, use it for a year or 2 and I will buy it back. We should be getting even on our losses by that point.

Hahahahahaha! It would be a fun ride with Arensons, Hah? Will move this to Excalibur forum for some plans to spend spend spend!

Question, do the ASD 7 bravo conversion kits fit into the bravo drilled holes on the transom or do you need to re-glass the transom and cut new ones?

It covers the holes so there is no need to re-glass the transom.

The stand off box cover the holes. You do not have to re-glass it with the ASD7M. According to the installation instructions for the ASD7M, you have to make the holes a little bigger to fit the transmission. 10 inches wide. Have not done it yet. Still have one more ASD7M to purchase. Waiting on some $$$

Tks for the info guys.

Rik. I am very seriously considering the upgrade but have no idea how the set up would react on the single step DDC 37 A/T. Do you have any input on the application ? I have never seen one set up this way and the factory has never tested one either so I would be first to do so. Thank you

i just did my boat that had never been done before......and have great results....it doesnt matter if you have no steps 1 or 2 steps or even a notched transom,,, you will go faster and you wont break

Man nice nice......

I understand where you are coming from but you are fogetting that a surface drives is a surface drive. Arneson is not the only surface drive made. Its just the easiest to convert from a bravo, at a great value considering all you get, and its strong!

There are A/T's running #6 surface drives, NXT surface drives, etc. Your boat will love it!

It is not that much of a stretch, if you have a good boat to start with the boat will simply be better. If the boat is not a good boat to start with then there is little any out-drive can do to change that. The AT 37 is a good running boat from what I've heard so I have no fear in doing an application on your boat.

I will have Greg get with you Rik. Thank you

Rik,

I see a used set of "ASD #8A'S THE BRONZE MODELS WITH 10" DROP BOXES 1990 MODEL "

for sale. Could this be converterd to replace my Bravo XR?

No, not the same drive at all. Those are not counter rotating either.

thanks

Rik,
Didn't you guys do a 25 Talon years ago, that ran some crazy just speed #'s?
Thanks,
Dean

Rik, what about running powerglides with the ASD7's? Would be less than $4k and the hole shot would be awesome.

We've done quite a few of the 25' Talons and the 26' AO (same boat) and they run really fast. There was one that just located to FL that runs in the 120's with 850 hp...

Don't know anyone with any success with the powerglides. They cost just as much but add a lot of length and heat to the equation.

Rik,
Thanks, I might end up going that route this winter, I'm pushing ~640HP thru an XR right now, and babying her all the way, but I'm afraid it's only a matter of time...... BOOM! It would make a great winter project at Mystic! :)

Rik,
Pertaining to a twin,
If the Arneson drives are a direct fit, what if one has a boat that already has Imco Hydraulic steering, can it be used and save the cost of the new hydraulics?
What about Imco Stand off boxes, can they be used?
Just the existing Hydraulic steering and standoff boxes add up to a lot of money that could be saved.

My guess is the bravo conversion is not compatible especially since the extension box is custom to house the transmission.

Personally like all the new Arneson parts keeping the boat tight fresh and safer. Then sell your old parts.

Short answer... No...

The Arneson "Bravo Conversion Kit" is not an adapter rather a conversion. So the IMCO parts made for a Bravo will not work for an Arneson. Lucky, all the necessary parts are included in the kit.

As Kevin, stated you can sell the Bravo, IMCO or whatever is currently on the boat to recover some of your cost.

What's the cost of the Bravo conversion?