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.