I'm going to be starting a 20 Cig project in the near future and I'm considering an older ASD6/Velvet trans. package that my father in law has laying around in his shop. My main concerns are what is the weak link/ cost to rebuild, so on and so forth? Most of what I have read so far seems to be that they are practically bullet proof and props are pricey. Is there any reason I shouldnt use a surface drive on this hull? I'm not planning on getting too wild with power, most likley a 500ish hp. SBC.

Has anyone here done this to a 20 Cig? I'm familiar with Mighty Mouse but no way am I going that extreme with power.

do lots of studying first,,copy mighty mouse word for word to get it rite..the magic ticket was the high dollar prop and the rocker tabs...

I'm familiar with Mighty Mouse and have met Geo in the past. I remember when he said that the tabs made a huge difference. He just could hit his trim and the whole boat just steadied instantly.

Take a look on donzinet there are a few threads on blackhawks and there are several cig 20 owners ,maybe someone have tried it before and can fill you in .I know one whit a 800 hp blown sbc that have a blackhawk getting triple digits ,for the BH it needs natural bow lift just as the arneson so that will be the same only the arneson have not the advantage of the duo prop like the blackhawk ,there are a few vid's on you tube where you can see it ride on rails whit the bh ,however it would be a cool set up !

It will work, why would it not? Do it.

I have a 1981 Carrera Elite 20.5' with your exact set up. Ran low 90's with about 600 h.p. I now have that motor out and am planning a N.A 572 motor. The boat handles great. Doug

I hope you have a lot of money and time for testing and tuning. This project will take it all and then some.

Hey ,which advantage ?

I put a Kaama drive on a 21 Eliminator center counsel bow rider with a 480 hp BBC. It ran in the low 70's, full of fuel, in fresh water. Make sure you don't have a hook in the hull.

A successful hull with any fully surfacing drive will need natural rocker in the bottom. Otherwise, the thrust line is too high. That makes the boat roll up toward its nose and bow steer. Unfortunately, a 20 Cig bottom is very straight and true. Not good for a surfacing drive - unless you are able to lower with spacers (not possible on an Arneson).

Rocker's why a Donzi 32 ran great with Blackhawks. My old Scarab with a single Blackhawk was almost impossible drive at speed due to bow steer. It was +- 30 degrees of heading every time it landed after a launch - because the nose did the steering. Same was true of the few they built with KAAMAs back in the 1980's.

Furthermore, as a single, your Cig will tend to torque roll opposite the direction of prop rotation. (At least Blackhawk, with counter rotating props, didn't have that problem.) You would need constant tab to offset. At the power you're talking about, your easiest and cheapest solution to your drive dilemma is to leave the Arneson on the floor and buy a Bravo XR. Drive trim is your friend. My 2
cents.