I have Arnesons , and I will bury the drives bring the engines up to 4000rpm the props will spin (ventilating) for less than 7 seconds they will grab then we are off to the races , I have no ventilation tubes . and this boat will plane just as fast as it did with the bravos and not braking drive parts all the time .

I bought this boat back in 1988. It wasn't that old and was really eyecatching for the time. The guy I bought it from had it since it was new. I bought the boat and left, went straight to my lakehouse and dropped the boat in the water. I had been around a lot of 'big' boats, but no surface drives. I fought that thing for HOURS trying to get it to plane!!! Pride wouldn't let me call the guy and ask. I thought I was smart enough to figure it out, but I was about out of beer and patience, so I gave him a call.

He laughed, said he forgot to tell me the boat's 'weird' habits, and said, "Grab the throttles, let them roll up to 4k rpm and HOLD them there, even though your head will tell you to chop them. It will come out eventually, trust me!!!" I followed his instructions and away I went! Loved them ever since. I've owned Alphas, Bravos, SSM 3s and 6's, but these have a vibe of their own (particularly with 3 blades! LOL!) She's sat in the last stall of my shop for years, but I am now bring her back and very excited to throttle the Kaamas again!

Anybody have experience with MSA drives on smaller boats?

Love my arnesons but get the sense things have changed over the years and just about all I/Os are "surface" as they have all been raised on the transoms. Compared to traditional shaft drives under big cruisers they are more efficient for sure. Got be honest that the handling around the dock can be "interesting" even compared to my previous dual outboard vessel. If I had the cash I would add a bow thruster to my 42.

I have a single MSA surface drive and docking is a nightmare. No problem in calm weather, just a light breeze and the bow goes all around. Reverse it is extra problematic.
Even though it's only 30# long, I'm going to get a bow thruster this year, otherwise it's going to crash into the marina sooner or later.

The holeshot is at least comparable to the B1, and later it accelerates as much as the engine torque can handle. But a slightly larger propeller is needed. For example, in my case, with the drive mounted a little higher, the B1 would be just right, but in my case the Maximus is the right one. The Max is already too small and has over 20% slip.

(But I am a greenhorn in speed boating and my opinion should be taken into account accordingly.)

When reversing with surface drives, you should trim up enough so prop wash goes under the hull and not against the transom...i know from experience, works much better. Most twin engine applications have props spinning in, which is another reason it's difficult to clutch the boat when docking without turning the wheel.

Agree and my feeling it is that prop also have influence on this. When I test it with Max it was really nightmare by reversing. Instead of going backwards, it went sideways. With Maximus it is far better, but also with this prop bow want to go his way.