84 Excalibur 27 changing to a Bravo
 

Does any one have any tips if they have tried this? I like the idea of no transmission and moving the engine back. Any idea of where we should set the X. If I leave it to the guys down here I will be buying a lot of spacers :drink: :drink:

Cheers

Andy

Re: 84 Excalibur 27 changing to a Bravo
 

I'm in the middle of my changeover to bravos (it's taking me entirely too long).
Anyway my 1984 31 ' Excalibur had merc II tranys with the TRS.
The merc trans is pretty short so the engine is only moving back about 4 inches.
The prop depth back when these boats was pretty deep. With todays 4 & 5 blade props you can handle a pretty high X. It all depends on how patient you are about planing, right?

The bravo unit is around 2 inches shorter than the TRS (I think a little more than 2 like 2-1/4). So leaving your engine centerline at the same height will raise your prop height that amount.
I never measured my prop height before I took everything apart, but looking at my stock X dimension of 18.5 my prop height was over 5 inches deep.
I moved my engine centerline up another 1/2 inch. I would have gone a full inch but I had hatch issues. I think I'll end up around 2-1/2 inches below the running surface.
My boat has twins, that's what I did, and it hasn't hit the water yet. If I have trouble planing I'll throw spacers at it.

I don't know if that helps or not.
Dan

Re: 84 Excalibur 27 changing to a Bravo
 

I also made the switch. Zanie has given good info here. I set my X at 18" with a 34" centerline. This put my shafts 4" in the water. I am running extension boxes also with Imco shorty drives. I have no problem at all planning no matter if i am spinning the props in or out. I should have gone with a 19" X.

The 27's lean under load from what I have seen. It seems like getting the prop higher and spinning it faster would even the boat out. Good luck. Post some pictures.

Re: 84 Excalibur 27 changing to a Bravo
 

Do the bravo gimble and transom assemblies bolt over the old trs hole, or do you have to close the transom and cut a new hole? I know when going from alpha to bravo all you do is drill a couple more holes and it bolts right up!

Re: 84 Excalibur 27 changing to a Bravo
 

You have to fill in the transom to switch to bravo from TRS.

Re: 84 Excalibur 27 changing to a Bravo
 

We filled in the inside today. The job was pretty easy as I had someone else do it for me :D we will be filling in the outside tomorrow and then cut the hole early next week. I want to relocate all of the trim pumps(4) to the midships bulkhead to help with the weight transfer. I am a little nervous about moving the engine back that far. The boat was very level the way that it was set up before we touched it.

Cheers,

Andy