I have one word for you “hot tub”

I converted my 400ss from Bravo 3 Xr’s to the Arneson Bravo conversion. The benefits of the conversion have been well worth it so far. There are always many different opinions on what route is the best to get around the Bravo drive delima. No matter how you look at it, the Bravo drive is a weak link on larger boats. The Arneson conversion was the only drive that gave me a since of security. I spoke with many mechanics, who work on my type of boat and they all said the same thing, if you are willing to spend the money than you can’ t go wrong with the Arneson. Many brought up the Scx drives and different combos but when pressed they still fell back to the Arneson. I will say this, I was told that I could get this conversion done for around 50K also. The drives new are around $ 25,000 each, labor will vary depending on your mechanic and his rates, the Arneson are not as plug and play as they say. Props alone for your boat will be between $14,000 and $16,000. These props vary from boat to boat. They are 1 off custom made props, they are an unusual size prop and you will not find the used. If you want to be able to have a way of knowing the angle of your drive you are going to have to install a different type of driver indicator. Manual is recommended and more expensive. Even if you find a used pair of Arneson you may save $ 15,000 initially but wil spend money on the back side. Your water pick for cooling will have to be rerouted as well. If you want to send me a private message and I will break it down for you part and procedure. Please don’t think that I am trying to talk you out of it but I will give you the truth about my experience. I love my conversion but it took longer and cost more than was quoted. That 50K does not cover out the door turn key ready.

Boatless, I was responding to Rheeder218 stament that” after all said and done it would be around 50K. Rheeder218 correct me if I am wrong that sounds to me that someone has informed you that for 50K you are back out on the water. I read the same thing on this site when I was thinking about doing my conversion. Once I started doing my research I realized that 50k was not going to come anywhere close. To my knowledge there was only one other Formula 400ss that had gone through the conversion prior to mine. So all those others authorities on the subject had no Idea of what they spoke. My mechanic gave me a detailed estimate of what the conversion was going to take and the final bill was pretty spot on. The surprise in the labor was not that I had to pay for labor, but how much work had to be done for a product that gives the image that it is pretty much plug and play. Boatless you are absolutely right when you say that you have to purchase props for whatever drive you decide to purchase. The difference is the cost of a one off prop from herring. They are currently the only prop manufacturer making the correct size for boats this large. It is not the same as going on line and finding a used set for sale at half the price. The props for this size boat and power set up are odd ball sized props. I have run other drives and you can not begin to compare the price of say a off the shelf bravo prop with a custom made herring. If I could have gone that route I would have, but that just simply was not an option. To t500hps congratulations on your upgrade, I hear a lot of guys on here love their 400ss diesels. I upgraded my engines and drives at the same time as well. I went with custom built 555’s and unfortunately Bravo 3 xr’s initially. That was a huge mistake. One that I realized before I reach 9 hours on my brand new motors. That is why after a year of research, I decided that the Arnesons were the only drives for me. In all honesty, it did not make sense spending over a 100K on motors and bolting them to 22k bravo 3 and expecting to get the results I wanted. It was about the reliability of the drives more that speed. I as soon as my final props show I can give the top speed and performance difference accurately. We I referred to being worth it, I meant not having to worry about every time I get into chop that I am damaging my drive. What did I get for my money, a big boat that out performs any other boat it’s size that I have come across so far. A boat that is hard to break, and is more fun than any other 400ss I every driven.