Stepped bravo or straight 6 boat
 

What's the better boat in all aspects. If all being equal, as much as possible of course, what the better all around boat. From maintance purchase resale running ect? Wondering what you guys had for thoughts on it.

For me it would depend on what you would be running for power,,,,,, 525's with no intention of ever upgrading,,,,, bravos would be fine..... and more mainstream for service,,,, prop replacement etc

I want to bolt a blower on one day,,,,, get the #6 boat now and never worry about it

All being equal- at what horsepower ? Is the horsepower and boat weight well within the limits of a bravo?

Say 600s 10k boats just thought on all around make your own assumptions on power weight. Say a last straight Bottom TG VS 1st TS just as an example

600's in a 10K lb. boat I want 6's...and TS!! :coolcowboy:

6s over bravos every day not even a question.

Plus a straight bottom with 6s will be fun in the rough! Throw a rooster! Cool Factor!

Theres really nothing positive to say about the bravo blues...........

This!!

A good 6 complete set up. Trannys gimbles etc is probably worth more than the entire boat with the bravos

I'd save up a few more dollars and buy a stepped boat with 6's. It might be a few more $ upfront, but it's worth it in the long run when you look at performance, resale, how much you're going to spend paying for bravo's and boat/drive upgrades (not to mention missing the planned event as you're limping back home with yet another trashed bravo).

IMO, if at all possible do it right the first time and save yourself the money and headaches in the long run.

The cost upkeep on a 6 is big dollar, gears, gimbals, transmissions etc

Ran my 1st formula 382 fastek w hp 500s std bravos orig to the boat
Never had a problem 97 stepped loaded boat 10.000 plus
All in how you run it . And I'm not easy.i put 380 hrs on em

I think at 600-700 hp the maintenance on a 6 drive is fluid changes and that's about it. On bravos it's $2500 every 100 hours to do gears etc

Agreed, although I would not bet on the bravos making it to 100 hours behind 600-700 hp before they spit the upper gear and possibly take out the case. If that happens, you're into them for a lot more than the $2500 gear change. ;)

Not to modify the question 930 stepped bravo or straight 6 those are the options

i tend to agree...although #6's rarely fail, in the event it did the cost is exponentially higher than a bravo boat. for the cost of one rebuild, you can probably rebuild a bravo 3-4 times. not to mention drive oil is 2x more expensive and more moving parts in the transmission. also note that 6's tend to leak water often therefore oil changes are required much more frequently. not saying i wouldnt want 6's but they have there downsides.

regarding the rebuilding of bravo's every 100 hours. i guess its good practice as i will have jamie look at ours this spring, but many on the boards seem to be getting 250-500 hours without an issue. every situation is different i guess...hull weight, power, water conditions, driver, etc...to each there own.

not sure i agree with the underlined qoute above. the only #6 boats that are available are either big power new boats, or old re-done boats. in either case the owner is usually completely upside down on the "investment". my point is these boats go for substantially more money than the average bravo boat. not just a few dollars.

Compared to blowing bravos? I'll take my chances with 6 drives

the cost of upkeep? Like changing fluids? That's cheap compared to changing bravos.

Ive been told by many reputable drive builders that every 250 hours 6's should be rebuilt regardless of power in front of them. A friend splattered a pr of 6's behind Merc 600's. The estimates to get them fixed made your stomach churn.

Torn down, inspected and sealed or full rebuilds? What was the maintainence like on those?

Wow! What kind of hours on the 6s?

Splattered? I want to see pics of this. With 600hp? Lmao

It's funny how people say no big deal if you blow a drive. If you are 30 miles offshore in 3 to 6 foot waves. It is not a fun 4 Hour ride at 8 miles per hour. Ask me how I know.

If they had a bad prop shaft seal and had 3 qt a of water in them I could see it wiping out a bearing or 2 and making a mess.

Personally, I would avoid a straight 6 boat. My sister has a moppie with 2 straight 6's, they are what 170 hp each?

http://s251.photobucket.com/user/Tyr...F5702.jpg.html

IMO, its an Apples to Oranges comparison.

I would take a newer stepped bottom 525EFI/XR boat that ran 85mph over a 10-15yr older straight bottom 800SC/SSM6 boat that ran 85mph.
Its more about the overall cost of running and maintaining the boat.