Marc, we have plans to revive the 22 Active Thunder Banshee. This could be a nice option for it. How much HP are you thinking they ought to be able to realistically handle? I know that Scarab P29s went through a LOT of them back in the day; probably 85% due to poor operators. But they only had 350s in front of them.

Interesting . I have one , from a '25 eliminator . Big 29 props . Was thinking of trying to to machine up some spacers and shafts props replacing my alpha on one of my boats for a one off duo prop all purpose boat .never gonna happen I'm sure . Anyone here that's driven a ski pro extreme with a big hp small block with the Volvo dp drive will know what I'm talking about . Trying to talk my buddy with a 25' formula 496 b3 into a weekend swap just for kicks .

Damn a Blackhawk with 2 shifting props could be interesting ..

350's ???? everyone one i have seen in p 29's had 502's in front of them..at least the ones by me were..

Well maybe I can give some insight as we did a lot I.E. Hundreds and hundreds of test hours on them in a 242 formula with a 502 mag. At first yes had some reliability problems with the gear case floor and the come clutch set up. But after a few mods and some upgrades we started seeing more and more hours on them. We even had a few with over 150 hours on them. We even went out on super rough days and aired the boats and even used a 33 foot carver to make our rough water to air them used to have a few pics. Ole boat looked good in the air and handled it great.

Nothing I'll handling while under power running on plane yes they were great. But when idling they drive like a Mack truck at idle but all. It was was a even sway back and forth.

As for the single prop conversion that defeats the minimal torque steer that a hawk delivers. In a twin situation it probably would be no problem.

As for props yes pricey and like I mentioned on e before on e you start getting over a hundred hours start checking the base of the blades for cavitation burns and puts you can see through. We started shaking blades off when we got a lot of hours on them.

On a 25 foot talon with a bulldog in it with a hawk it would touch right under 100 in the right water. The formula would run a touch over 70.

I know of one p29 with 383 strokers in it and he is very happy

I had a friend who had a 22 Daytona with a 502 Mag and a Blackhawk drive. I've got to believe it was one of the most efficient boats ever. The boat was a Kevlar lay up and the centerpod was modified specifically for the Blackhawk.(lower) It was a very fun boat. Very different to drive though. Almost like a jet. You had to give a lot of thrust to turn. It would move laterally in a crosswind a crazy amount. I believe it is the fastest stock 502 boat ever. His ran 94mph. Supposedly Leach had one just under 100. There was a lot of load on the drive shifting in and out of gear because of the efficiency of the props. His gimbal ring wore out very fast because of all the vibration from the surfacing props.

How were they breaking them in and out of the water with power on? This will be my first summer owning the P-29. I've searched threads over the years never really found what was breaking. Great thread!

How much power and torque will they be able to handle? And what would the cost be per drive?

there are three or four P29's around me here and all have small blocks, the Merc 383 strokers i believe. I thought that was the hook of that boat,