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-   -   Mercury Blackhawk drives (https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-boating-discussion/310467-mercury-blackhawk-drives.html)

Mbam 04-03-2014 03:01 PM

Yep, just about 8". Propshaft to crank on a blackhawk = 13.5, standard bravo = 21.75

These are way radical, I'll try and post a drawing later.

offshoredrillin 04-03-2014 03:26 PM

the big question for me is where to find more props. I have a drive already and a couple sets of props. can cleavers be adapted to fit?

bobkatz 04-03-2014 05:20 PM


Originally Posted by ITLLFLI (Post 4100820)
8 inches

That's what she said....

Mbam 04-03-2014 07:52 PM

8 1/4 lol

pstorti 04-03-2014 08:51 PM

Marc how much HP and Tq can they handle?

dsmawd350 04-03-2014 10:54 PM

Does the transom need redone and lower the mounting point? I know some boats are hit and miss with even as little as a 2" shorty lower working well on a standard bravo. So how does it work with boltinf on an 8" shorter drive

Bawana 04-03-2014 11:00 PM


Originally Posted by k4armstrong (Post 4100631)
I'm running a Scarab P29 with 550HP per motor and rebuilt BlackHawks with 1:50 gears, Rebuilt with XR parts and the stock 31p props with some mild modifications, I do keep a spare on hand as well. They will stay together if driven with care, back off the throttle when out of the water and they aren't for hammering out of the hole. It's not so much that they were blowing apart that Merc stopped manufacturing but there were wasn't a big enough market for them in the twin setup and boats built with a natural bow lift were suited for the Black Hawk, other manufactures weren't going to change to accommodate. It s a very efficient setup. They are a great drive and wanted in the shorter boat single setup design and there is where the market is/would be. Parts are easily available and it is the knowledge to rebuild the drive properly where there is a shortage (just don't hell the casing). Tim Bostic with Hoss Props has explored the thoughts of bringing back as well and he could make props for them since his dad worked with Merc back in the day in the development of them. Gary Musenburg was a lead developer in the BlackHawk back in the day and has lot of information about the drive, he's around some where.

Gary Meisenberg Sr. Is the man that did develop the Blackhawk drive. Hes a great guy & loves to talk about them. He had one on his 25 Talon, that I think he still has. He is still around Oshkosh/ Fond du Lac area.

Gh700xx 04-03-2014 11:21 PM


Gary Meisenberg Sr. Is the man that did develop the Blackhawk drive. Hes a great guy & loves to talk about them. He had one on his 25 Talon, that I think he still has. He is still around Oshkosh/ Fond du Lac area.
That's the 25 talon I was talking about and yes Gary was the lead guy I think from what I remember. We didn't see them much as we were doing mostly endurance testing and they were doing more as far as performance and seemed to always be switching drives around and props. He's a very cool guy and very easy to talk to. That talon was a hoot and probably the fastest single engine boat I've ever driven.

professor_speed 04-03-2014 11:53 PM

Hoss propeller will still make props. B3 props can be made to fit with a little machining, but none of those are suitable for surfacing. (but could make for cheap back up props.) If you go the single prop conversion route and build it with XR gears and all of max machine's bells and whistles, you might as well go scx4 and have a drive you don't have to worry about. A billet cap,max machine vertical shaft, and thick floor gears are the upgrades I would get if you plan on anything more than stock black motor. (they have steel tower similar to XR's stock.) Even with that I would think anything past 550-600hp and drive is on borrowed time.(maybe less depending on the boat and driver.)

Bawana 04-04-2014 01:38 AM


Originally Posted by Gh700xx (Post 4101086)
That's the 25 talon I was talking about and yes Gary was the lead guy I think from what I remember. We didn't see them much as we were doing mostly endurance testing and they were doing more as far as performance and seemed to always be switching drives around and props. He's a very cool guy and very easy to talk to. That talon was a hoot and probably the fastest single engine boat I've ever driven.

Yes Gary is great... only problem is if you start talking boats with him, you'll be there for hours & hours & hours & hours.... LOL


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