Why did merc blow off the stern drive in the first place? Volvo wouldnt have had that patent if merc had been interested..

Drive choices are usually not a high priority when a new boat is speced out. Savvy performance people should be aware that a Bravo is at the limit at about 525 hp. When "treated properly" with consistent maintenance, they will generally work as designed at that or lower power levels. For a lot of folks the upgrade to 700's has much more bling appeal than stepping up to 6 or 8 drives and the outrageous cost associated with it. Stocking dealers want a boat at an attractive price point, and for most consumers 525s and Bravo drives are enough to pay for. When I bought my Tiger, I specifically wanted 6 drives, and got 'em. The classifieds are rich with twin and triple 800+ hp rigs pushing 5 - 8 tons of boat at 80 mph + with Bravos that have been rebuilt 3 of 4 times in 200 hours.The fact that Mercury has a strangle hold on the performance I/O market allows them great latitude with pricing. Price some genuine Merc oil, or gear lube, against Mobil, Redline, Amsoil or other proven brands, and you will have more to gripe about!

every time I see a used boat pop up that has been supercharged without a drive upgrade and hydraulic steering, I cringe. Maybe you'd get away with it on a river or lake, but on the great lakes, you're gonna catch air, and it's all downhill from there

I have to agree with you. I don't see many cruise boats not getting good life out of there Bravos. There failures are mostly lack of any maintance after years. And then its normaly a oil leak that kills it.

Probably because they weren't interested in spending a little more $ on good engineering and build or customer satisfaction knowing that they would make tons more $ on the sale of parts later down the road.
Of course, that all works in tandem with their knowledge of the fact that a chitload of people look at non Merc powered boats as less than desireable .

Happens on cars too. I can't tell you how many blown up GM 10 bolts I've seen on F bodies, even ones with mild power.

Rear ends, driveshafts etc. in race cars wear out and break all the time. Probably a more accurate comparison in my opinion.

And a ton more HP cars on the road than HP boats so R&D and $$$$ and Manufacturing are all there.

To me... a 3" gear, is a 3" gear. Lower pinion is even smaller. If you want it to last you need either a bigger gear (BMax, IMCO) or remove the gears all together. (Arneson).

Thank God Mercury Racing isn't supplying replacement GM parts, we would all be driving Kia's !

Mine made it 420 hours behind stock power. Drained lube over the weekend and for the first time ever it came out black (I run Amsoil and it always comes out still pretty gold in color) with a sheen of powdered metal. Great way to start (almost) the season. .