Arneson or #6 Retrofit?
07-16-2018, 06:50 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Arneson or #6 Retrofit?
Reaching out for any input that anyone would like to give, tough decision and alot of $$ outlay. Plus my girlfriend banned me from even calling friends and having to listen to me talk about drives, don't blame her ha
Just recently bought a 390 Velocity. I have the boat down in FL with Kenny "the velocity guy"
who originally built this boat. I'm getting some minor things done but almost completely sold on a retrofit. The boat has low hour ilmor 625's, staggered, and Konrad drives. I know the Konrads are bulletproof at my hp level but they simply scrub too much speed, plus no cool rooster tale lol. I ran her only a few times after purchase and mid 80's is all she really has in her.
bravo, imco, all of that stuff is just a no go, I'm not okay with driving like a grandma living on borrowed time.
Kenny and Steve Stepp met up today and talked about my options. If I undertake this they will both be involved. The goal is a very reliable 100mph boat. They aren't really trying to steer me one way or another but both seem to be preferential to the #6. I think sometimes people may not recommend an Arneson outright because they just don't have a lot of experience with them, which makes it justifiable. Plus let's face it. The reality is there are so many 6's out there it would likely be the "easier project" to get fully set up and running right. The flip side to that is for me personally, I've purchased an Arneson before and I think they are, a superior design to the 6. Less mechanically complex, lighter, Etc etc. plus having Rik there at the factory, being the super awesome resource he is, leaves me no doubt we can get the arneson dialed in. The one other thing is the #6's are reman and the arneson would be brand new. I think there is a lot to be said for factory new regardless of who rebuilt the 6's. Here is the only reason for the 6 that may bear some weight (they are dry sump btw), Steve in speaking with Kenny seemed to be concerned about bow lift with the arneson. My boat already runs extremely flat and struggles to get on the rear pad with the staggered engines. Definitely don't want to make that more of a struggle. No way to know for sure but it seems a valid concern. I have read about some bow lift issues with arneson in the past. Rik's view on it is that bow lift will not be an issue. He stated that hering and merc now have expanded the line props and have certain rake specifications not previously offered a number of years ago, leaving those issues in the past. The last consideration here is resale. I know I'm breaking out the $$$ but when I do sell this boat (and I do seem to move through boats quick). Which will have better mass appeal and higher resale (and if you do think so would it even be considerable)? I'm not sure but for me personally I was considering hustler slingshots as opposed to this velocity for the only reason being there were some with Arneson's on the market, however I may not be the norm. I guess the bottom line is both will be problem free at my power levels. I want a super reliable 100mph boat. I think either one will get me very close if not over that.
few pics of the boat!!
Just recently bought a 390 Velocity. I have the boat down in FL with Kenny "the velocity guy"
who originally built this boat. I'm getting some minor things done but almost completely sold on a retrofit. The boat has low hour ilmor 625's, staggered, and Konrad drives. I know the Konrads are bulletproof at my hp level but they simply scrub too much speed, plus no cool rooster tale lol. I ran her only a few times after purchase and mid 80's is all she really has in her.bravo, imco, all of that stuff is just a no go, I'm not okay with driving like a grandma living on borrowed time.
Kenny and Steve Stepp met up today and talked about my options. If I undertake this they will both be involved. The goal is a very reliable 100mph boat. They aren't really trying to steer me one way or another but both seem to be preferential to the #6. I think sometimes people may not recommend an Arneson outright because they just don't have a lot of experience with them, which makes it justifiable. Plus let's face it. The reality is there are so many 6's out there it would likely be the "easier project" to get fully set up and running right. The flip side to that is for me personally, I've purchased an Arneson before and I think they are, a superior design to the 6. Less mechanically complex, lighter, Etc etc. plus having Rik there at the factory, being the super awesome resource he is, leaves me no doubt we can get the arneson dialed in. The one other thing is the #6's are reman and the arneson would be brand new. I think there is a lot to be said for factory new regardless of who rebuilt the 6's. Here is the only reason for the 6 that may bear some weight (they are dry sump btw), Steve in speaking with Kenny seemed to be concerned about bow lift with the arneson. My boat already runs extremely flat and struggles to get on the rear pad with the staggered engines. Definitely don't want to make that more of a struggle. No way to know for sure but it seems a valid concern. I have read about some bow lift issues with arneson in the past. Rik's view on it is that bow lift will not be an issue. He stated that hering and merc now have expanded the line props and have certain rake specifications not previously offered a number of years ago, leaving those issues in the past. The last consideration here is resale. I know I'm breaking out the $$$ but when I do sell this boat (and I do seem to move through boats quick). Which will have better mass appeal and higher resale (and if you do think so would it even be considerable)? I'm not sure but for me personally I was considering hustler slingshots as opposed to this velocity for the only reason being there were some with Arneson's on the market, however I may not be the norm. I guess the bottom line is both will be problem free at my power levels. I want a super reliable 100mph boat. I think either one will get me very close if not over that.
few pics of the boat!!
Last edited by hotstang46; 07-16-2018 at 07:56 PM.
07-16-2018, 07:25 PM
#3
Registered
good looking boat... id lean towards the arneson setup
what tranny setup are you considering? shiftable crashboxes? bam? nxt?
what tranny setup are you considering? shiftable crashboxes? bam? nxt?
Charter Member
07-16-2018, 08:43 PM
#7
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Thread Starter
No but very interesting, I'm going to just do some surface digging but I've been around for a bit and have never heard of them. Thinking I'd really narrow my market for resale with them????
07-16-2018, 08:47 PM
#8
Platinum Member
Platinum Member
Do you know of any 390 Velocity’s that will run 100 MPH with 625’s? Maybe you can talk to the owner. Has anybody been in a 38 sport boat that runs a 100 with 625’s?
Last edited by BenPerfected; 07-16-2018 at 08:54 PM.
07-16-2018, 08:57 PM
#9
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Thread Starter
One would think not but those konrads really do scrub a lot of speed. Have you ever seen one in person? Not only are they huge compared to a bravo style drive (much closer in size to a six) but they are also known for having rougher castings in the lowers. They are stout as all get out and well built, just slow. I was told by the designer just a bravo swap would result in 7-10mph. Thinking about the efficiency of the arneson, on top of all the weight loss I'm betting she would be right there. Velocity hulls are fast.
