Bravo 3s on a 38 stinger? Yay or Nay?
 

I am repowering a stinger 375 from the OMC/ford setup to chevy/bravo setup. This boat is similar to a 38 special and lets face it, unless I throw some high HP engines in it, it is not going to be fast. It is more of a express cruiser than a true performance boat. I have a pair of engines that I just built that are gen 6 454 mags on roids more or less, I should be around 450-500hp per side. I spend most of my time at cruising speed and once in a while we will do a full throttle run for a minute or two. Several friends have brought up the possibility of throwing some bravo 3s on the boat. The more I think about it, the more I am thinking it would be a awesome setup. The only down fall I can see is figuring out what props would work best on it. Does anyone have any input that would say this is a bad idea? Am I missing something that prevents this from working? I know it might hurt the top end speed but that really is not a issue for this boat as it isn't going to be fast with bravo 1s either. I thought for sure I would find a 38 special out there with bravo 3s on it but I can't seem to find anything. Thanks for any input

IMO...Formula rigged Bravo III's on their 370SS/400SS relatively effectively (with up to 525EFI/520 racing packages). Your Stinger would come on plane better (with minimal cost of speed) and be great around the dock. At the horsepower you are suggesting, I would recommend Bravo III XR's but certainly Bravo III X's and be sure to have drive showers added (showers made a reliability difference in early Formula's). You should stay conservative on the x-dimension and (if not running external steering) make sure you have both an internal and external tiebar. Propping is rather limited (but easy as such..) as pitch runs 19-28" in either satin or polished (you would probably wind up somewhere around a 26" set assuming your WOT is 5000-5200rpm and you are running a 2.0:1 or 1.81:1 ratio).
Hope this helps...Jason @InshoreOff

I appreciate the reply. I posted this on facebook also and formulas also got brought up there too and I totally agree. The boat is getting latham helm back hydraulic steering so I am covered there. I will be starting out with standard bravos whether they are 1s or 3s. We have ran bigger heavier boats with more power and kept standard bravos alive so I think I will be ok. If not I will start looking for some beefed up drives after that. If comparing to a 370ss at over 15000 pounds or a 400ss at 17000 pounds, I am only around 9000 dry so almost half of a 400 so hopefully standard bravos will hold. If 26 pitch props are going to get me close then I have leads on several sets of props for not much more than I would be paying for mirage plus props that I would be using on the 1s. At the end of the day, I may try both 1s and 3s and compare but I have a feeling that the 3s are going to be the way to go for what I am after.

If the goal is a nice cruise in the low 40's, I would definitely try the B III's. I think a Bravo III looses its place above 60 MPH. That boat isn't going to run much over that with Bravo I's so the Bravo III seems like a winner.

I am a step closer to making this happen. Last night I picked up a 2.20 B3 with 26 props on the cheap. If what I have read so far is right I might be better using my B1 uppers to get to 2.0? That would help me as I have 3 1.5 B1 uppers so I would only be a lower and set of props short of trying this. And I have a chance to get another set of 26 props for 250 shipped right now which I do not think I can beat price wise.... I read a thread about a sea ray that they ran a B1 1.5 with a 23 mirage prop and they swapped a B3 on with 2.0 ratio with 26 props and got the exact same speed but gained the benefits of the 3. I have not ran on the B1s yet but will soon but we guessed that mirage 23+s were in the ball park so if that is true the B3 2.0 and 26s should put me in the same range. Anyone have any additional input? Am I calculating this all right of just wasting money buying parts? Thanks for any help and input

My early 330ss runs 58 with lowly 330 MPIs which kind of shocked me tbh. Not sure of the pitch and ratio but with some research I bet you can figure it.

It is ultra responsive around the docks.

2 buddies of mine both have 38 specials, both repowered with merc 383’s. One has b3’s the other b 1’s. There within 1 mph of each other but the b3 docks and cruises a bit better

Small blocks? That is awesome to hear that they work. What speeds are they seeing? Do you happen to know their gear ratios and props? I searched all over for a 38 special with B3s since those are very similar to my stinger.

Pretty sure there 2.0:1 I’ll have to ask him what props. They both run just under 60, I think one was 57 the other 58. May have been 56 and 57 but right about there.

Dang, I just took 460 fords and king cobras out of my boat and was only getting to about 55 in perfect conditions, my buddies 38 special with 502s ran side by side with me. Good info, I appreciate it