Arneson surface drive on single engine vee
 

Just looking for real world opinions and or experiences on the subject...is it possible?? would it work?? boat in question is a 28 Nordic heat...obviously bravos die easily and if I were to convert to IMCO everything I would have about the same money converting to an arneson....what's everyones thoughts??

Any thoughts??

I have a buddy with a 25' Stinger Vee, twin turbo BBC with a single Arneson. He runs a round ear prop. I noticed a little torque roll on acceleration, but it levels out when cruising or hitting speed. He loves it! Pretty darn fast!

Any pics of the setup?? was it a bravo conversion or full blown arneson??

I have twin ASD8s and love em - bullet proof and can take tons of torque.....only down side is it's 8mph or 40mph-plus .... nothing in between seems to work but could be cause my boat is a pig.

Yea that's what I'm looking for...bulletproof...just wondering if its ever been successful in a pleasure single vee...I'm sure it has just kinda looking for real world experience

The question isn't really if an Arneson will work or not, it's more like will an offshore style propeller work on a single. The drive doesn't matter as much as where the prop ends up in relation to the water. Arneson, Mercury #6, Imco SCX-4 all spin the same prop but all need to be mounted different to get the prop to it's optimal height. There's a 22 Donzi running an Arneson successfully, there's a checkmate running a #6 successfully but it's mounted low with a 3 blade. I think there's a progression running good with an SCX-4. Now there's also a few of each combo not working good. The Arneson and SCX-4 both can spin a round ear bravo style prop or you can have an offshore custom blueprinted round ear for big bucks which will help carry the bow. I personally love Arneson drives and the bravo conversion is nice that the extension box makes room for the tranny. The only challenge with an Arneson is mounting it low enough on the transom so you can get a little positive trim. You really don't need much trim with offshore props compared to bravo style, but mounted too high and you would be running negative trim all the time just to reach the water. See with the Arnesons ball socket flush with the bottom of the boat you still have the prop centerline about 4" up, since the ball socket is about 8" in diameter. Any lower and you would be dragging a wall lol. The #6 and SCX-4 can be mounted higher on the transom with the propshaft dropping down lower making it easier to spin an offshore prop aproximently half in and half out of the water with the nosecone bullet just above the surface.

​​​​​​Honestly the cost numbers for all equal new parts prove that the Arneson Bravo conversion is less expensive than a properly setup SCX-4, both rated at about 800hp.

Personally for your Nordic I would buy an standard SCX spinning an affordable bravo or Maximus prop. Enjoy the reliability instead of ruining two summers trying to dial in something that hasn't been done before, cause most likely you will upgrade boats eventually.

very good info and advice!! much appreciated!!

I have a spare Arneson setup (single) , was waiting for the right boat to put it on 22 to 27 , something light. maybe use a small blower/procharger also. Rik would be helpful with any questions, because he has direct intel from his buyers.

I had a 21 foot Eliminator center counsel bow rider with a 500ci chevy, and a KAAMA drive. I had to put a dual finned skeg beneath the center of the engine, so it would turn. If you decide to go with a surface drive, make sure you remove any hook in the bottom. A surface drive will tend to push the bow down.