How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

I am toying with the idea of investing in a Procharger for my 2102 VIP Victory with a 350 MAG MPI. I currently have an Alpha drive, and was thinking about running it until it goes. I normally have kids in the boat, but would like the extra HP for messing with the Baja's on the river. I would very rarely use the full power on acceleration, especially when getting on plane. This boat planes easily. I have trim tabs to help when I am loaded. If I took it easy most of the time, how long would it last? I don't know if the R's would kill it more or just the hard acceleration under load? I don't think that Procharger recommends raising the RPM's much anyway with the lowest 3.5 boost. That is the boost that I would want to run. Any suggestions please? (I do know that the Alpha is only rated for about 330HP) P.S. I get about 58-9 GPS now. Would I be nuts to run a Procharger on this hull?

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

It will last until it breaks.

Don't do hole shots.
Don't jump the boat out of the water.
Don't abuse the throttle and it might last a couple of seasons.

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

I met a guy on mullet lake in mich last year running a procharged small block on a 23 ft boat w/alpha,he was getting 73 mph out of it,had 40 hours on alpha w/o breakage!

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

Good Luck, keep a spare drive in the truck.

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

I don't mean to rain on your parade but, save your $$ for your next boat. Based on the speed you are running now with 300 HP, that hull is NOT very fast. If you want to go fast, the place to start is with the hull.

My .02
Good luck,

Dave M.

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

I had a searay 21 foot bow rider with a 383 sb at 420 hp. I broke the top gear set in the alpha in 2nd season, put a merc heavy duty upper set in the drive and it lasted 4 seasons until I sold the boat. It is still going strong for the new owner. I pull a lot of slalom skiers- hard hole shots. Only problem I had was overheating with extended runs at full throttle, about 59 mph on gps.

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

I have to agree.... We had a 2000 210 Chris Craft. I still think that is the best run-about ever made, but it's not the right type of hull (we could run 58-59). Save some bucks on the side, then sell this and buy something that's ready to go.

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

That's funny, I had a 1992 Chris Craft 208. It had a 5.0 OMC and ran about 48 MPH. I had grand illusions of putting more power in it, I'm glad I didn't. It was a great boat, I had it for six years and sold it for about 80% of what I paid for it. I think people who are in the market for a boat like that would shy away from a boat with engine modifications.

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

Don't forget that you'll probably need through-hull exhaust as well to run the Procharger, and that's another 2k. I think 59 gps for that boat with 300 hp is actually quite amazing, but I agree with other posts that you've got to wonder how well that hull will respond to the additional power. There's quite a few unknowns - how long the alpha drive will last, whether the additional hp will get you the speed gains you want, whether the blower will hold up and whether that hull will chine-walk early with the extra power. I'd seriously consider looking at other boats that are already proven to offer the kind of speed you want - invest your extra money there - then again, it looks like yours is already for sale, and maybe you've got no takers - in which case ignore everything I've said and go for it.

Re: How long will my Alpha last?!?!!!? 450HP
 

My plan is to keep the motor, and put it in a different hull in a couple of years. I love this boat that I have now, and I'm not interested in selling it. I don't beat on my boat at all now. I just have a few short runs to beat my buddies and would like to keep it that way. What is the part # for the extra heavy upper gear set in the Alpha. I really think that it may get me thru a couple of seasons. I would just swap motors when i buy a new boat with a faster hull, and save the money on the purchase of that boat by getting a smaller and way less expensive engine package. I just want more power now, without a new boat. Is that too much to ask or am I really stretching my justification thin? Thanks for all the replies! This is why this is the BEST sight! Even for a small guy like me.