for the guys that built motors for your boats would you go with big inch 540-572 na motors or smaller 454-496 supercharged engines.can't decide which way to go.had some problems with a supercharged small block i did for my last boat.can get a deal on a procharger about the same price i would pay for a tall deck dart block.help me decide

Depends on the enternals of both. No replacement for displacement. Less problems with a well built NA.

I wouldn't of married my wife

I guess there are many ways you can look at it. It usually depends on personal preference---so, you're going to get a lot of opinions on this. Supercharged engines certainly have their place, but as for me, I prefer Naturaly Aspirated engines vs a forced induction engine such as a supercharger/blower. There's pro/cons to each application. One, is that you have to be careful with a supercharged engine when applied to a Bravo outdrive. I have a 32' boat with Bravo One outdrives so, I opted to go without the superchargers and add a few more cubes instead. HP still costs money either way you go.

JimV (OSO member) lost about 7mph when he removed his supercharger from his engine and went naturally aspirated, but he's MUCH happier because he has much less downtime, and isn't breaking drives anymore like he used to.

Naturaly Aspirated engines have less moving parts and require less maintenance. I suppose if I owned a larger, heavier boat like a 41' Apache w/#6 drives, then perhaps I would go with supercharged engines if I really wanted the boat to run well.

With a supercharged application the torque usually comes in like Gang Busters. Sure, torque is your friend in a boat----but brutal torque and Bravo Ones don't always get along too well.

LMAO

If it's for this boat, i'll go with a 572NA. If I get another boat it will have closed cooling NA mercruiser packages.

I wanted an engine that was built with the best components. I know that I spent a few more $'s with the 540s NA, but hope that I will have longevity on my side. And, like was said before - I have Bravos and it is going to be tough enough keeping them alive with NA.

what compression ratio's are you using with na motors,87 octane is the only thing they have on my lake.can you get away with 87 with 540 9-1 compression

That was my first thought !!!!!!!!!!

I would gp with a big inch motor AND a supercharger