That boat will likely never be trailered anywhere, but a prop change on that is staring down a 6G bill.
Does anyone still have an I/O?
- Thread starter Donald
- Start date
...and I thought the 496 in my 23' Crownline was fun
Sweet ride!
Thanks!
The 725/840 588 in the 21 ft is even " more funner" actually borderline on ridiculous, but thats how I like it.
Pardon me while I drool uncontrollably...Ilmor drive unit also?
Thanks!
No, that came out after my build and was designed primarily as a surface piercing drive.
I probably would not have opted for it anyway as surface piercing drive boats use CNC milled props that are about 5-10K each.
Its unfortunate that it failed in the market - we were all surprised it did not get more traction and all wanted an alternative to Mercury in this regard.
What I have on both boats is a Bravo 1XR with all the upgrades you can do to it, (Teague platinum shaft XR) stronger shafts, and braces, Imo " "Shorty" lower unit and what mercury called the ITS Integrated transom system that has external steering built into the unit. Fully hydraulic - no cables.
Its about 25K per boat for the drive and ITS in todays dollars.
The next step up from this is the M8 drive and or "number 6" and they are about 60K per drive plus a transmission.
Heres a boat we built with a number 6 drive and a 7 thousand dollar CNC milled prop.
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I recall the same scenario with our 1995 Four Winns Horizon 240. Big sun pad on back over the engine would raise up and made life better than most for regular oil changes and winterizing. Loved that boat until the marina tried to stuff it in a too small dry stack and screwed it royally. They “fixed” it and I sold it before the fiberglass work was even cured.
Istill have the old dreaded omc cobra with a 5.7L 350 chevy. Nobody will touch it. There is nothing wrong with OMC cobra drives with exception they are obsolete. All the internet hype will make you beleive they are junk. Its all on maint!
OMC stringer drives.........yeah with the ball gears.....now those are pretty much #$%#$^%#$^%
OMC stringer drives.........yeah with the ball gears.....now those are pretty much #$%#$^%#$^%
I thought the OMC setup on mine was great. 351 Ford with fuel injection and “silent gear engagement “. Cranked without touching the throttle and it was quiet. 55 mph and the hull design with pods that served as trim tabs for stability. The last two since the Four Winns have been outboards. First a Suzuki 4 stroke and now a Yamaha 4 stroke. The outdrive for the Suzuki seemed beefier but that motor didn’t like hot weather. Tendency to vapor lock.
An aeration tube.
This allows the prop a little bit of slip while its fully submerged so the boat can gain gain RPM a little quicker to get on plane.
This setup is designed so that when running the prop is approx half out to the water, but when off plane the whole gear case is underwater and even with a supercharched 700 there is so much "bite" with this type of propeller it can be hard to get on plane without these.
Any of the basic carbureted 3.0L 4cyl mercruiser I/O's my family has had over the years have been pretty easy to work on.
I have zero experience with newer 4-stroke, fuel injected outboards, but the ones I've seen with the power head covers off light nightmarish.
I have zero experience with newer 4-stroke, fuel injected outboards, but the ones I've seen with the power head covers off light nightmarish.
Thank you, I learned something about the cleaver style/surfacing props.
Its been decades and decades since I had an outboard and I do wish for one today. I could be wrong but feel they are more trouble free, no drive system through the hull, ect,ect.
Over those decades I have been from runabouts to a 28 foot SeaRay (which some might still call a roundabout *LOL*) Just the wife and I now and for the first time in my life, fresh water lake boating (41x 15 mile long lake) vs the Great South Bay and Ocean off Long Island and now back to a runabout Chaparral SSE 180. Store it in a storage place and take it to the local ramp. 2008 showroom condition that I purchased 3 years ago, 60 hours on the digital hour meter at the time. Got it for what is now a song and a dance, even the insurance company valued it thousands above what I paid.
What caught my attention in your post is "no one will work on them" We almost had that problem last year. I needed a new upper gear case for a VP - SX-A drive, first question was how old is the boat?
No one here where I live will work on a boat with an outdrive if its over 10 years old. However I got lucky (if you can call this lucky) I do have a VP authorized dealer near me, they asked the same 10 year question but when they heard it was the "newer" SX-A drive they said ok but they do not repair them, I had to chose between a rebuilt or new OEM upper gear case.
I did read when VP came out with the SX-A in 2007 or 2008 there was an issue with the upper gear case clutch and it was fixable but no one will fix it anymore (at least not here) and need a rebuilt or new.
SO for $6000 I went for the OEM NEW upper gear case and sea water pickup pump while it was there, had a small drip and squeak.
You can maybe find some small local boat mechanics to work on them. I did have one guy who was supposed too check it out, but then he had to reschedule, was out of town, felt uncomfy with the idea and when to the deal for a new unit. Glad I did. Boat runs incredible and in amazing condition.
I just ordered new tires and wheels for the trailer, been on there for almost 15 years and pretty cracked up. They arrive at my house tomorrow. Even the trailer looks great, its aluminum. No steel anyplace = no rust. Torsion Bar suspension which I know nothing about except that there are no exposed leaf springs to rust.
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I would be curious to know if an authorized Volvo Penta dealer would say I won't work on it if it's over 10 years old. And what would the VP corporation think of that. I assume they don't want a reputation that their outdrives are only good for 10 years.
A five year old outdrive run in salt water would be a real pain to work on if it had never been pulled off the boat.
Yes, the first question from the authorized dealer for VP was how old is the boat. The lady on the phone confirmed that they generally don’t work on boats older than 10 years but as I posted above since it was an SX A drive they were OK with replacing it.
I’m sure Volvo penta would have no say or care too in what a dealer chooses to work on or not unless obviously it’s warranty work on a new unit.
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You could kinda have both until Volvo bought Seven Marine and then killed the brand. A 6.2l in this case:
