I did not see any boats using surface drives and wondered why donÂ’t more people use them instead of Bravo or IMCO drives. Arneson makes a conversion kit so you can fit their Surface Drive ASD6 Unit in place of a conventional I/O Unit. One guy replaced his standard I/O with the surface drive on a 18 foot Dozi and went 110mph. It seams like there would be a lot less things to go wrong on the unit.
My bud is doing a conversion on his 22' daytona. The first main thing is that he needs to drop the engine about 3" in the boat. Not a real problem for him because his exhaust goes over his transom but whould suck for us..
I will be thinking about it and making a decision after his is done..
Timmy
This has been brought up in the past, and I do recall price being a major factor. Granted the entry level Arneson is half of what a #6 costs, but also 3 or so times what the average Bravo will run. Seems like the starting package was at the top side of $15K and that's before you figure in the labor for getting everything switched over and hooked up.
The major problem with the Arneson drive is that the prop is exposed and is sharp. They are great for race boats when people are never in the water around the rear of the boat, but in the chanel or somewhere that people will be swimming, they are a huge liability for cuts.
Originally posted by BADBLOWN572
The major problem with the Arneson drive is that the prop is exposed and is sharp.
That does come in handy if you want to slice up some deli meat and make a sandwich in a big hurry.
I looked at them when I rebuilt my transom.
Like BADBOYCLUB283 said...there is less cavitation plate and the prop is farther out and shallower.
Any swimming behind the boat (let alone trying to get up a swimstep) would require a first aid kit nearby. Also, I don't imagine it would be fun on a tube or wakeboard behind the roost.
So I guess I'd think hard if putting it in a (disfunctional)family boat.
And then there's the price.
Other than that, they're great!
Tell me about the RHINO
They also work good for use as a blender behind your boat. Something about jumping off the boat into a blender I don't like. Seems much more reliable though.
.....and then there's the price of a decent prop for the surface drive. they start at just over a grand i think. also after looking at their site i'm pretty sure i wouldn't see the kind of gains that donzi did. i'd gain just as much(if not more) by getting a whipple charger hyd. steering and tabs. -and have ten grand leftover
FastTimmy,
Let us know how that Daytona turns out, a bunch of folks will be real curiousReally in the long run it may be a good option even if I'd have to fill in the ceneter sponson notch. Figure you could make some kind of floating cover for the prop when you're anchored. Just have to remember to remove it before you take off
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