Reply With Quoteshouldn't a xr drive hold up to 800 hp without to many problems.
I'M WRITING THIS NOT TO PISS ANYONE OFF. IT'S JUST THE TRUTH. READ IT AND BE INFORMED AND BE CAREFUL AND SAFE! GOOD BOATING TO ALL!
I've seen too many many friends go thru Bravo drives like POPCORN trying to go fast with MEGA horsepower motors. All they do is pay the same money in the long run as I did for #-6 drives. I didn't like having to pay for the #-6 drives either. But, it was either that or my wife saw a boat flip when a drive blew and she said no #-6's NO BOAT! Be VERY VERY careful as this decision could KILL you!
DON'T GET ME WRONG, the Mercury Bravo drive IS a great drive system and I've owned over six. The new high performance stuff is even greater. But its NOT for over 700 hp motors. Mercury says not over 525 hp. They must know best!
The people who buy Bravos for MEGA horsepower will experience ruined vacations, many disappointed and ruined weekends and not too mention our wives or girlfriends getting ROYALLY pissed off and not wanting anything further to do with the Boating scene. One buddy has a 2003 CAT and has gone through 8 drives and his boating was over when he blew a drive at about 65 mph and it through his son out of the boat. His wife said he either sold the boat or she was gone! The boat was sold very FAST!
Now, lets cover the DANGER ISSUE! Have you ever seen what happens to a CAT that has blown a drive at high speed?? It either barrel rolls or makes a very fast left or right turn that you have NO CONTROL in preventing or stopping. If your not thrown from the boat or killed your very lucky. Think of dual drives as a Tank with two tracks. Now we all know what happens to a tank when you stop one of the Tracks.......it turns left or right very fast. The same is what happens to a CAT with dual outdrives.
Insurance is another area of concern. You guys better be honest and tell your insurance carrier the horspepower and the REAL top speed of the boat. My wife is an insurance agent and she tells me if you lie on the speed or horsepower you have ZERO insurance and any claims will be denied and not covered. All your premiums you paid were paid in vain and your SCREWED! I know too many guys who got their MEGA Horsepower 120 mph+ boat covered as a family runabout with their HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE. They have zero insurance as it is fraud and when the adjuster inspects the boat after a accident you will be denied any claims.
Be careful and safe and be aware.
GLWBEAR
OVER 45 YEARS OF BOATING experience
Retired Mercury Marine dealer
Lake "X" experienced
2003 DCB Mach 34 w/ #-6 drives
2000 Spectre 30
1997 28 Skater
1994 Elimnator 24 Daytona
1988 45 ft Bayliner
1986 28 ft Sleekcraft
1985 21ft Eliminator
Plus tons of other boats
shouldn't a xr drive hold up to 800 hp without to many problems.
Well Said,
I have a question, how does a high horse motor with a single drive react at high speed (100+) when the drive lets go. I know every situation is different, just curious if it usually pitches you sideways as well or is it just with twins. Your post is dead on. There is no price for saftey. And I'm sure many people have destroyed enough bravo drives to purchase a few #6's.Thanks, KELLY
we were going about 95mph when ours let go,the rpm spiked and the boat just came to a stop.almost like your were hauling ass and shut off the key.it was a gear on our boat.
That sounds better to me, always a little nervous in a twin with huge power running fast, or running beside them. KELLY
On my old boat 26' single engine cat, I had my ignition box let go at around 100 mph going thru Topock Gorge(those walls are scary)...It just slowed to a stop and the 3 Forces I was racing finally went by me... (couldn't resist) I would agree with a Twin the Reaction might be different but with a single engine application this will be what you could expect almost everytime.
Most of you who have had failures have had a single drive! There usually isn't a problem as the boat will just settle down in the water and stop. That's if you were going STRAIGHT. If your in a turn you could spin out or worse.
IT'S THE DUAL ENGINE boats where the danger is! Just like I said in the original post. You can do a 100 MPH and when your drive locks up you make a very fast right or left turn and trouble starts!
The member who asked if BRAVO drives were rated to 800 hp. The answer is NO! There is a CAT owner who posts on this fourm that has had several BRAVO Failures with 800 hp motors!
As I said before, BRAVO OWNERS, BEWARE OF HIGH HORSEPOWER DUAL MOTORS ON CATS , and even "V" hulls AS IT CAN KILL YOU!
If you want to go fast and need 100 mph+ speeds, get with the program and buy #-6 drives and stop risking others and yourself and family
Our insurance rates are going up like a ROCKET SHIP. Pretty soon we might find ourselves with boats that you cannot buy INSURANCE for at any PRICE! I ask you how many of us are foolish enough to run your boat without any insurance??? Not many I HOPE!
I'm paying over $8,000 a year in insurance in Boat & Tow vehicle insurance and that's with no accidents, no claims, no problems. If insurance goes up any more we're selling the boat and will finding another hobby. I'm not about to pay $800 to $1,000 a month to go fast for about 30+ days a year!
Anyone feeling the same? Let me know.
GLWB EAR
gwilliams@interphasepi.com
This is an excellent topic of discusion. First off I would like to state my experience with this subject.
I have seen many twin engine cats hook hard to the right or left when there is a motor or drive train failure at speed. I have even seen some race boats flip.
In my personal experience I have had a drive on my Spectre 30 pop out of gear at 100+mph and the boat continued on perfectly straight. I actually couldn't believe it, but it did go straight.
In my HTM I had a coil bracket brake, thus causing the to coil drop killing the motor at about 80-90mph and again the boat just quit and slowed to a stop.
It does make complete sense for a twin engine cat to hook at speed when one side lets go and it should turn in the direction in which you are turning the prop on the motor that is still pulling the boat forward. I guess maybe my deal was just a flouk, but I'm not planning on testing this very soon either.
Rumor has it that when the boys from HTM bit it, it was possible that a motor locked up, detinated, drive broke or possibly a tie bar broke. It seems that any one of those mechanical failures could cause the tragic accident that those guys had.
As for the insurance BS, I think it is a racket by a certain insurance company that is trying to monopolize the boat insurance business. I have heard several rumors that there is 1 or 2 marine insurance companies out there that are throwing all of us boaters under the bus, by telling our regular insurance companies a bunch of BS, thus our companies are dropping us like flies and forcing us to have to go to these high price marine companies. The big baller boat guys out there can afford the high prices, so they just pay it, but for the weekend warriors it is going to become very difficult to justify the high prices.
I've said the same thing many a time. There really is a reason why Mercury makes the speedmaster series. Put a #6, or even a #3-5 next to the bravo. The size difference is there for a reason! You can build up the drive all you want, but you are still hanging it on a stock gimble? What's up with that?
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