Swapping alpha one for B3

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Mojo27

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Jul 14, 2012
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My buddy is looking at buying a 2006 Regal 2500 and at a very acceptable price. The boat is perfect and has the 350 mag. Ideal right? The only problem is that the boat only has an Alpha One outdrive with a 3 blade stainless steel prop, 22 pitch I believe. He and his family are big skiers and water sporters so how much do you think it would cost him to swap out the outdrive (prop and all) to a Bravo Three? From what little I have read a new outdrive for a bravo three is around 5k but we can't find an estimate of how much the one on the boat is worth. It is a 2006, 92 hours on it, fresh water, suited for a 350 mag, and I don't have a clue what the gear ratios on outdrives means but I would guess it would be the factory default. The outdrive doesn't have a scratch on it and the prop looks bran new. Staying with the alpha isn't n option for him. Thanks for the help.
 
Bondo

Bondo

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

Mojo27 said:
My buddy is looking at buying a 2006 Regal 2500 and at a very acceptable price. The boat is perfect and has the 350 mag. Ideal right? The only problem is that the boat only has an Alpha One outdrive with a 3 blade stainless steel prop, 22 pitch I believe. He and his family are big skiers and water sporters so how much do you think it would cost him to swap out the outdrive (prop and all) to a Bravo Three? From what little I have read a new outdrive for a bravo three is around 5k but we can't find an estimate of how much the one on the boat is worth. It is a 2006, 92 hours on it, fresh water, suited for a 350 mag, and I don't have a clue what the gear ratios on outdrives means but I would guess it would be the factory default. The outdrive doesn't have a scratch on it and the prop looks bran new. Staying with the alpha isn't n option for him. Thanks for the help.
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Ayuh,.... probably about the price of the boat again,... or More...

Everything aft of the rear motor mounts needs to be replaced...
'n other things added to the motor...
Like a new 'puter, 'n new impeller pump...
 
tswiczko

tswiczko

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

I don't under stand why he thinks he needs to change the drive..
Is the drive on the boat he's buying broken?
If he is insisting on a bravo 3 then maybe he needs to keep looking.
I have a 350 mag with alpha 1 in a 24.5'/ cuddy and if I switch down to a 19p 4 blade ss from a 23p3 blade ss it has pulled 2 skiers out fairly easily.
My boat is a 1989, the drive was gone through once about 7 years ago because I hit an underwater object (not due to wear and tear)

He could change to a 4 blade prop with a lower pitch to get a better hole shot couldn't he?
 
M

Mojo27

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

I guess we never really considered that. A good point though. Will that give it the same performance as the B3 or pretty close?
 
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haulnazz15

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

What do you mean by "performance"? The Alpha drive will have a slightly slower holeshot all else being equal, and the B3 track a bit better. I don't think any open water skier is going to notice much (if any) difference between the two when in the same boat/same engine. Are you sure it's an Alpha One and not a Bravo One? Seems odd that in a 2006 boat with a 350 Mag, it would have been paired with an Alpha I. Either way, a 4-blade prop will solve the holeshot issue. No "avid skier" is going to have much to say when being towed behind a 25' boat. It's not made for optimum skiing, but it's doable.

Me personally, I wouldn't want that boat without a Big Block. A 25' boat is heavy, and the 350 Mag is about at it's limits in that boat. A 7.4/8.1L would be a better option, and would be certain to have at least a Bravo I (late-80's 454's notwithstanding).
 
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HT32BSX115

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

What do you mean by "performance"? The Alpha drive will have a slightly slower holeshot all else being equal, and the B3 track a bit better. I don't think any open water skier is going to notice much (if any) difference between the two when in the same boat/same engine.
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I disagree,

A Bravo III will have FAR better hole-shot than ANY single prop drive with similar crankshaft torque and HP.
The difference in my 4500lb 21ft Four Winns Liberator going from the 460/Cobra single ss prop to the similarly powered 454 Bravo III, was nothing short of spectacular for "hole-shot"! It'll jerk a skier out of the water about as fast as most ski-boats.

In the OP's boat though, it will cost a small fortune to make the swap and will not be "worth" it.

If he hasn't bought the boat, tell him to put 4 big people in it and pull a skier out of the water and see how it performs. It might just be "ok"

Otherwise test fly a boat that performs the way he wants!


Regards,


Rick
 
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HT32BSX115

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

It looks like the 2013 model WOULD be a good choice. ALL the 2013 Regal 2500's come with at LEAST a 300HP (or more) Volvo or Mercruiser engine and respective Duoprop/Bravo III drive.

It's a 26' 4500+ lb boat. It would probably be a "hole-shot-dog" with anything less!
 
QC

QC

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

I think he is saying dramatically better hole shot as opposed to slightly ;)
 
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haulnazz15

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

Well, I would assume prop selection is going to have something to say about that. A 4-blade/tabs on the Alpha may be a lot closer out of the hole than one might think. Nothing cheap will help the tracking issue though. Either way, I still think the SBC is the wrong engine in a 25' runabout.
 
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HT32BSX115

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

haulnazz15 said:
You disagree with what? I said the Alpha would have a slower holeshot and would also track worse than a B3? That's basically what you said as well.
Click to expand...


I disagree with:
The Alpha drive will have a slightly slower holeshot all else being equal..../////.....I don't think any open water skier is going to notice much (if any) difference between the two when in the same boat/same engine.
Click to expand...

The difference is no where near "slight".

You're basically doubling the number of propeller blade area in the water (and initial thrust) . ANY skier will notice the difference between being dragged through the water while the boat is trying to get up on plane, vs being "snapped up" right away......

Otherwise, we agree completely!
 
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haulnazz15

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

But again, we'd have to have actual data to be sure it's any meaningful amount. What I mean is, if you're pulling up a 170lbs guy, and it takes 3.5 seconds to plane with the B3 and 4.5 seconds with the Alpha, does the skier really notice the extra second of time? After that 4 seconds, the skier won't know the difference between the two. Now, if we're pulling up 240+lbs guys on a 67" ski from a set of combos, I can imagine a bigger difference will be seen between the B3 and the Alpha. All I am saying is that the difference may be slight depending on who you are pulling out of the water and how each boat is propped.
 
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HT32BSX115

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Re: Swapping alpha one for B3

Yeah. I can only give you my example of my 21' 4500lb boat with a 340HP Ford 460 and single prop drive vs a 330hp 454 and a "dual" prop drive.

Even when it was new, it was a dog out of the hole propped for MAX recommended RPM at WOT with the 460/Cobra.

Now, propped for MAX recommended RPM at WOT with a Bravo III and a similarly rated engine (actually 10hp LESS) it's a literal ROCKET out of the hole and I cannot tell much difference with a big fat skier on the back.

Before it would drag the skier while it was trying to get on plane. .......this with Bennett trim tabs set for best holeshot in either case. The only difference being the "6-blade" prop(s) vs the 3 blade.


You would get a similar improvement (although less dramatic) with a 4 blade prop over a 3 blade.

According to the manufacturers site, the OP's boat is available in the 2013 model with the SBC Volvo or Mercruiser but ONLY with DuoProp/Bravo III drives. I suspect that they figured out that a boat that big just doesn't perform very well with a single prop drive so they stopped offering them..........And in view of the huge difference I saw with my boat, I believe it!
 
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