Bolt on Surface Drives/ Rudder.

rustybarge

rustybarge

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The general concenus is that Volvo and Merc. outdrives are a walking disaster, and comercial operators report that they need a total rebuild every 1000 hrs. Exactly how many bellows, gaskets, rubber hoses, bearings, cv joints and other gubins are there on an outdrive?

Enter stage left the surface drive, a simple shaft drive that bolts onto the transom.
Just drill a 1 1/2" hole on the transom just above the water level, hey presto!
The gearbox stays inside the hull attached to the engine.

£3000 including hydraulic rudder......
surface drives page 16 :http://www.lancingmarine.com/databook/files/index.html
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What do you think?
 
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I think the boat has to be designed from scratch for surface drives and its not a simple matter of changing an outdrive or shaft drive boat to surface drives?

FWIW I understand they are not easy to use at slow speed and they only come in to their own at high speed.

The well known manufacturer of Surface drives is the Arneson brand, see:

http://www.twindisc.com/MarineProducts/MarineArneson.html

You very rarely see them, I only know of one surface drive boat locally and that has been for sale for years.
 
Bandit said:
I think the boat has to be designed from scratch for surface drives and its not a simple matter of changing an outdrive or shaft drive boat to surface drives?

FWIW I understand they are not easy to use at slow speed and they only come in to their own at high speed.

The well known manufacturer of Surface drives is the Arneson brand, see:

http://www.twindisc.com/MarineProducts/MarineArneson.html

You very rarely see them, I only know of one surface drive boat locally and that has been for sale for years.
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Now that's a nice piece of kit, but it's very complex with a Cv joint, and several hydraulic rams to push the whole shaft from side to side, and up and down!!!

For the ultimate in speed, maneuverability, efficiency and dependability, nothing matches Twin Disc Arneson Surface Drives. Their surface-piercing propeller design reduces underwater drag by 50% compared to conventional submerged propeller drive systems. The only surfaces to contact the water are the propeller blades and a protective skeg. This results in higher overall speed, quicker acceleration and a better payload-to-power ratio. And 50% less drag significantly improves fuel economy while lowering operating costs.
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View attachment 36745

just guessing it's mega bucks.
 
I had the thought cross my mind a few years back, I was running a Sabre 180/borgwarner 1/1 thru a sternpower 95 outdrive. In a 26' Tremlett. The power of the engine used to "eat" the outdrive on a regular basis, but I found a better solution I SOLD THE BOAT!!
 
Spi D said:
Sonny Levi went from desingng boats to building surface drives too.
Some explanation on the site

http://levidrivemalaysia.webs.com/
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It would make perfect sense out in the far east, where every little boat has one of those ' long shaft' v8 engines balanced on the stern, with a 10' long tube and propellor sticking out the back.

I think it's possible to buy a ready made Honda 5hp with this arrangement.

View attachment 36746
 
omega2 said:
I had the thought cross my mind a few years back, I was running a Sabre 180/borgwarner 1/1 thru a sternpower 95 outdrive. In a 26' Tremlett. The power of the engine used to "eat" the outdrive on a regular basis, but I found a better solution I SOLD THE BOAT!!
Click to expand...

just guessing.....change to shaft drives.:D
 
Here's the outboard pods on my Cat, obviously designed for O/B's.

But I would like diesel power, and I thought the surface drive would be a beautiful fit, and the engine could sit on the deck inside the cockpit.
View attachment 36747
 
rustybarge said:
The general concenus is that Volvo and Merc. outdrives are a walking disaster, and comercial operators report that they need a total rebuild every 1000 hrs. Exactly how many bellows, gaskets, rubber hoses, bearings, cv joints and other gubins are there on an outdrive?

Enter stage left the surface drive, a simple shaft drive that bolts onto the transom.
Just drill a 1 1/2" hole on the transom just above the water level, hey presto!
The gearbox stays inside the hull attached to the engine.

£3000 including hydraulic rudder......
surface drives page 16 :http://www.lancingmarine.com/databook/files/index.html
View attachment 36730

th_image_zpsca0caf24.jpg


View attachment 36728
rly edib
What do you think?
Click to expand...

Pal of mine is involved with powerboat HTS fitted with these drives, whilst he is not happy with the engines claims that drives work brilliantly and are incredibly good value. http://www.classicoffshore.com/history_apache_hts.php
 
omega2 said:
yes they disintegrate even quicker.
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oh dear!:rolleyes:

Please bear with me for a minute.
Outboard drive legs are 100% reliable.
90 degree gearboxes are 100% reliable, as in every back axle on every car ever made.

So why are outdrives so bad?
 
Latestarter1 said:
Pal of mine is involved with powerboat HTS fitted with these drives, whilst he is not happy with the engines claims that drives work brilliantly and are incredibly good value. http://www.classicoffshore.com/history_apache_hts.php
Click to expand...

the simplicity of this 'above water' shaft drive system really appeals to me.
Just a 'P' bracket to locate the end of end shaft; it doesn't even need a stuffing box as the shaft enters the hull above the water line.

.....but it does need some sort of rudder setup.
And an expensive special prop.:(
 
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