Is bravo 3 school open???

[2FORCEFULL]

Steve your Rinker that I bought had the Bravo 3, it was a very good drive, no issues, handled the super heavy boat with ease, got on plane as quickly as you would want, backed up with ease much more control than my other 1's at low speeds, turned a tight circle without losing its grip, never had an issue with it. I did know that costs to repair were much higher but that is all.

LOL... just lost that bet...I told sue we never had a boat with a b3 drive... she said , yes we did the rinker…

no way it was a bravo 1,... lol ..guess I was wrong...hope all is well at your camp..

 

[PaPaG]

LOL, yup that was my first Bravo 3, was a bit hesitant because I had never had one before but now I would not worry about getting another one if it was well taken care of..All is great at our end just busier than I care to be but Thankful as a person can be......Same story different day Hope all is great at your end, Please tell Sue we said hello.

 

[rrrr]

I have one thing to add to the discussion. When I swapped the 496/B3 in my Chaparral 256 to a 675 HP 540/Bravo XR, it wouldn't plane with more than ten people in the boat. With the stock setup it would plane with thirteen and a couple of coolers onboard.

If I had it to do over, I would have installed a B3 XR.

The manufacturer's hull rating was fourteen people or a load of around 2,600 lbs.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

here's a boat just about like mine, but with a 5.7 and looks like an alpha dr??? and aluminum 3 blade prop

would be interesting to run the two side by side to see what the real difference between the two would be... 5.7 vs 7.4 and alpha vs b3

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/bod/d/1997-chaparral-sunesta-23/6667602939.html

 

[riverbrian]

same for me,looking at it is a mystery to me though...

I am 42 mph (gps) at 3300 rpms

I have a ton of throttle left, but never go there...

 

[checkrd past]

have a friend that got a used 23 Essex with the bravo 3 Hated the idle handling and replaced it with a bravo 1 Just saying

 

[thmterry]

have a friend that got a used 23 Essex with the bravo 3 Hated the idle handling and replaced it with a bravo 1 Just saying

With my deeper V boat the bravo 3 at idle is the best, steers like a car with 2 props.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I am 42 mph (gps) at 3300 rpms

I have a ton of throttle left, but never go there...

what boat?

 

[rush1]

I'm running 26p Mercury props ,carbd 1997 454 merc engine ,23' Essex Monarch don't know what gears I've got in the drive. runs 4600 rpm's dash speedo says 56 my GPS on the phone says 50 mph . I would like some more top end but the wife wants me to leave it alone.

 

[riverbrian]

what boat?

Laveycraft deck boat, it’s taken a bit to get here. Spacer, new props, etc....

 

[rrrr]

have a friend that got a used 23 Essex with the bravo 3 Hated the idle handling and replaced it with a bravo 1 Just saying

That's odd. The absence of torque steer makes docking a B3 no problem.

 

[checkrd past]

That's odd. The absence of torque steer makes docking a B3 no problem.

I didn't understand it either

 

[Deja_Vu]

I'm running 26p Mercury props ,carbd 1997 454 merc engine ,23' Essex Monarch don't know what gears I've got in the drive. runs 4600 rpm's dash speedo says 56 my GPS on the phone says 50 mph . I would like some more top end but the wife wants me to leave it alone.

I've got the same setup. Boat tops out at about 52mph on the gps with full tanks and 2 peeps.

 

[rrrr]

.

My Chaparral 256. I think a lot of people miss out on good value by not checking out some of the volume manufacturer's boats. Mine had everything you could ask for, and the quality was outstanding.

.

 

[RiverDave]

My brother bought a used Hallett 240 with a 496 Mag and a Bravo III he hated the way the drive felt behind the boat felt like he was dragging an anchor. We swapped the lower with a Bravo I with a 24 Bravo I prop and it was night and day difference the boat felt like it was lighter it trimmed up and took a way better set and gained 5mph and there was no noticeable difference out of the hole with the two of us in the boat. Just thought I’d share.

He must have had the wrong props on the B3.. I've been in a 240 with a B3 and it ran GREAT! Actually the ability to throw that thing in lock to lock turns at speed was mind blowing. It was like a slot car.

RD

 

[RiverDave]

It’s definitely more expensive to mess with props, but I’ve seen a B3 installed on a Nordic 29 deck run the same speed with prop work as a B1 that had at least 6 props run across it as well. The planing and mid range cruise efficiency was phenomenal as well. The boat ran 78 mph.

I’ve also seen the 2 back to back on a 29’ Fountain with a 525, and I’d take the B3 all day everyday over the B1. It was a direct swap with no propping and there was 1 mph difference. 70-71 mph

That’s my experience, your mileage may vary.

The problem and reason why I'd take a B1, is the prop dial in has to be crazy $$$ to do..

RD

 

[RiverDave]

I think it's a great drive, especially for heavier boats. I have a GPS speedo and phasing the props correctly does make a difference, not much but when you can gain a mph or so on a 45 mph boat it helps.
Also, I run different pitch props to help dial it in a bit. I've found that a 24 on front and 22 on the rear works best for my set up. I haven't tried a 4 blade combo yet but will eventually.

I have read where people are running different pitch props from front to back.. That seems completely illogical to me, but as you said it seems to work?

RD

 

[RodnJen]

I’ve been curious about the Hill B3 props for a while, just not curious enough to spend the $$$.

 

[Duffster]

I have a 21 Essex Sterling with 502 power/B3 with lab Bronson Hill 28’s. The boat is very quick with little to no slippage out of the hole and no side to side at low speed. High speed very stable all and all good setup it just hurts topend speed by about 5-6mph and seems to max out at around 69-70mph.

 

[RiverDave]

I have a 21 Essex Sterling with 502 power/B3 with lab Bronson Hill 28’s. The boat is very quick with little to no slippage out of the hole and no side to side at low speed. High speed very stable all and all good setup it just hurts topend speed by about 5-6mph and seems to max out at around 69-70mph.

I could understand 2 mph.. but 5-6?

RD

 

[Duffster]

I could understand 2 mph.. but 5-6?

RD

Dave I’m just going off information from the late HB member Essex502 had told me. He had my same setup with but with a B1 and claimed to get 75mph out his boat fully trimmed. He went on to tell me if I went B1 to loose the cable steering and go full hydraulic. He said the hull got really light and it kind of freaked him out and that it could become a trauma center very easy if the steering cable snapped.

I do know that my B3 at about 70mph provides a lot of lift and is very light where your just riding on the back pad. Some big tabs might help but I’m kind of over the balls to wall high speed shit these days.

 

[Deja_Vu]

Dave I’m just going off information from the late HB member Essex502 had told me. He had my same setup with but with a B1 and claimed to get 75mph out his boat fully trimmed. He went on to tell me if I went B1 to loose the cable steering and go full hydraulic. He said the hull got really light and it kind of freaked him out and that it could become a trauma center very easy if the steering cable snapped.

I do know that my B3 at about 70mph provides a lot of lift and is very light where your just riding on the back pad. Some big tabs might help but I’m kind of over the balls to wall high speed shit these days.

Awe man, I haven't heard about E502 in a while...RIP He was such a cool guy.
Met him at the Essex regatta in 2004.

 

[92562]

I have read where people are running different pitch props from front to back.. That seems completely illogical to me, but as you said it seems to work?
RD

A friend of mine is the Merc rep for the entire West coast and he convinced me to try it on my brother's Chap (454 B3) and we put a 26 in front and 28 in back. You get the hole-shot of the 26 and almost the top end of using both 28s. I was amazed how well it worked.

 

[92562]

One thing to keep in mind with a Merc B3 is that depending on the year, the engine was different between the B1 and B3. In '95 for sure, the carb'd 454 B1 used a low profile intake manifold and had a base timing of 8 degrees and was rated at 300HP; the B3 had a high-rise manifold, a base timing of 10 degrees and was rated at 330HP. Once they switched to EFI I believe the B1 and B3 used the same engine.

 

[RiverDave]

A friend of mine is the Merc rep for the entire West coast and he convinced me to try it on my brother's Chap (454 B3) and we put a 26 in front and 28 in back. You get the hole-shot of the 26 and almost the top end of using both 28s. I was amazed how well it worked.

I think it's a great drive, especially for heavier boats. I have a GPS speedo and phasing the props correctly does make a difference, not much but when you can gain a mph or so on a 45 mph boat it helps.
Also, I run different pitch props to help dial it in a bit. I've found that a 24 on front and 22 on the rear works best for my set up. I haven't tried a 4 blade combo yet but will eventually.

Kind of weird. In one example we have a guy running a smaller pitched prop on the front and larger in the back. In the second example OBR is running the small one on the back and larger one on the front?

??

RD

 

[Duffster]

Kind of weird. In one example we have a guy running a smaller pitched prop on the front and larger in the back. In the second example OBR is running the small one on the back and larger one on the front?

??

RD

Well Dave the newer B3x has a big 4-blade back and a 3-blade front. I was told to try a set B3x 27’s for more topend speed but never did the test. When I pulled out the original 454 for the 502mpi Byron Bronson at the time said he had to build up the ears a lot on my 28’s to get the RPM’s I wanted correct. Now fully trimmed it bumps the stock rev limiter at 70mph. Lots of gears and shit I would hate have it grande.

 

[outboardrick]

I have read where people are running different pitch props from front to back.. That seems completely illogical to me, but as you said it seems to work?

RD

If you think about it, you're basically averaging the pitch. I'm not sure if it equates exactly but a 24/22 combo would equal out to a 23 pitch. And without having many props around to try, it helps to get it dialed in.

 

[92562]

Kind of weird. In one example we have a guy running a smaller pitched prop on the front and larger in the back. In the second example OBR is running the small one on the back and larger one on the front?

??

RD

We may be saying the same thing, I am referring to the front prop as the one toward the front of the boat. As you stand behind the boat and look at it, that same prop would be behind the bigger prop. I was told to put the prop with the smaller pitch in the forward position with respect to the bow of the boat.