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Jersey Devil
11-05-2001, 02:10 PM
I see that donzi did this alot in 1987, do they hold up?
Thanks Tom
Soon to be a donzi owner (maybe)
I'm going to look at the 29 on saturday.
Anybody want my formula?

CDMA
11-05-2001, 03:16 PM
Jersey Devil,

I do not mean to be negative but in my opionion the 454 is just too much engine for the Alpha. I would not be comfortable with this set up. I have a 350 alpha and that even makes me nervous...

Chris

The worst part of knowing how things work is you wonder how come they just don't explode...when I get older I want to just once go buy something that I have NO idea how it is put together and just ignorantly run it. Ignorance is bliss.

Formula Jr
11-05-2001, 06:41 PM
Jersey Devil,
I've been thinking about that boat and setup you are looking at. First, the price is right. 17 K for a 29 if its in good condition is a steal.

As to the Drive/Engine combo.

The Alphas are rated at 300HP and your 454's put out 330HP. Torque is what kills Alphas. But since your future boat is a twin, and relatively small, I don't see a problem with it. As each drive is only taking half of the driving force. Where people get in trouble is if you have, say, a 24 with a single Alpha and a Big Block. Then that one drive is taking all the Torque needed to drive the boat. So your setup, so long as you don't try to hole shoot the boat or water ski, is really, a pretty good setup for the price. Remember, if you shear off a drive shaft in an Alpha, you are only out $1500 or so. Now you just have to think about two of those 454's and their gas guzzling ways.......... It all really depends on what you want to do with the boat. That combo is a good ocean combo giving you the ability to lose an engine and get back. And should last if you are not a 9/10ths driver all the time. If I was looking at the boat, for that price, if it was in Oky condition, I would buy it and run the hell out of it.

What I don't like about Alpha's is their shifting design. It is really a bad design overall with its clutch dog and ignition interupt system and you would be shifting alot with a twin during docking. The more I look at the design, the more I wonder how Merc ever got it to work in the first place.

SundanceKid
11-05-2001, 06:44 PM
How hard would it be to swap the Alpha's (Gen 1 or 2?) out for a pair of Bravo's?

Formula Jr
11-05-2001, 07:03 PM
You would have to take out both engines, and completely remove both drives, transom inner plate, Gimble Ring Housing and all. Then drill two lower holes in the transom and mount the complete Bravo systems, then realign the engines. This would exceed the value of the boat.

Cuda
11-05-2001, 07:06 PM
I am currently swapping out a merc 898 to a 350/330 hp. the 898 has a type R outdrive, and I asked my mech if I switched to an alpha, if it would hold up. He believes it would, and the alpha II would be better. He said he ran his own boat for 3500 hrs with a 454 and alpha I. Of course it was a fishing boat and not put under the stress of hole shots and lots of wot. Also, I am sure that it being serviced regularly, and kept oil instead of salt water in the outdrive had a lot to do with the longevity. He felt a bravo would be overkill for my application, (20 foot Formula SC),

As far a swapping to a bravo, they are expensive units to start with, and you would have to change the gimbal housing too. I would have the alpha's serviced and run them till they pukedm and then upgrade to an alpha 1 HD, or an alpha II. If you go to alpha II you will also have to change the gimbal housing.

CDMA
11-05-2001, 08:24 PM
Well I guess the consensus is different than my opinion but I don't clain to know it all. If you get it run adrive shower and stay below 5000rpm

Chris

Bryan Tuvell 33ZX
11-05-2001, 09:01 PM
I have to agree with much of what was said, having owned a Alpha Gen II this past season, I learned allot, good and bad (and ugly), mine was couple to a newer 350 MAG. I think your deal would be ok as long as you got her up on plane in a respectable manner, and didn't catch allot of air with out backing off each time.
My first drive failure was at about 150 hours.
I ran mine harder than most and think the driving technique was the demise of my first drive failure. With the new drive I came up on plane a little easier and then gave her hell, and had no more problems. The new drive has 150 hours on her too now, runs like a charm.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck.
Bryan

Formula Jr
11-05-2001, 09:16 PM
Chris, You are absolutely correct to point out the 454/Alpha problem. And I would be in complete agreement with you, but for the twin aspect. I would never touch a single 454/Alpha Combo. on anything over 18 feet for a glass or wood boat. The 300HP prohibition is really a rough torque limit. I mean, lets say you build a very light, welded aluminum deep vee weighing in at 1200 lbs. You're never going to reach the 550 Foot/Pound torque limit here (550lbs is what a standard 454 puts out on a dyno), there is too little mass in the boat, so it would be a good choice for a drive.

As to "ignorance is bliss"; I think that has been my family's motto for about 200 years. :)