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View Full Version : Bobs nose cones, low ater pick up?



G - FORCE 88
03-26-2003, 08:11 AM
I have a 22 classic with a 454 Mag, Bravo 1 drive. 1.5 gear., spinning a 25p Mirage. Has anyone here experimented with nose cones? Any luck? let me know about ANY information local prop shop says they are great. Please fill me in. I am considering it but wanna know what you guys might think.
thanks
Jon :D :confused: :D

Ranman
03-26-2003, 08:34 AM
Tantan,

Do a search of the archives here. There was a lengthy discussion about nosecones a short while back.

If I remember correctly, on a boat with a top speed of 70ish or below, you should see a small benefit in the handling and control departments, but will most likely not see much of a top end increase.

Oh yeah, and they're a pain in the ass to put on.

<small>[ March 26, 2003, 08:35 AM: Message edited by: Ranman ]</small>

Jamesbon
03-26-2003, 06:18 PM
Piece of cake for me. I sent the lower to Bob's, waited a few days and received a completed unit. :)

boldts
03-26-2003, 06:37 PM
Placing one on my Bravo1 also this Spring. Only difference is I'm using the Hydromotive (http://www.hydromotive.com) version here in OH. I put one on a Volvo 250 18' Classic and while I didn't see a speed increase, the boat's handling and steering was greatly improved.

BigGrizzly
03-26-2003, 06:46 PM
there has ben a lot of research on this. I have two kind of nose cones and have used then since the early 1990's. One is the type is from Hydromotive and is the parabolic type the and I use it on my Volvo drive. This is suppose to be the superior type with the correct cresent built in and has little effect on trim. The Criterion has a bobs machine shop nose cone and is of the steletto typr(comes to a sharp point). This type tends to swuat the srern if trimmed very much. This also has too large a cresent and has adverse handling at high speed but supperior at docking speeds. My preference is the Hydromotive type. I did notice the Volvo did handle high speeds better with it than with out it.(I have two lowers one with and one without). Now I have heard that they arn't worth it below 70mph. However we tessted then on ourHonda 225 and ours in that motor is worth abour 2 mph below 70mph. The problem is that nosecone is a HONDA design and not available for merc. BTW it is visually different than the other two mentioned. it is kind of a cross between both. What the noae cones do is make the lowerubit more hydrodynamit. Now the faster you go the more difference it makes. The actually raise the blowout point of the prop.

As for low water pickups. an article on nose cones years ago in hotboat mag said don't use them unless your jacking the motor high. I use a transom pick up on all my boats. This way the lower unit doesn't get clogged with junk if beached. several on this board have had low pickups get clogged.

<small>[ March 26, 2003, 06:53 PM: Message edited by: BigGrizzly ]</small>

Fish boy
03-26-2003, 09:29 PM
I agree with Big griz... as usual.

my .02 cents, if you are going to get one, I had the same good experience with Bob's that JamesBon did.

As for the LWP's I recently started boating in a lake(rather than the gulf of Mexico). there is a crappy little plant called Hydrilla that I keep sucking into my LWP, and clogging it. I am to the point that I either have to stop boating on that lake, or send my lower unit back to have more holes drilled (caller the sportster, or sportsman...) so my engine does not overheat.

Unless you are going to run the lower units way out of the water, you may just want a nose cone. There are several after market cones you can buy w/o the LWP.

<small>[ March 26, 2003, 09:31 PM: Message edited by: Fshboy ]</small>

Tomahawk
03-26-2003, 10:00 PM
Tan Man - I also have a Bravo 1 drive and looked into this at one time. I talked to Bob's about it and they told me that if it's a fairly late model Bravo drive, the nose cone won't help until you get up to about 75 mph. In fact, they said, it may actually cause a speed reduction. Good for some style points though. Older Bravos, TRS, Volvo's etc, are a different story.
As Ranman suggested, a search on the subject here will show a recent interesting discussion.