drive speed comparisons

[onesubdrvr]

I was looking at the spreadsheet in the "true lies" section the otgher day, and trying to make heads and tails of some info. My interest lies primarily in the 18's, but I think it would be pretty consistant across the line by hull.

The older Volvo drives seemed to add a good amount of drag to the boat, reducing speed, but by how much?

My questions is when comparably powered, what would the expected difference in cruise and top-end speed be on the following drives

Alpha, Volvo 270, 280, 290 w/o E-Lower, with E-lower, OMC Cobra, Volvo SX, Bravo

Unfortunately the information in the spread sheet in about 2 years old, and hard to find boats that are comparable in HP ratings.

Thanks
Wayne

[mattyboy]

Wayne,
if you are looking for speed then leave the 200 series out of it, the bravo with the shorty would be the route to take
I have seen a few E driven volvo's Geoo before the arneson and Brian73 x18 brad verds x 18 standard 280 leg they really go,

again It is what you want if you want mid 60's that's not all that hard in a 200 series if you want 70's that takes some doing if you want high 70's that takes an e drive and a miracle to find one and good luck finding parts
if you want 70's and no fuss try and find a 350 bravo boat
i would say a rule of thumb if a ss or a shorty or e drive is + 5-6 mph then a standard leg 200 series volvo is - 6-7 mph
from running with alpha/omc 16 with less hp and sometime less cyl the volvo can be a real drag
but if you want turnkey reliable moderate speed performance have no quams about buying a volvo boat

don't forget about props and trim

[Cuda]

Wayne, an Alpha is all you need for that light boat. A bravo will slow it down, more parasitic drag. You can always put an HD gear set in it if you're worried, but I wouldn't do it until I did blow one. Keep an eye out for an SS drive. Buizilla said it really woke his 18 up, and handled well.