new blackhalk Q

[craigdskilling]

I just purchased a 1:50 ratio blackhalk drive.I will be putting in on 1987 18 2+3 classic.I am running a alpha with a labbed 25 p.I will be getting a new bravo transome.my Q is how do the bh pick up water threw the drive or do i have to go external.My motor is a new 383 with400+ hp.with the alpha i was spinning 5900rpm.how running in the mid to high 70 so what size of bh props should i be looking for 27,29 or31.also if i do raise my x i here that the bh nose cone should be at the bottom of the hull is that ok.thanks craig its a long winter.

[Dr. David Fleming]

Craig - I believe Merc no longer services the Blackhawk which was a high performance drive option they sold a few years ago. Most guys are getting rid of them for the Bravo drive. So unless you are keeping if for an antique I would think it is a bad option to invest in.

[roadtrip se]

The BH will pick-up water through the skeg, just like your Alpha today.

There have been a few 22C guys that have mounted these drives at the same height at the Bravo with good results. You might start here and try the drive first, as it is a definite change in driving style. If you don't like it, you could go to a Bravo and not change the CG of the boat at all. We owned a Bravo 18 with a Scorpion package and the boat was awesome.

There is a guy up at Winni running an x-18 with a raised X-dim of about three inches and a Blackhawk drive. His name is Stevie Marr. You don't see him here much, but the guy that helped him with the project, Tom Davis, does come around here on occassion. Tom's handle is his name, so you might try PM-ing him, and picking his brain. I have seen this boat run a bunch, and it is very solid. Well into the mid-70's with a stock 350 Magnum.

Props are going to be your toughest challenge. They weren't that great to start with from a quality perspective, so they threw blades. I would try whatever you can find. If you want some leads on where to look for them, drop me a PM. Expect to pay a premium for whatever you may find, and do it gladly.

As for the naysayers, ignore them. This is an awesome drive. The BHLE 22 is something else to behold, drive, and ride in. There is also a significant contingent of Cig 20 guys that run them and come to AOTH every year. And I am talking an average of 8-10 boats. These boats are show pieces and 90% are running Blackhawks. Get your boat together and bring it down!

Good luck.

[craigdskilling]

Can i keep my same watr pump that on there now and can anybody give any idea of what size of props.i'm thinking of the 29 to start.

[glashole]

I know a guy who has some blackhawk props that might let you try them once you get your boat together to see how you are making out

[ITTLFLI]

You will need to add a sea pump to the pulley system on your motor like the bravo runs. The alpha/ss have the pump in the drive.

[craigdskilling]

My old drive was alpha not a ss.does that make a difference.I was hoping you were going to chime in glasshole I now you helped out younger with his and i hope you can help me out.what do you think should I run for props please anybody like to give me an idea please.Thanks craig.

[MOP]

IMO it is essential that the drive is mounted at the proper X dimension, we have had two 18's set up with the drive. Steve Mars was setup as it was intended, his best speed with a 300 SB was 78-79. In contrast DonCig built one with about 175 HP more and only achieved a few MPH more, the problem lies in the fact that the drive must be mounted with a 17-1/2" X to realize the full potential of the drive. It must be at this height to keep only the fin and blades in the water flow, if any part of the bullet/case is in the water flow it produces stern lift stealing several MPH off the top end. I ran a BH on my 22 for a season, mine being an old Tempest 300 setup has an X is just shy of 17", I loved the drive the handling was superb along with the complete absence of torque steer. The boat ran great low to upper mid range then ran to flat due to the stern lift, out of the hole was as good if not slightly better than the Bravo X I now run. You need to do some searching for the posts on both 18's to see the facts of just how important the raised X is, DonCig and waleyetwo. Don did not raise his X as he did not want the redo the boat which I can more than understand, but it cost him about five MPH.

[craigdskilling]

Mop what do you mean 17-1/2x from to or the bottom of the boat hull.i read on one of the threads that if i have the nose cone lined up with the bottom of the hull.does that sound good or not.what threads can i read up on.

[roadtrip se]

Mr. X set-up an x-18 up with a Scorpion and BH package a few years back.

Ran into the low 80's.

[craigdskilling]

Mop what do you mean 17-1/2x from the top or the bottom of the boat hull.i read on one of the threads that if i have the nose cone lined up with the bottom of the hull.does that sound good or not.what threads can i read up on.

[craigdskilling]

if you raise the x does that mean you have to raise the motor up also.

[ITTLFLI]

if you raise the x does that mean you have to raise the motor up also.

Yes. Motor gets raised

[MOP]

Yes the X is measured from the bottom, it requires raising the engine, transom cut out also higher motor mounting. The hatch needs to have a 3" raised area to clear the risers and carb, Steve made a nice scoop in the front. This is a project but so well worth the effort! The transom needs to be filled in and re-cut, if you have through hull exhaust the tips need to be raised also. Just slapping the drive on will not give great results, but done right it will run like a scalded dog with moderate reliable power. 300 will get you a smidgen under 70, 350-75 mid to upper 80's. IMO 450hp will put it into the lower 90's. You will be pulling the boat apart to put in the transom shield, it would not take that many more hours to get it done where it will really run. Forgetting about the speed for a minute, you will have -0- chine walk, -0- torque steer IMO fabulous handling. There is a river up at 1K I call snake river it is the windiest one I have ever been on, mine with the BH ate it up I had so much fun I went up and down about four time @WOT granted that was 59mph. I have since been up it twice with the Bravo, the Bravo cannot run as fast and loses it in hard lefts scares the Krap out of you when the azz end starts to skip toward the bank.

[roadtrip se]

Before we get carried away with basically rebuilding the butt-end of the boat, why not try the drive with the stock x-dimension with a Bravo gimbal?
This allows for the mounting up of a stock Bravo or a Bravo with IMCo shortie as options, if the Blackhawk test doesn't appeal?

Osur866 runs an 18 with a shortie and it is one awesome ride.

As for making the blanket statment that DonCig did not get good results from mounting a BH drive on his 18 at the stock location, this isn't the whole story. I talked to him several times about this and he simply did not like the feel of the drive or the cornering, since he intended to use the boat to ski behind and the like. So he took it off. He did like how the drive ran behind the Cig 20 he had.

In addition, there are several C22 boats running the BH at a regular drive height and seeing dramatic improvements in performance without utilizing it as a true surface drive.

I would do this incrementally and then go with the whole enchilda of building up stringers and recutting the transom for the high x-dim target, once you are sold on the drive and the way it runs on the boat. Once you do all of this, it is going to be hard to go backwards.

MOP is a great example of this incremental approach. He tried it, didn't like it, took it off, sold it, and went a different direction.