Bravo I, II, or III?

[Putnam]

How do you identify what type of drive a boat has if the drive has been repainted and all the labels are covered? My friend bought a used boat and the dealer he bought it from told him it was a Bravo III, however, he doesn't have a dual prop setup which the Mercruiser dealer told us he would have (if he in fact had a Bravo III).

I'm trying to help my friend replace his prop and no one can identify what the replacement prop should be based on the ID number stamped on the existing one, 970789. They say that number doesn't exist. If we knew what the drive is, he could select a prop based on the boat specs and desired performance. Can anyone tell me what the identifying characteristics are for the different Bravo drives and where I could find pictures of each one? The dealer wasn't very helpful or friendly and would only help if we could get the boat there, which isn't feasible for us during business hours, Monday-Friday. Also, I checked Mercuriser's website and found nothing that would be helpful. Thanks!

[ob1jeeper]

Post a pic or two of it... should help in the identification...

Being a single prop, rather than the dual counter-rotation set up of a B-3, it's more likey gonna be either;

1- Alpha-1 (1984 - 1990) - available in 4 ratio's

2- Alpha 1-GenII (1991 - 2003) available in 5 gear ratio's

3- "R" Style (1969 - 1983) - available in 4 ratio's

MOST popular ratios, fall between 1.50 & 1.98

Try going onto some of the big wharehouse / re-builders web-sites, such as dougrussell.com, and/or crowleymarine.com

Perhaps you'll find the info you need.

Good Luck, OB1

[michigan dave]

It could also be a model "tr" Drive wich was the foruner to the bravo drive. it was built from 1973-1983 or so. it had a transmission on the back of the engine and a larger drive on the outside. WE need pics. dave.

[Hugs Tug]

Bravo 3 drives are in fact dou prop. The Bravo 2 drive is massive in size and was designed for larger boats with minimal power. The Bravo 1 drive looks like the 3 model but spins only one prop. Look in the project boat section Tom Hugs 23 you will see some shots of my Bravo 1 drive.

[Putnam]

Tom, thank you for pointing me to the photos on your boat. First off, I love your boat...Great job! I myself have a 236 and think it's great!

I printed the photo of your drive and am going to take a ride over to my friend's boat and see if they're the same. I'm trying to recall and it seems like it is the same, but I want to be sure before saying anything to him. It's definetely not a III, which is good news...however, it may be a two (because it is huge)! I will confirm tomorrow, but thank you again! By the way, his boat is a 23 foot Chapparal Express Cruiser (not a cuddy cabin) with a Mercruiser 350. The boat is a 1992, the engine is a 2000 (I think).

[LoveMyMako]

Most Mercruiser 350's had Alpha drives, not Bravo drives. There were also Mercruiser 350's available that year, in many different horsepower versions/models. When you say it's a "350", this simply indicates the GM marinized cubic inch displacement of the base engine Mercruiser used to start with. You need to identify the horsepower model that Mercruiser called it. Chances are, that the numbers on the side of the prop hub you see, are from a propeller reconditioning shop, as the originals were ground/polished off. You could remove the existing propeller, bring it to your local prop shop & have them put it on a pitch block, which will tell you what pitch it is. To determine the diameter, simply measure from the center of the prop or propshaft, out to the tip of any of the blades & muliply by two. If it turns out that you have an Alpha outdrive instead of a Bravo lll drive, as the dealer stated...someone was grossly misrepresented & cheated, as there is a huge difference in value & performance between the two. Hope this helps. LoveMyMako

[Putnam]

Thanks everyone...Chapparal finally responded to his request with customer service on what type of drive the boat left the factory with. We then got the local Mercruiser guy to swing buy and confirm that the original setup is still in place. The drive is a Bravo II. The Mercruiser shop wanted almost $600 for an ALUMINUM prop. My buddy is going to do a little shopping on the web before he buys one from him.

LoveMyMako-You're right about the numbers, they were polished or grinded off and the stamp on the hub is a number put there by a prop reconditioner.

Thanks again!

[Hugs Tug]

Glad that everything worked out for you. That Bravo 2 drive is one big unit, not only to muscle off but to re-install.