Raising X Dim - $$$$$$

[MarylandMark]

now that I wont be using the boat this year I have lots of time to get er done!

[glassdave]

good talking to you Frank, post pics when you get going on it.

[Offshore Ginger]

good talking to you Frank, post pics when you get going on it.

It was also good to talk with you Frank , take care my friend

[Geronimo36]

Will do guys, thanks for all the input!

[Geronimo36]

got back from San Jose on Friday night... Got the engines unhooked and ready to be pulled today and I'm making arrangements to pull them this weekend..

I hope to finish de-rigging after I get the egines pulled and start on the the glass work shortly there after.

also, looking for some marine plywood dealers in NJ if anyone knows? Also, looking for an aluminum stock dealer in NJ so I can get some new angle brackets for the forward mounts.

[baywatch]

Great Thread!!! keep us updated.

You give me hope that some day I will be able to put some more ponies under the hatch!!!

[Geronimo36]

No problem Baywatch!

I found the plywood; turns out there's a place right around the corner from me (US Mahogony Corp). They have 3/4" sheets for about $100 so I'm going to epoxy two pieces together to get the 1 1/2" thickness I'm looking for.

Only thing left I need to find is the Aluminum Angle.

[Geronimo36]

Went out on lunch break and picked up a sheet of marine ply, a gallon of epoxy and bottle of hardener to start (probably need more later, no cost difference to buy different sizes), 5 yards of biax, 405 and 407 filler, 5" and 3" lam rollers and a bunch of other misc. supplies...

Gotta go to home depot to get a gallon of acetone and a bunch of misc. sanding supplies for the orbital, makita and block.

Glassdave and Offshore ginger, am I missing anything?

Should be pulling engines the end of the week.

[Blue Thunder]

What did you decide to do, replace the transom yourself? What adjustment are you going to make to the x dimension? Mine was at 15.75 now its 17.75 which will give me 4.5" shaft depth. I kind of wish I had gone more but its probably best not to get greedy and end up with an unmanagable pig. I can always spring for shorties if I need more.

BT

[Geronimo36]

What did you decide to do, replace the transom yourself? What adjustment are you going to make to the x dimension? Mine was at 15.75 now its 17.75 which will give me 4.5" shaft depth. I kind of wish I had gone more but its probably best not to get greedy and end up with an unmanagable pig. I can always spring for shorties if I need more.

BT

Yeah, I'm doing the work myself.

My current X is 14 1/4" and I'm going up to 16 1/4" which is about 1/4" higher than standard for all the 36' Apaches built for Bravo 1 props. My X was originally set up for Mirage props. The boat doesn't have a notch so the numbers are a little lower than notched boats. Does your boat have a notched transom??

I don't want to go too high because it's a pleasure boat and I want all around usability so I'm basically staying stock.

I also thought about changing my centerlines because it is very tight and would open the door to other exhaust system options but I decided to keep it the same and just go up. Secondly, my thought is to keep the engines close together so they are lower in the V and better in rough water which is basically all the time around here.

[Perlmudder]

this will be an awesome project! snap some pics when you get a chance!

[Blue Thunder]

Yeah, I'm doing the work myself.

My current X is 14 1/4" and I'm going up to 16 1/4" which is about 1/4" higher than standard for all the 36' Apaches built for Bravo 1 props. My X was originally set up for Mirage props. The boat doesn't have a notch so the numbers are a little lower than notched boats. Does your boat have a notched transom??

I don't want to go too high because it's a pleasure boat and I want all around usability so I'm basically staying stock.

I also thought about changing my centerlines because it is very tight and would open the door to other exhaust system options but I decided to keep it the same and just go up. Secondly, my thought is to keep the engines close together so they are lower in the V and better in rough water which is basically all the time around here.

Straight vee here. Bravo drives. What are your drives and what will your final propshaft height be below the hull? Are you saying you are going to a staggered setup?

[Geronimo36]

Straight vee here. Bravo drives. What are your drives and what will your final propshaft height be below the hull? Are you saying you are going to a staggered setup?

I'm running BMax HT drives (bravo derrivative). Currently 7" below. and it'll be 5" below when I'm done.

Not staggered but the engines are set on a 33 1/2" crankshaft centerline and I think the average is around 35".

[Geronimo36]

this will be an awesome project! snap some pics when you get a chance!

Will do, here's what it looks like today.

Decisions decisions.... can't decide if I want to paint the transom black or white..... black will help with the soot and the brown stains but not sure if it'll match.....

[Offshoredrillin]

what about boxes frank? every 12" back is about an inch in height? nad with no notch. with imco boxes they have diff settings. oh, and dont do black looks ugly...

[Geronimo36]

what about boxes frank? every 12" back is about an inch in height? nad with no notch. with imco boxes they have diff settings. oh, and dont do black looks ugly...

Rob, I spoke to Bobby about boxes on my boat and he said it didn't react very well, made the bow plow. Also, an additional expense I'm not willing to incur...

So far I have about $400 in supplies and I have just about everything I need already... Maybe another couple hundy for "incidentals" but the rest of the work is with my hands!

[BGIII]

I think the transom would look great painted to match the headdress. I find the paint on the transom of my boat to be fairly easy to keep clean and the darker color on the transom helps cover up the exhaust soot better than white gel. Good luck with the whole project. Will be interesting to hear your results. I think it's pretty ballsy to gut and cut instead of taking the beating from IMCO. I could not even imaging how many lowers they could sell if they could make and profitably sell them for 1/2 of what they charge now. Practically all of us with older boats could benefit from a higher X but are unwilling to pay the price.

[Geronimo36]

I think the transom would look great painted to match the headdress. I find the paint on the transom of my boat to be fairly easy to keep clean and the darker color on the transom helps cover up the exhaust soot better than white gel. Good luck with the whole project. Will be interesting to hear your results. I think it's pretty ballsy to gut and cut instead of taking the beating from IMCO. I could not even imaging how many lowers they could sell if they could make and profitably sell them for 1/2 of what they charge now. Practically all of us with older boats could benefit from a higher X but are unwilling to pay the price.

Thanks for the suggestion on the color... I could always go with a teal but not sure how that would look either.... i get enough grief with the pink so that's out...lol

I hear ya about the IMCO's etc.... People have a formula they use to figure out MPH vs. $$$ spend and I don't care how you slice it...$7K is $7K.. They can call me a cheap azz but I don't care!! When I'm done I'll tell ya if it was worth all the effort!

The one thing I regret to this day was not opting for the shorties when I first bought my BMax's... That was my one opportunity to do it with no cost since I was buying the drives anyway but at the time I didn't know my X Dimension situation... But as they say, hindsight is always 20/20.

My daughter was sick today and I had to pick her up early from daycare so I took a few more shots of my crap laying around and ready to go.... Pics of the marine ply and biax, resin/rollers/etc. dumps, mufflers beauty rings and blower snouts being rebuilt (pile soon to grow lol)...

[Blue Thunder]

I'm running BMax HT drives (bravo derrivative). Currently 7" below. and it'll be 5" below when I'm done.

Not staggered but the engines are set on a 33 1/2" crankshaft centerline and I think the average is around 35".

I've heard tell that 4.5" depth is a good number (straight vees) for all around performance so you are in the ballpark. Also remember 2" up on the transom does not equal 2" up at the engine mounts, its more like 1.9". Also the engines will move back about .625" with the 2" up on the transom. Thats if my trig is still good. I'll let you know after the weekend as I will be loading my first mill back in. I expect the alignment to be dead on......

And make damn sure to use the jig for cutting your new holes. You will never get it right without it!

[Geronimo36]

I've heard tell that 4.5" depth is a good number (straight vees) for all around performance so you are in the ballpark. Also remember 2" up on the transom does not equal 2" up at the engine mounts, its more like 1.9". Also the engines will move back about .625" with the 2" up on the transom. Thats if my trig is still good. I'll let you know after the weekend as I will be loading my first mill back in. I expect the alignment to be dead on......

And make damn sure to use the jig for cutting your new holes. You will never get it right without it!

Cool, thanks for the info! I've rigged a few boats and I've always used the jig so I can't imagine what it's like to do with out it! There was only one time I did an Alpha to Bravo conversion and I didn't have the jig so I drilled the two extra holes and that was a biotch!! Hopefully the marina still has the jig and will let me use it, otherwise I'll have to search around.

I'm going to use all new l-angle for the forward mounts but I'm hoping I can use the existing thru bolt holes in the stringers. I'll have to see about that though!

Post up some pictures of your project if you can!!