76 Seacraft 23
 

Finally after all these years searching .I bought a 23 ' sea craft 1976 From the Original owner ..It has all the original brochures and paperwork..Pretty cool stuff.. Looks a lot bigger in real life.. Anybody have any input on IO It has a Mercruiser 350 magnum and a bravo 2 outdrive.. anybody have any fuel burn numbers on this setup.. Thanks Martin

Most Mercruisers at cruise will burn between 8-10 gals. I speak from over 2000 hours of running them.

I wonder why it has a bravo 2? Most b2 are put into heavy duty type applications etc. diesel work, fish boats.

350 magnum ? MPI motor ?

i'm running a similar set up - bravo I drive - it nets just about 3nmpg crusie is 23-24kts - depending on load

bravo II kinda strange - usually these are used on heavy under powered boats - single engine sea rays,bayliners and maxxums - these drives swing a big diameter wheel - a very expensive,wheel too,i might add

Congrats! I know the feeling,it took me 3 yrs of badgering to get the owner to sell.You'll get lots of good info from the people on this site.

As mentioned,are you sure it's a Bravo2 drive? or is it a Bravo 3 with dual props.The Bravo 2 drives are not commonly used unless it's on a heavy work boat or big loaded hulls.
I don't know about the fuel burn on the Bravos,but depending on water conditions, my 350 260hp Alpha drive in my 74 23' Tsunami burns between 10 to 13 gallons per hour at a cruise speed of about 25 mph and 3200-3300 rpms,and at around 3000 rpms,I'm around 8-9 GPH.

At a wide open speed of about 36 mph It can suck down 20-25 GPH(and even more in snotty water and wind).
At a troll of about 3mph,surface speed,or 3-4.5 mph GPS depending on currents,I'm at about 1.2 to 1.5 Gph.

One thing against me is that on top of it being a cuddy model, I have a lot of canvas and isinglass work that extends up another two feet above the windshield.It is basically a big wind catcher and without a doubt,affects the fuel burn.

I have a 1976 23' cc with an almost identical setup. Bravo 2 outdrive. I bought the boat a year or so ago. The previous owner repowered and re-outdrived the boat. Had less than 100 hours on meter.

She is currently in paint. One of my deciding factors was the bravo 2 outdrive. Everyone so far has told me to put a lock on the outdrive.

Here it is I guess it is a 250 hp with a bravo 2 Looking for 300 hp ..hopefully this is not to loaded for the boat.

Nice grab i saw her advertised on craigslist, what kind of condition is she in? show us some more pics!

I think Saugeye has that same powerplant- 350 with a Bravo 2

I dug this out from my old post last summer...

Motor is new less than 3 hours in the test. I have a feeling that I may be under propped when the stroker loosens up. Not by much.

rpm- gph- mph- mpg-

1000/ 2.1- 6- 2.8

2500/ 6 - 23.5 - 3.9

3000/ 9 - 29 - 3.2

3500/ 12.5 - 34 - 2.7

4000/ 14.1 - 42 - 3.0

One quick blast up to 50 @ 4900.

It seems when you hit 2500 rpm the mph from there on up almost = rpm.

My other two motors where carbed. However at the same rpm rate the gallons per hour where about the same. The miles per gallon changed.

Hope this helps...still flummoxed :confused: on the b2.

Boy those are nice numbers,compared to mine.I've tried lots of props and found the best to be a ss Mirage 15x17.I get good wide wot speeds at the right rpms,but the best I can get is about 37 mph,and that's pegged.

My fuel burn(Flo-Scan) is quite a bit more than yours as well.Maybe it's the difference between the ctr.console and cuddy models.
I figure conservatively my boat weighs 5500 lbs with everything including three guys.
Heck,at 34 mph,I'd be running at 4000 rpms,and burning around 19-20 gph while your at 42mph,and only burning 14 gph.

I'm thinking the weight difference between the model design,and the extra weight from the kicker motor and four down riggers with 15lb weights,and the resistance from all the canvas work is the reason.At least I hope so.

Thanks for the info it was really helpfu, island trader, are u running a 383 strikers @350hp on a b3 drive that's some serious speed

Yep, except running a bravo 1

Well got some news back form the doctor, Seems that the boat I bought is in some serious need of tlc. The engine is shot but the out drive is good.. The transom needs replaced and the floors are going to have to be rehabbed,,, I have not checked out the tank yet but i am expecting the worst... Would really like to sell the outdrive and scrap the motor.. replace the transom and add a bracket with an outboard.. what do you think.. up for suggestions

Sorry to hear that news.

I like your plan. Somebody will want that B2 drive, they are heavy duty and bulletproof. Albeit, that are for HEAVY applications only, like houseboats, displacement hulls, etc.

Did you sea trial the boat? or just bought it assuming the engine was toast?

Well when I got my boat I pulled the complete drive train and then put it Craigslist and sold it within a couple of days.

Same question did you by a pig in the poke or actually know what you were getting?

Start reading the rebuild threads and get the saw out...

you should ask yourself that question...

sit down,honestly acess your skills - "honestly" is the key word there...

no matter which way you go,you're gonna be spending money - a good piece of money...

as far as power's concerned,you can purchase a motor from merc - in my opinion,that's the best choice - that engine is available as a "drop in" - that's the most cost effective method.otherwise,you're looking at the expense of an outboard,controls,harness,guages,hydraulic steering,outboard bracket - that will far exceed the cost of a replacement engine...

as far as what's required for deck replacement,transom replacement,fuel system repalcement - that's up to you,and your abilities...


the other side of the coin is,with the current market being what it is,you can buy a finished rig,ready to fish,for way less than what you're gonna spend,getting that rig in "fishable" condition...