Blown Mercruiser 5.0 Alpha. Low hours. Replacement options

[bigeasy1]

Originally Posted by keith

Hey BigEasy. Thanks for the feedback and glad to hear your engine worked out so well for you. I ended up going with a 300 hp 357 MPI and it is great. Tons of power, smooth and quiet. I also need to reprop. I just finished the 20 hour break in so now I can figure out what I need. I currently have 1.62 gears and a 14 1/8 x 19 prop. I was at 40mph at 4200 rpm with a lot of throttle to go.

Glad it all worked out for you,I still would love to have something like you went with attached to a Bravo drive,but for now I'll have to stick with what I have.
I also remember being worried about the 1.62 gears,but Father Frank and the guys over at Prop Gods were a big help in prop selection.
In fact when I posted a thread about what size prop to go with,it turned into a fairly long thread about the advantages of those gears.I remember someone mentioning that Mosely preferred them over the 1.50's and other guys who raced did as well.My WOT is 4600 rpms(at least that's what I was told)for the engine I have.A few weeks ago on a flat day with the trim set just right,I was at about 42 mph(gps) at 4500 rpms.
That was with the canvas up which is like a big sail.I never run at wot,I try to keep it around 3200 to 3400 rpms.
If I can find that old thread I post it up just for the info.

[keith]

That is good to hear about the gears BigEasy. I was told they are weak and I should change them. For now I am going to go with the prop change. 42 mph is fast! With my old 5.0 I was only able to get to 35 at wot. I am happy with the added top speed but like you I will rarely use it. I think the manual says my wot is 5200 rpm.

Took the boat out in the bay here and through the golden gate. Performed fantastic. Couldn't be happier with the ride and the engine. There were five of us fishing in the boat. Dry ride for everyone.