Blackhawk Drive

Haha, yeah I forgot about the rooster tail factor. How is your boat in the 15-20 mph range, does it cavitate much at that speed, or does it seem to have good bite?

That's not my boat. I dream about owning a P-29, but don't have one...yet.

My boat has a Bravo drive and I've never owned one/ridden in one with a Blackhawk, but have read a lot about them.

I had a daytona with a blackhawk drive. In the right application/boat they were awesome as far as mid range efficiency and top end performance. I do not think it would be any good for you if you like to do a lot of skiing. Planing time took forever in the daytona.

The Blackhawk drive is the shoter heavy duty race version of the Bravo-3 that runs a set of cleavers.

Take it off,sell it and put on a bravo1

Yeah, that was my back up plan. The boat I found is a 95 with 200hrs on it for 18K. So I still think the boat is worth it even if I have to change the drive.

SOCALCRICKETT said:

Yeah, that was my back up plan. The boat I found is a 95 with 200hrs on it for 18K. So I still think the boat is worth it even if I have to change the drive.

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I would bet it runs in the low 70's with that drive.

SOCALCRICKETT said:

Yeah, that was my back up plan. The boat I found is a 95 with 200hrs on it for 18K. So I still think the boat is worth it even if I have to change the drive.

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At least take it for a spin before you swap out the drive to see how it runs.

Buy it and I'll swap you with a bravo 3. It will pull out tree stumps on that boat.

The guy who owns it now says that he sees mid 80's with two people and 1/2 tank of gas. I'm just curious to see how bad the combo is at low speeds, I've been told that with that drivetrain and the 29 pitch props it has the boat wont idle less that 8mph. Its sure gonna suck driving that thing through the channel!

Parts for a blackhawk have to be next to impossible to find.

Like said above, do your research on parts availability. Merc only made them for a few years, and they are not bullet proof. I think unless your going for speed, it isn't the way to go.


Darrell.

The idle speed of the blackhawk is faster then normal drives for sure. They also make 27" props for better low end out of the hole. I would say his speed estimate is close to accurate. My 22 Daytona ran just under 100 with 31" props and a stock 502EFI. I had it for 3 years with a lot of hours on it and no problems with the drive at all.

Lavey29 said:

The idle speed of the blackhawk is faster then normal drives for sure. They also make 27" props for better low end out of the hole. I would say his speed estimate is close to accurate. My 22 Daytona ran just under 100 with 31" props and a stock 502EFI. I had it for 3 years with a lot of hours on it and no problems with the drive at all.

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Can you still get new props for a blackhawk?

I am sure there are still sets around, maybe not new but good condition. I have seen blackhawk drives advertised recently on offshoreonly.com with props so they are still out there. They only made 3 sets of props - 27, 29 and 31" that was it for that drive. What is really cool about the drive is it only has 60 pounds of drag in the water compared to 300 pounds for standard bravo. It provides great mid range and top end but lousy hole shot. It is very fuel efficient also and there is no steering torque through the drive due to the counter rotation so you don't need external steering even at the hight speeds above 80 and 90. Boat goes perfectly straight all the time.