Outdrives to V-drives - Who has made the switch?

alwhite00

alwhite00

Active Member
May 31, 2010
1,809
Michigan
Boat Info
1997 250 Sundancer
Engines
5.7 EFI/ BIII
alwhite00 said:
I currently have a single BIII on my 25' boat. I am looking to go bigger and a lot of them have twin V-drives - Where I dock is pretty tight with fingers for 2 boats along every dock.(see below link) How maneuverable are the boats with twin V's? Is there a big learning curve going from I/O?

An and all input is appreciated.



https://www.google.com/maps/place/C...0x8826ea527e7ad993:0x9fc98d0c7d615b3b!6m1!1e1
Click to expand...

Sorry I can't help, but I'm going from a 26ft single BIII to a 34 twin V-drive (in contract ) and every person I know that has v-drives has been where we have been. All of them said it's like night and day easier.
 
Although I've never owned a V-drive boat, I had the opportunity to be at the helm of my friends 46 ft Bertram a few times. I was terrified at first when he told me to bring it into his slip, but with some great coaching (and calm waters) I was surprised how quickly I caught on to working the two throttles and how much easier the boat was to maneuver than I ever thought it could be.
 
I had a 38 go fast with twin Bravo 1. Made the switch to twin V and it is super simple....You will be more overwhelmed with the second set of controls than you will be with the actual drive type. Like the previous post suggested, find a calm morning and do about 15 attempts at the dock.
 
Thanks for the info so far. I do like my ability to raise the outdrive when anchored near the beach but the props seem to be tucked up Pretty well so I am sure I can find a happy medium. I am just worried about the docking. We dock stern in and I am pretty good with my current setup. It just seems tight but it sounds like the v drives handle well in this situation.
 
I went from a 270 w/single BIII to my present boat w/twin V's. It took a little bit of practice, but now it's much easier to maneuver in close quarters than the 270 was. My 310 has the two separate control sets... one set for throttle and one set for shift. The newer models have DTS which combines the two sets into one. I prefer the separate sets probably because its what I learned on. I'm sure one could get good with the DTS also. One of the biggest reasons the V drives are more maneuverable is the placement of the props... with V drives the props are farther forward than outdrives, so the pivot point is more to the center of the boat.
 
I went from a single BIII to twin v-drives. While at first i had the same reservations you have, I was able to dock stern in with more ease than the BIII on my first attempt. It truly is a night a day difference, for the better. I have but my 340 in tighter docks than i would feel comfortable with my 260...
 
Stern in docking is even easier with twins.

You have so much more maneuverability with twins compared to a single drive. I've spent more than 30 years operating single drive boats. Once you get the feel for how she moves it's a piece of cake. I was just telling to the Admiral yesterday how easy it is now with twins. You'll love the difference. Take it slow at first around the marina, practice out in open water and you'll be proficient in no time.
 
We went from a single screw outdrive to V-Twins and I have to say we (I) love it. No more white knuckle docking in tight quarters. At first the 2 set of controls looked daunting but I have to say that its such a piece of mind when you get to your slip and you step away from the throttles and you're only dealing with the shifters. No worries of over throttling when your docking at impulse speed. I had a neighbor who had twin bravo III's and he would make me nervous when he came in as he was still learning and he would accidentally over do the throttle at times. If there was a trade off of getting into more shallow waters with the B III's vs the handling of he V-Drives, I'd take handling. I love when I take friends and family out and I hear "you're going to put this boat in that tiny slip....I gotta see this". They are always impressed, even in a bit of wind or current. If they only knew how easy it was.

 
I made the move from an 05 260 with single BIII stern drive on a 5.7 to an 06 340 with twin 8.1s on V Drives. I have to say that I'm impressed with the maneuverability. The biggest thing to understand is in the docking process the steering wheel is not in play. Where as the stern drive allows you to direct the thrust by turning the wheel you don't get that directionality at that speed with the rudders on a v drive. As such you use differential thrust between the two engines. My instructing captain taught me to operate the boat using only the gear shifts and facing backwards. If you can understand how a tank or other tracked vehicle operates it is very much the same. I'm much more comfortable docking with the twin Vs vs the single BIII even though they BIII grabbed more at idle than the v drives.
 
THANK YOU ALL for the info and real world experiences with the V drives. I know now that if I end up wit a boat with that combo I believe I can handle it. It may have out drives or v but either way I can keep looking.
 
As estoltz mentioned (and the rest of us failed) when I approach the marina, I put the rudders/steering wheel straight and then never touch the wheel again. I can pull out of my slip and park at the gas dock, or pump out station and never touch the steering wheel.
 
Don't limit yourself to v-drives. Depending on your needs, a SR with straight shafts may be in order. It opens your options a lot.
 
V drive: engine faces aft and is set back in the stern. Transmission is then forward and it's gearing angles the prop shaft to run under the engine. Allows for room for a mid-cabin.

Straight drive: Engine faces forward and is mounted more toward mid-ship. Transmission is on the back and prop shaft just goes straight out from it at a less angle than the v drive.

Lots of drawings and pictures online with an Internet search.
 
One part of the maneuvering advantage of v-drives over I/O's is the positioning of the props. In an I/O boat the props are stuck out behind the transom. In a v-drive boat the props are underneath the boat, several feet forward of the transom.

That difference becomes easier to see if you visualize a pencil about 8" long. If you hold the pencil by the eraser and spin it in a circle the circle has a radius of 8". If you take that same pencil and hold it about 3" in from the end and spin it in a circle the radius is now about 5". The ability of a v-drive boat to spin in a smaller radius circle is where the advantage comes from when doing close quarter maneuvering.
 
I had been used to various inboard/v-drive boats since my childhood. When I got my boat with I/Os, I had the reverse concern! Now, I have Axius so that's a cheat, but once you get the hang of v-drives, you'll laugh at your concern.
 
ZZ13 said:
V drive: engine faces aft and is set back in the stern. Transmission is then forward and it's gearing angles the prop shaft to run under the engine. Allows for room for a mid-cabin.

Straight drive: Engine faces forward and is mounted more toward mid-ship. Transmission is on the back and prop shaft just goes straight out from it at a less angle than the v drive.

Lots of drawings and pictures online with an Internet search.
Click to expand...

Basics of handling are the same for both, as the basic geometry is pretty much the same. The increased shaft angle on the V drive might mean a little more steering effect but there are enough other factors in play that it won't make a lot of difference. You'll still maneuver with the shift controls in the inboard manner, not like a stern drive.

One other factor is that in general things happen slower and in a more predictable and steady way on a larger boat with more inertia. A 43' Hatteras was the largest boat I've ever run and also the easiest to dock.
 
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