Fixed drive verse articulating

[jerseysportfish]

Hello All!!!!!

I would like to know what the SD gurus think,

Which do you like better and why, fixed drives like simplicity or articulating drives like arneson ?

[fishon91]

i think it may depend on your application. i've never seen much of a point in fixed drives and a big rudder. but i also have never had a boat that travels at higher speeds where the rudder may be more effecive. if there no water moving over the rudder then obviously the boat wont turnvery fast

bow that i think bout it thouigh, fixed drive may be best for a high speed boat due to less moving parts in the driveline.

[Ilan Voyager]

The Arneson and consorts are pretty complicated with ball joints, ball bearings and big hydraulics. Very high maintenance required. A little problem like a leaking rubber joint and you're going to big expenses. Efficient for race boats or boats with very specific requirement like patrol boats. Pretty expensive also.

Fixed surface propellers can be pretty simple (in fact almost as simple as a classic transmission) and the efficiency on a "common ordinary" boat is practically the same. Have a look on the Simplicity drives for example. Maintenance very simple. Price is not the same also...

[Steve H]

I had fixed surface drives on my 42' sportfish for several seasons. As mentioned above they were very simple, very low maintenance, and much less expensive to manufacture than say an Arneson. However: The dock handling was very poor, and it bow steered pretty bad at or near top speed. (Whitenuckle City)
I converted it over to Arnesons about five years ago. It was a alot more work than I was thought it would be, but was still worth it. It is alot easier to run at higher speeds with out the bow steer issue. It is faster to plane and handles around the dock as well as any I/O.

As far as the maintenance issue goes. There is no maintanence, other than changing the oil once a year. The rubber boot is not meant to keep water out of the drive as was falsly mentioned in a previous post. It is meant to keep underwater growth off of the brass ball portion. So if it leaks, it does not mean the instant failure of the drive. You will find a very biased uninformed crowd of posters here that are very critical of Arnesons that have never owned one. I have owned and operated a set for about five seasons now, and I highly recomend them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIno_IM0Y-s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ekbppBwyA

Here are a few clips of my boat before the drive swap.

Steve

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Ilan Voyager

The Arneson and consorts are pretty complicated with ball joints, ball bearings and big hydraulics. Very high maintenance required. A little problem like a leaking rubber joint and you're going to big expenses. Efficient for race boats or boats with very specific requirement like patrol boats. Pretty expensive also.

Fixed surface propellers can be pretty simple (in fact almost as simple as a classic transmission) and the efficiency on a "common ordinary" boat is practically the same. Have a look on the Simplicity drives for example. Maintenance very simple. Price is not the same also...

Not true. The Arnesons have very little maintenance. Oil changes is about it. The rubber boot is not going to cause any problems if it leaks as the boot is not meant to be water tight.

Also, funny you say the Arneson is "pretty complicated" as we are actually a lot simpler than the traditional I/O which is rather complicated. With others there are stuffing boxes, cutless bearings, rudder assemblies, etc. all require maintenance.

Cost, look at the relative cost of the alternatives. If you could harness the same power with a Mercury product your cost would be substantially higher than the same product from Arneson.

Remember, you get what you pay for and this is especially true in the marine industry.

[jerseysportfish]

Steve, what was the fixed drive you had ?


has anyone used psi drives here ?

Rik, with the asd 6, I have heard some horror stories of blowing up the chain drive, is this still the case ?

Can you get the six without the reduction and chain drive ?

[Steve H]

Originally Posted by jerseysportfish

Steve, what was the fixed drive you had ?


has anyone used psi drives here ?

Rik, with the asd 6, I have heard some horror stories of blowing up the chain drive, is this still the case ?

Can you get the six without the reduction and chain drive ?

It was custom built for the boat by the builder. The Arnesons on my boat have no gears or chains.

[Rik]

Originally Posted by jerseysportfish

Steve, what was the fixed drive you had ?


has anyone used psi drives here ?

Rik, with the asd 6, I have heard some horror stories of blowing up the chain drive, is this still the case ?

Can you get the six without the reduction and chain drive ?

We make them an in line version as well as a drop. There is no chain concerns anymore. Like they say, bigger is better for a reason.