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Help Request - Used Bravo III drive

F

F28Pilot

New member
Hi,

We are looking at a first boat purchase and will be buying used. This boat seems like a good fit for us but I have concerns about the corrosion on the BIII drive and wondered if I could get some knowledgeable help.

The boat was kept in fresh water for at least five seasons. The drive is pitted but has been recently repainted. I am aware of that the BIII can have corrosion issues because of the stainless steel props but what I don't know is what eventually fails and how close this one is to failure. How bad is this and if I were to have to get it fixed, how much of the drive would need to be replaced and at what cost?

Thanks for any advice you may have,

Steve




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Corrosion problems, yes, however does this boat have the CORRECT type of anodes??? ...for FRESH water, magnesium anodes are the only ones that work. Make sure (could not see in photos)that the anode over the prop on the cav plate is there and is magnesium. Search for Bravo 3 anode kits and see that all the ones in the kit are on that boat.
That might be old damage that is painted over and the issue is resolved. If boat has a full season or two after paint you may be OK... if seller painted this to sell it, you may still have an issue.
Bravo 3s aren't cheap.
 
sandkicker said:
Corrosion problems, yes, however does this boat have the CORRECT type of anodes??? ...for FRESH water, magnesium anodes are the only ones that work. Make sure (could not see in photos)that the anode over the prop on the cav plate is there and is magnesium. Search for Bravo 3 anode kits and see that all the ones in the kit are on that boat.
That might be old damage that is painted over and the issue is resolved. If boat has a full season or two after paint you may be OK... if seller painted this to sell it, you may still have an issue.
Bravo 3s aren't cheap.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply Capt Bob - I believe that this was a fairly recent paint job combined with new "zincs" (not sure which type). I'm leaning towards passing on this one unless there is enough room in the sale price for some of the replacement cost. Holy cats, that is an expensive replacement part there for a new BIII. Is it possible to just replace part of it?

Steve
 
Steve - what about the rest of the boat? Engine? I just serviced my Bravo III outdrive after 400 hours (bought used 3 years ago- fresh water) (I'll post repairs & the parts later), and yes it was expensive but we love the boat (ski boat) and the engine is fine. Now I have a repaired sealed outdrive ready for another 500+ hours. Suggest you subscribed to this board and do repairs a little at a time. (I also like to buy used boats in the late summer/fall.) Hope this makes sense.
 
Thanks for the reply sab. Good boat overall, low time 350 mag. I would be interested in what you did to yours and what the costs were.

Steve
 
My costs were close to $3000 but that does matter because of the work I had done (replace spline, gimbal, anti-siphon, impeller, thermostat, cabling, bellows (2), fan... a bolt snapped replacing impeller and impeller faceplate bad). I took a used boat, listened to this board, replaced/turned-up what I could and left the remaining heavy stuff that I couldn't do, or didn't want to do (high risk stuff), to the mercury service guy. Now I have base-lined my boat with repairs and hopefully won't get stuck on the water. Remember the old saying about about a boat is hole in the water which one pours money, and the happiest days of a boat owner. Pouring money is going happen ... the trick is how you can mitigate/control those dollars from being spent over time.

Suggest you hire somebody to look at the boat and let them give you their honest opinion (like a home inspection). Decide what needs to be done now (oils for sure), and what can be put-off till next season. AND most of all don't, repeat don't, fall in love .... there are others.
 
sab said:
Remember the old saying about about a boat is hole in the water which one pours money, and the happiest days of a boat owner. Pouring money is going happen ... the trick is how you can mitigate/control those dollars from being spent over time.

Suggest you hire somebody to look at the boat and let them give you their honest opinion (like a home inspection). Decide what needs to be done now (oils for sure), and what can be put-off till next season. AND most of all don't, repeat don't, fall in love .... there are others.
Click to expand...


Great advice, thanks for posting your experience.

Steve
 
2300 hours on my Bravo 3, I'm in brackish water and corrosion was horrible, I had to purchase a lift to get it out of the water.
That being said I Love my B-3
 
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