Marinette Boat Forum

Hi all, new member here. I have a question that has been probably answered before but I can't locate it. I'm looking at a 28' with dual 318's and 1:1 V-drives. I'm confused as to what is the right ratio. Is that normal or would another ratio be preferred? Owner say's it's almost all original so I'm guessing the tranny's are. The engines are newer with low hours. Any insight would be appreciated. I hope this doesn't turn into a "what oil is better" thread. I just need some insight on V-drives ratios for Marinettes. Thanks.

1:1 is probably original. I heard that the boat is sold.

I hope we're talking about different boats.

Watts Bar?

Not sure if this will add to the confusion or help. I was at the Marinette Rendezvous Talking with the fellow that owns one of the few 32's that came factory with big block Chryslers. The story goes that there were six built originally, with 1:1 Velvet drives and small props, the smaller 3 blades commonly found on 318 equipped 32's. Problem was that they had an incredible amount of get-up & go, but were breaking the motor mounts and stringers. Five of the six were re-fitted, under warranty, to small blocks, but his was repaired by adding more reinforcements to keep the engines where they belong. This fellow is the fourth owner of her and reports that she is insane FAST. When I asked him if he was afraid of breaking a prop shaft (the 1:1's use the smaller 1" prop shaft) he said that it only has the smaller 3 blade props and never had a problem with it (given the more torque of the 440's). He also felt that going to a 1:5 or a 1:9 with a bigger prop, say a 19" 4-blade, likely would not gain him any additional top speed or holding her on plane. The bigger transmissions were usually used on the bigger boats (my 37' uses the 1:9's and the big 4 blade prop's) and used 1.25" prop shafts. Some of the other guys on here may have different engine trans combo's or more insight into this. Small block and 1:1's in a 28' is likely what it came with and offered the best performance. If you make the jump to buy her, and were looking to increase performance, experimenting with a different pitch prop would be a starting point.

Thanks for the info. I wanted to make sure I'm not getting into someones experiment or on the cheap repair.

meltonhill wrote:Watts Bar?

No, it's in Ten Mile Tn. Maybe the same, I'm not too familiar with the area. The price is right so I don't expect it to last too long. If it's gone, there will be another. I'm pretty much sold on a Marinette at this point.

Ten Mile is on Watts Bar lake.

on 32's in 1985 or 86 they switched to 1.5 to 1 velvet drive transmissions. All the 32's before(1970- 1984) that and most smaller M's have the 1 to 1 and run a 14 " prop. Both shaft sizes were used.

The 1.5 to1 run a 16" prop (1985- 1991) . A lot of 1:1 trans run the 1.25" shaft on the 32 model, not sure about a 28.
I believe I also looked at this boat about 7 years ago at Caney Creek marina on Watts Bar
Good luck M's rock !

.." I'm looking at a 28' with dual 318's and 1:1 V-drives."

Vee drives? Don't recall ever seeing them in a 28 Marinette.

Jeff