"D Fortner" wrote in message
om...
Actually, not true in all cases. I have a '76 Silverton with v-drive, in
my
case the engine block is mounted to a Borg Warner Velvet Drive tranny,
which
is then bolted to the Walter V-drive gearbox. My Velvet drive is 1:1, my
Walter V-drive gear box is a model 10 with 1.5:1.

Next, the poster that said that a Borg Warner Velvet Drive is available in
stright or V-drive is correct. It IS available in various straight and
V-drive configurations, with different "V" angles and gear ratios. The
V-drive configuration is one sealed unit. The V-drive configuration isn't
as
common as the straight drive.

You are correct in that most boat manufactures that use V-drives do so to
keep the engines below the cockpit deck, thus allowing for more room in
the
cabin.

Later . . .
Captain Dave Fortner


"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
I believe the Borg-Warner "Velvet Drive" trademark can be a straight
or
a V configuration.
They made both.

The "V drive" component is completely separate from the transmission.
You
still
need a gear box to select FNR, and I don't know why you couldn't use
just
about
any mfgrs tran. The straight shaft running from forward facing tranny
couples
to the "V" drive assembly. The V drive is 1:1, so no additional
calculating is
involved when considering reduction rations in the main gearbox.

Not uncommon for the stern tube to be directly *below* the engine on a V
drive
configuration, allowing the engine(s) to be farther aft than on a
straight
inboard.




Most V drives are used to move the engine to the back of the boat for more
room. Most of the V drives were in ski boats. Heck, we used to call them
Vee drive boats. We had a Mandella, with a velvet drive and transmission in
one unit. Lots of the Vee drives just had an in/out box and some were
direct drive. Ready to ski, fire up the motor!
Bill

Bill

Most V drives are used to move the engine to the back of the boat for more
room. Most of the V drives were in ski boats. Heck, we used to call them
Vee drive boats. We had a Mandella, with a velvet drive and transmission in
one unit. Lots of the Vee drives just had an in/out box and some were
direct drive. Ready to ski, fire up the motor!
Bill

Bill

And here's another twist:

I did a sea trial today on a Cruisers 3275 Express. This boat has always been
powered with outdrives, but Cruisers built this one as an inboard, with
V-drives, to move the engines *forward* and get some of the weight out of the
stern. The experiment has worked out well, and Cruisers will now begin offering
this boat with an inboard as well as an I/O configuration.

V-drives work well on inboard express cruisers because the cabin accomodations
are built too deeply into the bilge to put an engine room below the cabin sole.

Straight drives would eat up several feet of cabin space with little or no
benefit.

I often thought that Bayliner should have used V-drives on their 32 and 38
motoryachts years ago, rather than the
super short shafts and the unavoidable prop tunnels that design required. Those
prop tunnels were enormous factors in the
"bow high" ride of the 32's and 38's....(not enough hull mass in the water to
provide lift at the stern).