When you get it done I'd love to see a video to see how it rides. I like the way it looks.

I will try it on a Sprint I have. I first got the idea several years ago when I saw the prototype Volvo \"tractor drive\". I never had a reason to think about it since till guys started mounting the strut inboard on these AC cats and the thought came back.
If I were to guess, I think it will work but there will be some other issue that probably kills it. I give it a 32.765% chance of being equal to what we have, at best.

My one negative, I like the stuff tube supported completely and it will just kinda of terminate right there at the dog. One reason I never liked square drives, always sloppy looking and greasy. On the other hand, I can run bar chain oil down the tube through and dispersed on the prop thereby causing water to shed off the prop faster than it would normally.....Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm hahahaha!

In design, the water is totally un-disrupted getting to the prop blades. but in a surface drive application thats pretty much the norm.

The actual shaft and it's support bearings within strut become isolated from cable grease, That's bad

But then again, loosing a prop is darn near completely eliminated this way

Yea Len, the biggest issue I see is how the thrust water off prop reacts as it is blasted around the strut effecting handling ?????

Frankly in a CAT application see this as minimal.


Interesting .... got me thinking

How do you get the shaft out to grease it?

I guess you take the strut off! That's what I used to dislike about square drive and strut setups. Drives solved this problem on monos. The only other alternative is undoing the drive dog every time. Still curious to know how it runs!

I have had another idea floating in my head for a while now for making the reverse strut setup easier...it will surface eventually!

To grease, like Marc said, just remove the whole deal, like the Sq drive setup-no messing with grub screws. Lube the axle I will call it through a oiling hole drilled in the strut, or like I do, I pack em with cable grease and don't rely on lube coming down the cable. I've never added one of those oil tanks and all that stuff, just marine grease.

To make a point of what you said Scott, about clean water getting to the prop. In racing conditions we know the boat is going up and down and lots of chaos going on around the back end of a cat. Even with the strut trailing, I think it should be as good or better as a conventional setup getting a little bit cleaner water. If you haven't had the chance to do this, or if you have, ride along your boat in a boat. The prop cuts a cone shaped trough and the prop is clearly visible but at slower speeds. The truth will be when your flat out on a straight and the rooster tail turns into a garden hose. ?????

I think the strut being behind the prop will not have any ill effects...at least I think not. Hey Len, remember when Rudy did that experiment to prove that propblast pickups had little to no drag on a boat? He actually mounted a 1 inch wide plate in the place of the pickup and noted that there was little to no difference with and without it!