| Konrad Marine retrofitted a Cigarette Top Gun powerboat with their 540 PRS stern drive, replacing an obsolete TRS* drive. The boat was launched on Friday, April 16, 2004, on the St. Croix River. Results were fabulous and the conversion a huge success, as could be expected from the company that has engineered and produced high propulsion systems for over 13 years.
There is a large market for this necessary product. The last TRS stern drive was made in 1993, and parts will no longer be available by the end of this year bringing huge concern to TRS owners. When a drive failure occurred, the options have been to simply buy a new boat or undergo extensive and expensive retrofits that included replacing everything from the transom to the propeller.
Konrad's 540 PRS (Performance Replacement System) proves to be an extremely efficient and affordable alternative. Not only is the conversion a simple procedure, it boasts an unheard of increase in drive reliability and an amazing improved performance level. With the scarcity of TRS parts, Konrad Marine has seen and filled the market need for a less expensive, more reliable, easily installed alternative product that thousands of boat owners will appreciate and enjoy.
The retrofitted boat is owned by Kurt Flachbart of Naples, Maine. Flachbart personally trailered his boat to Wisconsin to partake in this conversion. He is a writer and contributes regularly to a boating enthusiast website at www.offshoreonly.com in the Forums/Boards/General Boating Discussion section where he has recently shared his conversion experiences and his appreciation for Konrad's 540 PRS.
Flachbart states, "I'm so impressed with the Konrad product! The 540 drive is a heavy duty unit with much larger gears and bearings, holds 4 more quarts of lube than a TRS and still out performed the TRS by a long shot... beefier drives usually mean slower speeds but not in this case. In the end we had gained close to 5 mph over the Merc* TRS set up! The much sleeker 540 lower unit is light years ahead of the old TRS gear case and makes up for the increased drag of the heavy duty internals... after spending a full week at the Konrad facility I am convinced they really do produce the Rolex of stern drives... they produce one of the finest products in this country... Thank you, Konrad Marine."
The 540 has two versions, the High Performance Drive and the Recreational Drive. It can handle a torque rating of up to 1000 Nm (738 lb. ft.). The 540 is designed for boats that require reliable, durable performance that simply goes fast. Engineered for durability, dependability and performance, the Konrad 540 has a number of benefits that set it apart from the other stern drives on the market:
- Oversized bearings
- Thicker walled casings
- One piece propeller shaft
- Continuous oil circulation for cool operation
- No corrosive exhaust through drive
- Precision machined super alloy gears·
- "Special K" gears available for demanding high performance
- No failure-prone cone clutch
- Minimal maintenance required
Konrad Marine Stern Drives can be found on a wide variety of vessels including water taxis, crew boats, parasail boats and in police and military applications around the world. Their stern drives are excellent in any performance application, whether it's racing to the finish line or powering a vessel for heavy commercial duty.
*Original equipment manufacturer's names are used for identification
purposes only. Konrad is in no way implying that their stern drives are
the original equipment manufacturer?s products.
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