V-drives

[Sharp shooter]

Kind of interested on the history of the whirl-away also .... I've had vdrive boats back in the 80's and never heard anything ever mentioned about them. Did anyone have them back then? drag boats? must be pretty ugly coming to a sudden stop at 100+ mph

I'm sure 7 can give us a very detailed history of prop releases. I know in the early days there was the Algon prop release which installs between the v-drive and the prop shaft. It was good but left a lot of room for improvement which probably explains why Casale got in the game with the Whirl-a-way. Many guys flipped their boats before these were a mainstay. Engine failure or a locked drivetrain turns your prop into a corkscrew shaped skeg without a releasing mechanism that allows your prop to freewheel..