Mate 229

Marty at the factory suggested I try a 28 Bravo 4 blade on my '97, 27. Has anyone run one and if so what do you think? Currently running a 27 Hydro. The boat has around 600hp.

Mark in So. MD

Mate, i was curious about that too, every one i have seen has been a Hydromotive and LH rotation at that(on a single?).

Friend just bought a 98 with stock 502, i have a 26 B1 and i would like see what that does on his, i will let you know if we do that this weekend.

Mate 229

Mike, What pitch Bravo's did you try 26 or 28? I see you're in Tampa, I lived in Ft Myers for about 8 yrs before getting "promoted" to Richmond. I sure miss that water.
Recently had Florida added to my area of responsibility so I get to go back about every 6 wks. and travel around with my Acct Reps.

bob_t

My friend is running a 28P Bravo 1 (don't remember which rotation) on his blown HP500, 1998 27 Fever. RPM's are down a bit with that prop (4900 was max, if I remember right). He has tried several props but got the best speed out of the boat with that prop (78 mph, gps, on a lake with slight chop, cool day - upper 60's temp). The boat was very violently "chinewalking", for lack of a better description, at top speed, though. Boost is mild at around 5 psi on his engine. Boat was much more "controlled" with a 26P hydro, but top speed was down a little bit and he was bouncing off the rev limiter. Also something that was really wierd with the Bravo 1 prop was that around 2800 - 3000 rpm's the prop would lose its bite and blowout even with the drive trimmed all the way in. Not quite sure on the exact rpms that it did this because that was back in January when we were fooling around with his boat, but it was really wierd. His boat doesn't do that with any of the other props, and my 27 (n/a HP500) doesn't do it with any of my props, either.

Mark in So. MD

Man boats are weird. bob_t, a boating friend from way up the bay basically has the same setup as yours. 98 27' single step with a HP500 w/procharger and he sees low 90s. Not sure on prop or exact horsepower, I can call and see

US1 Fountain

Mate, what speeds are you seeing with the 27" hydro?

I ran 83mph with a 27 Hydro @ 5400 on my blown HP motor also right around 600hp. Mine is non stepped, so I lose a couple mph over you stepped guys. With my 24" Hydro I see 76mph, but that is spinning at over 5600. Have wanted to try a Bravo, since I lost the 27 to the rock gods.

bob_t,
78 is not much faster than a stock HP500'd Fountain. Sure would have expected for that boat to be at least in the 80's.

Mate 229

Thanks for all the replies. I'm still "learning" the boat only had her about a month. So far I've seen 78mph but haven't trimmed it too high yet. The previous owner said he had it at 81 gps. I'm looking at more than just top end though. Marty Boesinger felt I could pick up 3-5 mph midrange cruise speed with the Bravo. Most of my boating time is running between 40 and 50mph so that would be a good improvement. Also have tough time keeping the prop hooked up when slowing down, although I have gotten a better feel for trim and tab positions now.

ragtop409

Has any of you tried a 25 or 27 Mirage or Mirage plus on your single 27's or 29's I always felt the 3 blade gave better top speed WOT or do these boats need 4 blade to get on a plane thanks Charlie

Mate 229

Ragtop, most Fountains run pretty high X dimensions so the 4 blade gives more bite. I had a 23 Mirage on my Checkmate and went to a 24 Hydro, made a world of difference in that boat. I had some bad chine walking above 70 and the Hydro calmed it.