Tcarp

Hey guys I have a question for the masses. I have a 99 29 Fever. Its the step hull. It is the lighter hull than the newer stepped hulls. I have the old fiberglass style windscreen. Anyways I am wondering what speeds/ props everyone is running? I redid everything beginning of last year and it seems like the boat should be maybe faster. It has a 541ci engine with a blowershop 250 supercharger. It made about 850ish on the dyno. I have a Teague platinum XR 1.50 drive. I have a 26p prop and a 30p prop. The 30p is kinda a slug up and out of the water, but its mostly just me and the wife so not that big a deal. The 26p is much better but I can get the rev limiter or the prop will blow out. With the 26p top speed is maybe 70-72ish at like 5000 rpm. With the 30 I can't really get much faster than 75-78ish because it starts chine walking so bad because its such a long acceleration. There is plenty of more RPMs available, but I have to back out. I am not sure what I need to change or is this kinda where it should be at? The 30 is nice on long runs because it cruises at like 50ish at 3000-3500 rpm. Would a 28p be a better option? The boat came with a 24p, I had a 26p from a previous boat, and picked up the 30p when I did the motor and drive.

DallasBAJA

I have a 2003 29 fountain with a stock 525 EFI and stock Bravo 1 XR. With a 28P Bravo I have hit 76, but its more of a gets to 70-72 and then its all trim and water conditions to get the last out of it, but the boat still feels planted in the water for the most part, nothing super sketchy about it. Seems odd you are getting so much Chine walk at 75-78 MPH. Wondering how much lighter that hull is that you mentioned and if you just have too much motor for that boat. With RPM left in it sounds like you wont even be able to tell what prop you actually need until you can do a WOT run and get some actual slip numbers.

Do you have K planes? I know alot of people will run them at a 2 on the trim gauge to "make the boat longer" I dont ever run them when im going for top speed because my boat doesnt get all that sketchy.

Might just need more time in the drivers seat.

Tcarp

Yeah I have K planes, and run them down a little to help. I am thinking a 28p may be better for me. I feel like I need to get past the chine walking, but with the 30p it accelerates to slowly that I can't get past it. Maybe a 28p wil push me thru the chine walking quick enough and to the higher speed. I definitely feel like with the amount of motor I have the boat should be much faster.

105Fountain

Try the 28 pitch may be solved?

BBYSTWY

I'm not a fountain guy in that I don't own one however....everything I've read about them through the years you are def off on speed...

You say that you run some tab to "help"....how much? Are you running so much that it's burying the nose of the boat and inducing more chine walk?

Where are you running? What elevation? Have seen in the past guys have "850" or whatever number HP on a dyno at sea level then honestly have 600 at best at the elevation they are running.

I have a Nordic 28 heat with 1000 HP in it and I tried running a 26 at one point just because I had it and it blew out, chine walked, and just felt sketchy at anything above 55. I run a 28 that come to find out has been worked at some point and it runs great but has too much slip for my boat. I have a labbed 30 that makes the boat feel like a tank crashing through everything yet I can't get it to spin enough to lift the boat and give me any kind of speed.

My point being with my examples....props even in stock form can drastically change the way a boat handles and how fast it is. There is so much R&D in props nowadays it's crazy. If I were you...I would try to find a 28 or even rent one from bblades and try to get an honest top speed run to see where you are at. I'm betting a 28 with some work is gonna be the ticket just from what you have said and you can sell the 26 and 30 to help cover the cost of the 28 and the lab work. If you have the capability, have a buddy or whoever record the boat from another boat running next to you. I am going to a 5 blade and when I talked to Brett at bblades he said if I have a video of it running he can narrow down pretty quick what the prop needs for that particular boat. He used a lot of terminology that I didn't understand at the time and that's when the video suggestion came up to help get around me being an idiot hahahaha.

Good luck!

johnmiffco

what props are u running brand and version diameter,ect,,,,,
as if is lifting transom too much it also shoves the bow down
also if running tabs down at your max speeds that also will shove bow down
u might be getting bow steer more than chime walk and with bow planted it will start rocking like chime walk
gotta ride on back 1/4-1/3 of the hull as is a short 29 and gotta have bow up

senerio,,,,,,i have a 32 hustler that i did a full resto on and converted to tripple 300 merc o/bs
running 34 pitch props such as tried bravos,4 blade mercs,4 blade dewald,some hills and all were 15deg tail lifters
by going to the o/bs over the 2 BBs i lost close to 2000 lbs on the transom and being a low fat lifting strake hull and 24deg bottom
it rides high and pretty level with bow up some at speeds normally when had the 2 BBs
from 72-78 depending on the water conditions would watch bow go lower and lower till started bow steering and had to get out of it 80-85
i picked up a set of high rake bow lifting 34s and became an awsome ride and goes past 110 and bow stayss where i want it with trim
so being lighter on transom it needed less transom lift as it lifts natuarlly form hull design
so could be prop also and the tabs down over70,,,
just guessing but i went through same till got less transom lifting props

Wildman_grafix

There is some good advice here. One thing most fountains have the tabs neutral at 3, make sure both of yours read right so you know where to start.

Most fountains, at least the single step hulls liked Hydro style props better then Bravo, you haven't said what type yours are.

With tabs level or 1/2 a tick down you can counter steer to stop the chime walk, it takes some practice but not that hard.

Last thing, when you said dyno 850, was that with marine dress on or like most, motor only, dyno headers etc?

ttuton

Also, you never specified what type of prop you are running. Is it a bravo, hydromotive, or other? What direction is it spinning? A good friend had a 98 29’ fountain with a 500hp blue motor. It ran 74mph with a left spinning hydromotive. I don’t recall what pitch for certain , but I believe it was a 24. The boat didn’t have any weird chine walking issues.

105Fountain

Reggie put a sleeve on tabs so they are limited. They don't chine as much . On late model single engine not sure if they had stops? Agree boat should go faster good luck

Tcarp

I am running a 26p Bravo prop. I may have a video somewhere of the boat running. I will try and find it and post it, but I think the 26 is way to small and the 30 is way to much. I am going to try and find a 28 local to me to try before going on a hunt for one to purchase.