Revelocity

Yes - the 290/VR1 hull was developed approx.10 years after the 280 hull and was enhanced to be a faster hull. 290's with Merc Racing 525's were reported to run around 85 MPH which seems to be a sweet spot for 290 efficiency. 280's will need 600+ HP to see that speed.

CJSYD

I ran into some issues getting on plane with the 290 on Saturday as well. Now, I was loaded up with 4 adults and 4 kids, full of fuel and some crappy conditions going out. 3 to 4' with 15mph head wind made for a rough start. 496 HO with the labbed bravo 28 was not happy trying to plane off. It probably took me 30 or 40 seconds before the nose would drop. My thought is to get a 26p something for days like this. It felt like I was trying to pull 4 skiers out of the water. The ride back was great after the bay settled. 60mph all the way home on top of 1' of chop... smooth ride. The 28 works great but not really a work horse for the conditions I was in.

Tinkerer

Was the prop slipping or was it dragging the engine down? Most single engine boats of your length would have that same problem.

petty theft

CJYSD, that's quite the load. :-) With 5 adults and better than half tank of fuel mine is a little slower to plane but not that bad. In a heavy load situation I revert to my old fishing ways 2800 to 3000 rpm and give it some tab if you have them. I'm not sure if this will hurt the drive or not. Others might want to chime in on that.

CJSYD

Tinkerer- I'll say it was a little bit of both but more towards dragging me down- like trying to hole shot with the trim up. Again, the trip back was very good. The head wind and plowing through the rough water (against the grain) was really the main problem. Although my wife may not comply, I would love to try again in the same conditions without the load on board. A lower pitch prop would have been advantageous on Saturday.

petty- Yeah, we were loaded for sure. Full fuel, full freshwater tank, 2 loaded coolers, all the kings horseman and a partridge in a pear tree! I don't have tabs (yet) and I would imagine the drive was not so happy on a few of those pulls. I definitely learned a bunch about the 290 on it's first trip out since buying it and will try to avoid this scenario if possible.

I plan on purchasing another prop for water toy adventures with the kids. 24p 4 blade might be the ticket and double as the rough condition prop in case I run into the same situation as last Sat? Opinions welcome on this and sorry if I tuned this into a hijack... not my intention.

DBO

I have a 02 280 with same motor and drive as you but I run ab B1 26p prop. I do run this boat from time to time of the coast of California and it can get pretty choppy here. Never had a problem falling off plain at all. I would like to have the prop lapped because i cant get over about 4950 rpm at WFO.I would like to see a couple hundred more rpm if possible. The boat is a bit slower on to plain with 5 adults and a full load of fuel then it is with just the wife and I bit not terrible. No tabs

DBO

I will be going out this weekend ( fresh water) and i will report what my boat is doing speed and rpm wise and post it sometime Sunday.

CJSYD

Any news on the 26 results?

DBO

Sorry never maid it out. We have had a death in the family (wifes sister) so havent been out in a couple weeks. This weekend looks really nice here (mid 80 deg temp) so i will record a couple of rpm vs speed info.

CJSYD

Sorry to hear the news about your wife's sister DBO. Condolences to you and your family.