cheech

Just really got to run the 25 mirage plus's out.
Maybe 3/4 to 7/8 fuel, me, the wife, and son. Best was 68 on the gps, 5100 rpm. Was fooling with trim, went in a little, could feel and see on the gps, went down to 66. Just curious also in this thread about hours on the engines. Mine have about 600 so they could be a little tired.
Vette, on the 25's could you run the drives all the way out and not hit the rev limiters? I was trimmed up to the limit switch still did'nt pick up any speed. I let it eat for about two miles.

Shag555

245hrs

VetteLT193

Sorry, just got back to this... life in the way of fun, kids starting school + sick + work deadline.

Anyway, in regards to the 25's I can't recall where my trim was in the end but I do recall I wasn't trimmed all the way out. If memory serves a bit out from neutral.

I haven't used the boat much at all this year, had high hopes but reality kicked in. Hopefully we'll get out this weekend, Monday maybe... Work to do the rest of the weekend. All well

atisvt99

Hi fellas,

I'm relatively new to this, so go easy please...

I've got a 2000 28ZX Scorpion with the Mercury Racing (blue) 377 Scorpion engines... everything about the powertrain is stock as far as I know.

I've got what I think is a pair of older Mirage props (maybe before they came out with the 'Plus' line???)... The lettering on the side reads: EE Quicksilver 48 18280 (& 18281) A45 27P
So I'm not sure what this equates to when I see you all talking about Mirage + 23s, 25s, etc... Thoughts? I'm also pretty sure that my drive rotate outward... my mechanic and I have never really paid attention, but were looking at how the blade moves as we rotated them by hand... outward seemed to look right to us.

Anyways, my boat has always run like a champ... My best speed on GPS was 81.6mph (Gaffrig GPS Speedo, Garmin handheld Marine GPS, and buddies iPhone) at about 5100-5150 RPM. I've read this is the absolute most I should/will see out of this boat in its factory trim. I am not complaining.
On a normal day I will spin the engines to about 5000rpm and see 78-79mph easily.

To take off I'll throttle up both engines to about 2600-2700 rpm (any more will blow the props off) and once the bow levels out, I can pretty much punch it from there. The boat corners like a Porsche on the water IMHO.

I have the props off now, and am considering sending them to BBlades for some cleanup (looks like I hit some gravel with them or something - nothing major, but just a little chewed on the edges) and possibly a labbing? I don't really know what that means at this point... so I'm not sure really what I'm after at this point.

If I had to guess, I'd say that my blades are pretty well matched for my boat right now... they operate right where these engines want to (4800-5200 RPM operating range) and the boat will scoot right along up and down the Potomac.

Any thoughts, input, or feedback?

Thanks fellas... and nice thread by the way.

- justin

VetteLT193

Based on your numbers you are probably running labbed props already. They are more likely to get damaged because the blades are thinner.

It's likely that the lab job added the cup to it so you probably have what is basically a plus minus the name.

atisvt99

Yep, that could very well be the case... the guy that I bought the boat from said he thought they might have been worked already when he bought it - but he wasn't totally sure either. I guess that would make a little more sense based on my healthy numbers.

In your experience, any other props out there I should be looking at to try instead? Also, what about a pair of spare props - do most of you keep a spare set handy in the even\ty you hit something and really screw things up?

VetteLT193

If you want top speed you are using the right set of props.

If you want better cruising, planing, etc. you might want to try Bravo 1's.

As far as a spare set goes, I sometimes put a set on the boat, sometimes not. Depends on where I am going. If I am running a long trip I'll put on a set just in case but I'm a bit more cautious than most.

atisvt99

I talked to the previous owner... he said my props had been labbed before. now I'm not sure if they will clean up as nicely since they've already been worked a bit. We shall see I suppose...

As for the Bravo 1's, that's a 4-blade prop yes? I understand better planing in that the boat just gets up on plane faster, but how does that affect my "cruising"? What kind of difference would I see while say, running down the river at 50-60 mph? Would the Bravo 1's also allow me to stay on plane at slower speeds?

Thanks much for the input!

VetteLT193

Bravo 1's (yes 4 blade) should give you faster cruising / lower RPM. Easier planing, I literally push the sticks forward and let it do it's thing at any trim angle. I have a terrible time getting on plane in rough water with the Mirage+, as the boat starts to get up as you go over waves they blow out and you have to start over. I have yet to have any issue in any conditions with the Bravo 1's.

They are more connected to the water for me and I'm better able to adjust the attitude of the boat while cruising for optimal speed and/or ride. Handling is also better while at cruise or less speeds.

Top end... Mirage Plus all the way. Bravo 1's make the rear end a bit light... not a huge deal just one of the down sides. you are likely to lose 3-5 MPH top end running them with gains everywhere else.

IMO our hulls like to cruise around 45 MPH for maximum efficiency and you can do so very well with the Bravo 1. You can also run a more efficient fast cruise (say, 55 MPH... maybe 60+ for a Scorpion boat) with the B1's. For the other end of the spectrum... yes, you can stay on plane at a much slower speed with them. I used to boat in St. Marks FL where there is a narrow and winding channel loaded with boat traffic and it's worlds easier dealing with all that with the B1's. The M+ in the same channel I had to run faster and I'd blow out one of the props in every turn.

atisvt99

Figured I would update this thread... (And Vette, thanks very much for your info!)

Brett just called today from B-Blades... he has my older Mirage props and said they were stock. He's going to lab them, change the cup around a bit, etc etc (the talk is still mostly greek to me) but said that he should be able to get about 200rpm more for me, along with better planing and better mid-range as well. I'm stoked because these props have been great already...

I'm also going to look into getting a set of Bravo 1's from him as well - perhaps a little later this summer, but he seemed to make the same recommendations as the other veterans in this thread. Thanks to everyone for their input... I'll make sure to have a couple of GPS numbers to post up after the new blades are in and on the boat!