STV92

Never tried bravo's.
Once we worked the choppers, i was hooked,
They run well and never took them off again.

Most important is to find a good prop guy,
It will be trial and error.
He worked them twice to get them to run together (rpm).
The 4 blades turn less rpms then the 3 blades..

I dont think they were designed to run with the bow in the air.
Mine is too heavy and dont think i could even if i tried.

I run a cleaver on my stv, which does not provide bow lift.
Cleavers helps more with lifting the ass,
Choppers help lift the nose,,

Big ear choopers, cut the weed eaters off,)
Again, my 2 cents )
Prop's x3 get very expensive

STV92

With 3 300x motors, you should be running -+ 100 mph
How heavy is yours??

With 3 225 promax (2.5) im running 84mph with a good chop on the water.
I think around 70-75 in calm water,,

Its funny watching the center motor dance in rough water.
But never had trouble with it,

blackbird345

What rpm u turn at 85mph? Trying to decide on 26 or 28 choppers. I'm way slower than I should be...I'm normally 72 in small chop with two 300x...so not sure with 3. I always run out of water pressure. I have transom mounts pickups but they don't give enough pressure even at 70mph.

STV92

Turning approx 6400 rpms.
You should be running faster then that?

Hows the motors?
Comp test, tune up?
How many rpms are you running?

Have you checked the last 5ft of the bottom for a hook?
They say with a 3rd motor, you will only gain 10-15mph.

Water pressure, anywhere between 10-20 psi.
Be careful, less on hard turns
Center gets great pressure with only lwp.

2 outside motors, i run both, lwp and transom pick-ups.
They run low water pressure with only 1, not an option on mine.

Props:
I would try: 3 blade 26s on the outside and 4 blade 28 in the middle.
If you cant turn them, something is wrong

Almost sounds like you have a hook on the bottom.

Props should vent on take off, middle being the hardest to plane.
Or you may just be to low in the water.
Aint 3 motors fun

blackbird345

Hahaha yeah loads of fun....but I must say acceleration is amazing!!! It accelerates so fast it feels like a wave runner; which makes me think I need bigger props. I believe there are a few things slowing me down they are: bottom paint, right engine not getting full power from what I believe is dirt in gas (gonna clean tonight) mid engine oil alarm is going off which limits top end power I think (gonna see if its the float that's messed up tonight). After fixing those two things I need to figure out transom pickups because they aren't giving enough pressure at 70 mph to give engine any water pressure...do you have yours plumbed to lower unit or just using pressure from speed?

blackbird345

Ok right engine did have dirt in gas, even screen on high pressure pump had dirt clogging it and water fuel seperator was full of dirt and particles. I assume tank must be full of dirt so may have to use a different tank. Also confirmed float in oil tank is not working on middle engine. Now I need to figure out propping...I may go with eagle et 4 blade 28p but not sure...

STV92

Getting closer to your goal,
Transom pick ups run into the pumps also ,

Bottom paint can be the answer once motors are fully serviced.
Dont know why you would have dirt in your tanks?

Should be fun getting the paint off the bottom.
Take off the last 10 ft and see how she runs.

Should be easy to turn over and sand the bottom.
That will slow you down.
Acceleration is wild, i agree!!

Running the promax is not bad on gas,
Heard the 300x loves gas

Biggest down side I find with these boats is getting all the water out,
Engine room,cabin, under floor and under seats,
What a stupid design, water does not drain to the back??

Mine is set up with 3 80 gallon fuel tanks,

Nothing like it running over a 3-4ft chop

STV92

Et props may work, never tried them??
May be hard to find 3 matching 28s
You running a left and 2 right hand lowers?

I found it cheaper to run choppers,
They are easy to find "big eared"
You will spend some money on getting them to run together.
Find a good prop shop to work them, can help if you need

Just my 2 cents, dont shot the messenger ha,ha

But i think you will also need the transom pick ups.
Dont install bottom pick ups, as they have on inboards.
Tried it, transom pick ups worked better,,

blackbird345

Was actually thinking the same thing about the last 10 ft of bottom paint. Ok I just purchased Ron Hill 4 blade Eagle ETs 28p for the outside engines ...now I only have a 3 blade chopper in middle...which is the opposite of what I need :-). I have transom pickups but I have sportmaster lowers so don't have place to plumb pickups to...unless they have something I'm not aware of.

Dirt in fuel is bc I started using the third tank which I don't normally use. Changed filters and checked fuel coming out of bulb(before filters) tonight and looks good. So hopefully lack of use on that tank. I have 4 tanks but not sure their size. Using 3 now...can't wait for new props...I'm interested in top speed but more interested in being able to do 75 without pushing engines 100%. I want to be able to keep throttle at 75% and run 70-75. Hoping the torque of 3 engines will let me do it...yea 3 foot chop is fun in these boats! Crazy how smooth they run over the chop!

STV92

4 gas tanks??
Damm, put a fourth motor on her
All jokes aside, why 4 fuel tanks ?
I would worry about balancing weight on only 3 tanks.
Do you know where they are located?
I would run either 2 or 4 tanks, just to balance weight.
2 or 4 tanks, i think you would need a splash tank?
I have one if you need

4 blades out 3 blade in
Are they all 28 pitch ?

I think the middle will not run the same rpms,
Need to make them work together,

But, as they say, run what you got!!

Keep me posted, bring a pad and write down a report per motor.
This way you know which is doing what. Works for me,

I still dont understand, why 4 tanks,
Unless that boat was set up for 4 motors.

I like running 3 systems apart
1 tank, 1 battery, 1 wiring per motor,

As always,, just my 2 cents
Run it, watch water, temp and rpm gauges.

Transom pick up helps to get mine on plane,
Im running cle's, modified for dual water pu.

If you dont have enough water pressure, drop the motors.
Center is approx 5 inches higher,,

Sand off the last 10 ft of the bottom.
Dont paint, run it sanded, its faster that way
Check for a hook in the bottom at the same time.
Fun sanding upside down ,