drive/trim settings
 

I recently purchased a 1999 Baja 29 Outlaw. My question is where the "sweet spot" is for setting the drives and trim tabs for coming on plane. I seem to be experiencing some cavitation when I set the tabs all the way down and the drives at neutral. I then drop the drive down to bring the bow down. Am I doing something wrong? It has twin 7.4 liter engines with Bravo 1 drive. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

When coming on plane, the drives should be all the way down. For me, how much I use my tabs depends on the load. 2 or 3 people and half tank of gas, I don't use at all. Heavy load and I'll drop them about 3/4 of the way down to help keep the bow down when planing off.

Also, your props will make a difference. My boat has Bravo 1 4 blades and never blows out. My dad had a '97 with 7.4s and 3 blade Mirages and it would blow out everytime if you got it over 3500 rpms when coming on plane. No big deal, just made us go easy on the sticks when taking off.

I have Mirage 3 blade 25 pitch props. What pitch are you using? Also in regards to your previous post, I assume you raise the drives as you come on plane to lower the bow?

Actually raising the drives raises the bow. Once you plane off (drives fully down) the bow will feel glued to the water. As you trip up a little the bow will raise and you will feel the boat free up a little. Trimming too high will cause the boat to start porpoising. From experience, the 29 Outlaw takes very little trim, especially in smooth water. So start off with the drives all the way down and once on plane, tap the up button a little at a time until you feel the boat free up.

I'm running 26 pitch 4 blades.

Thanks for your input. I will give it a try this weekend.