Checkmate 454
 

Which bravo do you use...is it solid hub:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Looking into doing the same thing

Geeter

Fast Enough
I ran a 24p labed Hydro on my 229 Checkmate. It had a 23p Mirage when I bought it. The Hydro gave me more stern lift which most Checkmates need. I lost about 200rpm on the top end but the ride was much more stable abouve 70mph. The Mirage chine walked terribly. The boat had 450hp and weighed 3200lbs.
Try 22 and 24 Hydro's and see which one gets you around 5000rpm. I bought my Hydro off this site in the classifieds, you can find some great deals here. Good luck.
I'm looking for a LH 28 Bravo for the Beak Boat if anyone has one.

Geeter-B;

I am not running solid hub props.

Fast Enough:

Both of the props I am using are NOT labbed. They are stock right out of the box. I have talked to hydromotive recently to get their opinions. I was told that the best prop for me would be their 24" 4 blade. BUT, they wanted to work it. They told me I would have to cut down some of the diameter to get my motor to pull it to 5000 r.p.m. Then after I tested that work, I could send it back to them for labbing.

Here is a little bit of information you may or may not know about when comparing Bravos' to Hydromotives'. Lets take a 24" Bravo and a 24" Hydro. You might think that they are the same pitch, after all they are both 24's---WRONG----- The pitch of a Bravo is rated at the trailing edge, which is where the pitch is at its' highest. At the leading edge, the pitch is only 21", which means that there is a 3" pitch progression built into the wheel. Here comes the big difference, Hydromotive as well as most other propellers manufacturers, rate their props at their average pitch, from the leading edge to the trailing edge. This means that a 24" hydro has 22.5" pitch at its' leading edge and 25.5" pitch at its' trailing edge. The average pitch is 24" and is sold as such. So, if you are running a Bravo prop and are putting numbers into a speed or r.p.m. calculator, you have to input the average pitch to get accurate answers. So, in my case of using the 24" vs. 26", I used 22.5" and 24.5" pitch for my calculations.

checkmate454mag, Are all of Merucry Props like that? Like my 25 Mirage Plus??

Fast Enough;

From what I was told, Mercury only did that to there Bravo 1 series. This was a surprise to me as well. I got this information from Hydromotive a few months ago.

Hey Checkmate454mag . Can you email me your name and a number I could call you at. Here is my email address [email protected]

24" Bravo 1 4blade Test
 

OK, here are the results from testing my brand new stock 24" Bravo 4blade prop. The hole shot was way better than the mirage. The midrange and top end handling was awesome. Also it seemed to trim way more than the mirage without loosing speed. Also the ride was greatly improved. The prop was like night and day compared to the Mirage. The conditions were 70 degree sunny day one person 185lbs. I filled up the fuel tank 75 gals and my normal stuff I keep in the boat approx 100lbs total. I could run 4700 rpm all day with it. I did loose some top end approx 1-2 mph but I also noticed that crusing a 4000rpm was faster. I also have a 26" that I am going to try and see how much rpm I loose. I am still waiting on Dustin Whipple's upgrades so the 26" will work after the upgrades. I hope!:rolleyes: From what most of you said the Hydromotives are faster on top end but I dont mind loosing 1-2 mph for everthing I gained:) Also has anyone else noticed that with the 496's that it does not matter if it is 60 degrees or 90 they still run the same. I am guessing the ecm makes up for the warmer or colder conditions.