I have a 2001 closed bow with 350's, bravos, 1.5 ratio, my props turn out and i have 230 hrs on the boat. I don't know if it matters but i boat in fresh water.
When I bought the boat it had 22 pitch powertech 4 blade props on it. it would trun 4600rpms, and the best speed i got was 63mph it didn't matter where i had it trimmed that was it. I pulled the powertechs, and put on 23pitch mirages, then i was on the limiter running 65mph, so i bought a set of 25 mirage plus's... i didn't realize there was a difference in the rake or cup. The rpms dropped to 4600 but i run 66mph, so i was going to have someone lab them this spring to see where i end up...
Then at the end of the summer i got caught out in some real rough water, at least in my opinion it was rough, that was the only time so far i had an issue with it blowing out.
Now i'm not sure if i should spend the money to have my 25s labbed or try a set of Bravo's...
The boat comes out of the hole fine, i don't have any complaints about mid range... but I really didn't like the blow out, and i would like more top speed. Not sure what i'm going to do now. Oh, I speedo is GPS, and my chart plotter matchs its speed.
I also tried a set of 25pitch 3 blade cleaver props... cavitated like crazy out of the hole but i got 67 top speed at 4600ish rpms.

BTW Shag i love the yellow on your boat mine is yellow also.

fixx
 

you want to try a set of 23p revolution props,bravos are slow on that hull..the 4 blade revolution merc props will be better hole shot and a little faster then the mirage + maybe 1 mph..if you want to lab your props send them to DAHpropellers in burlington wi..john is the best out their period..and he will make your boat faster,,i picked up 6 mph when he was done with my prop..

http://www.dahpropellers.com/

Got a couple of boxes in the mail yesterday... Probably can't play for a couple more weeks due to crazy work schedule though. :(

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-J.../new+props.jpg

I would be interested in how they work. What are they?

Mike

Hey Mike,

Long time no chat! So I sent my Mirage props out to BBlades to get cleaned up... I was almost certain they were previously labbed when I sent them over (this is my first boat and I didn't really know the difference) but Brett called a couple of weeks later and informed me that they were stock. So after going over all the details of my boat and how it performs, he went and did his thing to them... Labbed, cupped, etc according to his specs.

I also decided to pickup another set of props while I had him on the phone and went with what most people recommend for that boat (not all out performance) and did the Bravo 1 (4-blade)... I went with a 28p so that they too could be labbed and as you can see in the pic, I opted to have both sets polished.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Z...0315-00284.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w...0315-00285.jpg

I'm going to put the 3-blade back on for the 1st part of the season just so I can compare them to what I remember from last year. I'll then swap over to the 4-blades for what I assume will be some easier launching, slower planing, harder cornering, and slower top speeds. If I'm ever around for a poker run or something like that, I'll just throw the 3 blades back on.

The whole reason I sent my Mirage props in for service was a few small nicks in the blades from gravel up near Washington DC on the Potomac... I'll need to be extra careful this year since both sets of props are now a little more fragile with their sharper edges, etc... I'll be sure to update the thread once I get some numbers and impressions.

I'm going to pull the boat this weekend and take it down to a boat repair shop in our area to get the headliner in my cuddy re-glued or replaced, have a 3" gouge in my hull repaired, and some other small fiberglass repairs made. Maybe 3 weeks from now I'll get out on the water?

Will keep y'all posted... :)

- justin

can you ask him how much cup ? Just got mine back...

and you really need to run a set of Mirage Plus 25. Not the standard Mirage.

But I am curious about your numbers.

You turn them in still?

MIke

FYI: you need to be a LOT more careful as they aren't just a little more fragile, they are a lot more fragile. i.e., you hit bottom and the blade ends will fold in like a tulip.

I will ask him what cup he did... I kinda thought I would get a spec or "what we did" sheet... so I'll see if I can get one e-mailed to me?

I think when you and I talked on the phone early last year, you had recommended the MP 25 then too... From what Brett told me, I should basically have a Plus now after his modifications to my regular Mirages. Again, I'll see if I can find out what he did...

Another thing I learned about my boat from the previous owner was that the hull was "blueprinted"??? The guy who had it *before* the last owner (a good buddy of mine) paid to have this blueprinting process done to the whole underside of the boat. I had never heard of this before, honestly... but they take a straight edge and go over every square inch and make sure it is flat/straight/true... fill in areas where necessary, sand down areas where necessary, and finally scuff the entire surface so that bubbles wont stick to it? I'm just repeating what I was told... but my buddy said that would explain why my boat was hitting almost 82 mph (on 3 different GPS units) with the stock props... (and I'm just repeating what I was told... if this sounds like BS to anyone, please be gentle... :helmet: )

Brett said that I should pickup maybe 2-3 mph with the newly worked 3-blades... and maybe lose 5-7 mph with the worked 4-blades.

And finally, I'm almost certain that my props turn out! that's what I put on my BBlades form and I wasn't told otherwise by those guys. When I get them back on the boat and think about it, I'll see if I can glance real quick so I know for sure.

- justin

Should have posted on this one earlier but haven't been on the forums much.
2006 28ZX with 350 mag mpi's and 1.65 bravos from the factory. Also have factory K-planes.
Drives measure 6 3/4 bottom 6 1/4 top at the center of the gimbal
Props turn out per the factory stickers on the transom

Boat came with 25 mirage plus's and as Vette found they were hard to plane but top end was good, about 71.

I have tried 26 hydromotives and various 26 bravo's labbed and unlabbed. I bought a set of Merc labbed, polished 26 bravos on e-bay and ran them for 2 summers and loved them. Great planing, you cant blow them out even if you try. Getting 69 top end consistantly at 5200 rpm. Doesn't really matter 1 or 2 people in the boat. Best top end a shade over 70.

Decided to send them to B-Blades the spring of 2012 and ran them last season. Brett said they added more rake to help get the bow out of the water. I also had them do the brushed finish because they told me it was faster than polished. The trim does seem to react more as Brett said it would. Bottom line is I really haven't seen much difference in speed. Getting pretty much the same numbers as above. They looked great when i got them back and I don't fault B-blades, I just think maybe I have maxed out what my boat will do with the power it has. These are the right props for the boat. I also run a lot at night and with the K-planes tweaked I can stay on plane at 24-25 mph which is great.

Fixx
 

you need to try a set of revolution props...lots of positive results with the donzi hulls..

Thanks Fixx. I have kicked that around from time to time but if I remember correctly the most pitch they offer is a 25, and I didnt think that was enough.

Hey Mike,

I didn't get much back from them when I inquired... Here's a snippet from the e-mail:
"We do not send out data sheets with the work we do.
After researching your file I can tell you that we did add rake angle VIA a bend in the tips and a specific amount of cup heights.
I hope this helps answer some of your questions."

I did notice that my props actually turn out though... Someone showed me the old 'put it in gear, and see which way they turn trick...'

Unfortunately... I didn't get to test top end numbers - see below


Aaaaand, I learned this first hand about 1 hour after putting the boat in the water for the first time this year... :poopoo: Me, my fiance', her sister, my sister, and one of their friends cruised over to this little bay we'll hang out in from time to time and it would appear that area is more shallow than I ever remember it being. We hit rock or brick (someone told me once that a bunch of bricks were dumped and spread there years ago...) when coming off plane and I knew right away that I had screwed up pretty good. Once we anchored, I raised the drives all the way up, leaned over the back of the boat, and ran my fingers over each blade... chewed up! :angry-smiley-038: And when I put the boat back in the lift later that night, I saw that my freshly painted lowers had been banged up too... *sigh*

[ATTACH=CONFIG]501965[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]501966[/ATTACH]

Live and learn I suppose...

We had a poker run to participate in the next day, so I (reluctantly) swapped over to my brand new Bravos the morning of. In an effort to keep this post "on topic" I can say that I experienced the same thing that everyone else has talked about with those 4-blades... The boat now takes off and planes without any effort at all... very responsive in the mid-range, and still turns tight and with ease. I did lose about 300-500 RPM and my speed topped out at 74 on GPS though... someone told me later that day that those props were too big? Not sure... 15.25x28 Bravo 1

- justin

Ok, Finally got on the water... what a crappy spring... anyway I ended up sending my 23's in to get labbed I am now turning 5k and top speed is 68 on GPS... best ever on my boat.

Where did you send them?

DAHProps

2004 zxo with 350s and mirage plus 23s. Just got them back from a local shop because was having some blowout issues. Boat runs much better but best I could get get out of it was 60 gps. Interestingly enough, props spinning out but the decals indicate to spin in. Would it make that much difference? I expected the boat to run around 70 with that setup.

Something is not rite, You should be getting 70

I'm going to switch them tomorrow

Zxo boats don't run as fast as regular zx. The open bow nukes speed pretty good, according to a former donzi test driver it is aerodynamics.

Scorpion zxo will kiss 73, 6.2 Zxo can get to 70. 350 Zxo 65, maybe 67 or 68.


With 6.2's I can run mid 60s with bravo 1 26 or bravo 1 24s. Does the same speed at different rpms. Keep in mind I have 1.65 drives so a 350 boat with 1.5 drives needs a lot less wheel. I am spinning in.

I really cant run mirage plus props. It's a safety concern... with where I boat we get afternoon BIG rollers and the boat is near impossible to plane. With bravo 1s we just go.

I might lab mine this year, time will tell;) I'm guessing a good lab bravo 1 24, add cup and an inch, will net me 70 daily

With props turning in (decals indicate they should) I was able to get 65 with 2 people and half tank of fuel. Docking manners sucked though. Was turning about 4800-4900 rpms. Think I'll turn them back out. Might also get some 26 bravo ones.

Mine are turning in and docking SUCKS. On top of the props, the very low idle of the 6.2 MPI's don't produce enough power steering pressure to keep up with turning the wheel at idle for docking. Latham makes a kit to plumb in the second engine's power steering pump to increase the pressure but it's about $400 which seems a bit steep for something that should work to begin with.

I intend to get back in the water Friday and run again with the props in and then put the boat on the trailer and switch them back turning out and run under the same conditions and get the numbers. Ill post from there and see what y'all think.

I had the same issue with the latham steering this weekend. I tested the prop rotation and turning in I was at 3500 getting 41-42 mph and top end at 65 at 4900-5000. Turning out I got 42-43 at 3500 and same 65 top end. both were with two people and about 1/2 tank of fuel. turning out docked significantly smoother so that's my obvious preference. I was just hoping for more on the top number.

still getting a ton of blow out coming on plane. am really wanting to test a pair of 26 B1's. anyone interested in letting me borrow, please?

Adjust wanted to keep this thread in the rotation. I know it's only January but already getting excited about the upcoming season!

Hello jralston.
I run 26 Bravo 1. 95% if the time and 25 mirage plus when I want to go a bit faster.
Tge Bravo 1’s are much better cruising but I never had the planing issues others talk about when I run the mirage plus.
Stew

I definitely want to pick up a set of B1s. it probably doesnt help planing with my boat that we usually have at least 6 people on the boat.