Cat,
I am hoping to test next weekend as well. Let me know how it goes.
BC

John, did I see your boat in the Texoma poker run article??

Hopefully the 4" of snow melts and it warms up so I can still test next weekend.

Yes, that was me. First time in Hot Boat. My mechanic was on the first page in another Daytona 25. He actually had two pictures.

Hey Cattitude, whats the update on your new lower unit. You going to get that thing wet this weekend? Hows your point total with the Jeep? You going to make the finals?

Does not look good for this weekend. Needed parts are not here yet, whether looks nasty (Warm but t-storms) etc. etc.

Maybe a good weekend to stay inside to finish the taxes.

Jeep wise, I'm sixth in pts in the series so far. Next event has been moved down the road to a site I am both familiar with and very competitive with my particular set-up (Rock Garden in Aztec NM).

Jeep just needs a little TLC before April events.

Shorty should be tested a week from Sunday as it looks now.

I finally got all my parts and completed the install! Ran yesterday with 450 lbs of people, one extra battery (Normally have one) and 100 gallons of fuel (filled the tanks for the winter).

Previous best GPS with stock Bravo and 28 B1 running with just me, one battery and 15 gallons or so was 87.9, similar temps in the 60's.

Yesterday I ran 89.1 with considerable extra weight (235 lb passenger, est. 80 lb Optima battery, and 85 x 6lbs of fuel totals approx 825 lbs.) This is with the XZ/ 2 inch Imco and a merc labbed 28 Bravo.

I've got a 1/2 spacer which I will try next for a 1.5" shorty. Planing was a little tricky- started slipping at 3k, instinct was to keep it there but found it worked best if I gently moved the stick thru 4k and the bravo grabbed enough to break it over. I'm not sure if it would work this well with a full passenger load. I suspect the 1/2 or 1"spacer would be best for general recreation.

steering with the 2" shorty actually felt more balanced, a little lighter yet still controlled, did some sweeping 60mph corners and was very comfortable. With the stock Bravo it felt more "Grabby" and like it actually bit too hard at times in the corners.

After running, I did something I should have done long ago, I calibrated neutral trim and marked it on my gage. I was running considerable positive trim, I suspect too much. I find it's easy to get lulled into this as the RPM's rise but you're not actually going faster - it's even easier to get lulled when the speedo is not working.

For the cat techies reading, I put a straight edge on the bottom corner of each sponson (the rear running surface part behind the steps) and the neutral trim prop shaft is about 3/4" +/- 1/8" below the sponsons.

Overall, I'm very pleased, aside from the reliability of the XZ upgrade and the eye candy of the Imco lower, I suspect I will have picked up 3-5 mph when comparing apples to apples. I will update when the GPS proves it to me, hopefully later in the week.

Nothing sweeter than spending money making a change & it works.

I did calc. on computer & came up that if all was the same with extra weight boat should have only gone 81, for lost of 6 mph. My guess is you should with all equal, gain 8 mph. Only time will tell.

What did it do to your rpm's. I saw where you bought this prop also so what prop did you have before.

Finally fired my motor last night for a few seconds. Hope to be on water this weekend to test.

Turbo,
Unfortunately I don't have back to back comparisons with same prop. I went from a bone stock 28 to a Merc labbed 28 which I bought from Badcat at the end of last season. With this prop, and the shorty and probably too much pos. trim i was spinning 5300ish, rev limiter is set at 5450 (454 mag with Whipple). I suspect the prop is going to be real close when light and in colder temps even with proper (more neutral) trim. As you said, time will tell.

for what it's worth stock bravo and 28 Bravo one were good for about 5100 running light (1.36 grs)

I will keep posting as I learn. Liquid Cruiser and Badcat are also experimenting in a similar fashion with their twinstep 25's and I suspect there will be more data to go around soon.

How much $$$ are those Imco 2" shorty lowers??
I would like to try one on my single step 25 w/ 500 EFI!
If you in fact see an honest 5 MPH, i think it was money well spent!

Ron-

I think they list for a little over 3k. I got mine thru Sterndrivespec with an xz upper and all I can say is he treated me right- he's in your back yard too- central New York.

All the feed back I had was that the two inch shorty was the ticket for the single step and probably too much for the twin. I'll run a 1/2" spacer with just me and 25 gallons less fuel this weekend and post results.