Had a good weekend camping on the creek then running the river sunday.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/t...205_070157.jpg

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/t...204_172147.jpg

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/t...205_112928.jpg

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Very cool there sir!! Jealous!!

It's was nice 42° sat night and warmed up to mid 70s sunday. I'm grateful for the warm weather we have had this "winter". Unfortunately it's raining right now and about 65°

71 and partly cloudy here in VB, another warm day tomorrow, freezing by end of the week.

We are having my son's birthday saturday over in biloxi at an indoor pool. Its weird to think of swimming in February.

Depends on your Zip code and latitude...seems perfectly normal to me. It was 87* here yesterday and 68* last night. LOL

Your not far from here over in Florida correct?

Was that camping trip around Gravine Island?

Camping was at the ski basin. The pictures with the t top boat was at gravine.

Yesterday the weather was decent so we hit gravine with some friends. Boat did very well. I was happy to turn the key and go without having to work on it.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/t...305_143405.jpg

Nice!!

Just dropped the bench seat bottom off at my friends dad's upholstery shop. Unfortunately he is just now getting out of the hospital due to some health issues. Maybe his crew can get it knocked out in a reasonable amount of time.

Very nice boat. Curious why someone would aim the exhaust like that right onto the outdrive. Seems it would create additional unwanted heat on something that gets too hot already.

Thanks for the compliment. I have no clue other than he found an easy spot to mount those stupid exhaust tips. It really doesn't have much coming out of it from what I can tell. I'm planning on puting a shower on it just to be safe.

Not exactly what I was hoping for. It will have to do though.

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Thats the ****ty thing with upholstery and canvas shops Ive seen. They don't think about what the finished product will look like overall.

I wish I had called formula and got the vinyl. Insist know they still carried it for these older boats

Has the water warmed up yet up your way? High seventy degree surf temp down here...

Water is low 70s right now.

i hate you guys.


signed, a Michigander.


lol.



how warm does your water get by August??

We are high 80s low 90s. Bathtub temp basically. We go out all day and then at night the water is warmer than the air temp.

Had good weather sunday so we dropped the barge in the water. It ran well, everything went according to plan. Had a great time. Got a good wot run for about 30 seconds and it got 55.3 with about 50 gals of fuel myself, wife, cooler and some other junk. Really want to find a b1 prop to try.
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/t...242/tghjy.jpeg

That's great!! Looks and sounds like you and your family are really enjoying the lifestyle !!

Have you tried a Mirage Plus 21"...I'm thinking that may be your best all around prop for that boat. I have some experience with that hull and can say that the 242 doesn't like the 4 blade props...tends to raise the stern up pushing too much hull into the water. Sounds like you're propped and tuned close to optimum now....considering the power you have. Member 79 Formula on this Forum built a Blower Motor for his and is in the low 70's...reliably.

Run it for a season or two and enjoy it. Formulas hold their value...you may decide to upgrade to a larger boat later or sink a crap load of money into that one. Remember what B-O-A-T spells...Break Out Another Thousand !!! LOL

Have fun and be safe.

" If I can get the cruise speed up to 40-42 mph in the primary half of the carb id be happy as can be. "

Here is about what it takes
1.5:1 gear ratio
3,000 RPM
40 MPH
10% prop slip

Survey Sez 23.5 Pitch Prop

Hopefully we will see sunday. If my prop is still a 19(which I dont believe it is) and I'm turning 3900rpm at 38-40mph then maybe the 23 will drop me down to 3k like you said.

Again, doing the math with your numbers here is the outcome

1.5:1 gear
3900 RPM
38 MPH

19 Pitch = 18.75% Prop Slip

10% Prop Slip = 17 Pitch Prop

Seems about right. My 19 is a little dingy on the edges. Maybe the 23 will yield a better outcome.

Got the 23 plus yesterday. Has one small ding in it I'll work on if it runs the way I'd like. But I took it on the creek with me once I got home. Got a little bored and broke out the white Diamond.

Before with some light scratching all across it.
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After the compound.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/t...405_181845.jpg

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I wish you had that same prop in a 21" pitch to compare. I predict it will be a dog out of the hole with a load. I hope I'm wrong.

I'm thinking the same thing

When my 242 had the 454 Mag, she would reach for the sky out of the hole with the 23 Plus. It was efficient but quite slow to get on plane. Generally, that was with a full tank, and two to three adults. If the tabs worked, I don't think it would have been a problem. It was much better than my Chris Craft Stinger 222 (one of the most tail-heavy boats ever) I was never worried too much about holeshot anyway.

Best prop was the 26P Bravo 4-blade, but that was with the blower motor (and it could have used more after I had the lower rebuilt). I think a 22P Bravo would be a good fit personally.

Ive been looking for a 22 bravo. Found a few but the people aren't willing to ship them. I'm not terribly concerned with out of the hole either as I do mostly cruising. This isnt a race boat. If it wants to nose up for too long I'll hit the tabs down and try to correct it. Worst case scenario I run it, it doesn't do what I want. I'm sure I can break even on it.

22 Bravo will make everything better. I sold every other prop I had. I stay on plane at 2300 and you wont do that with a Mirage on your boat or take your hand off the wheel at cruise. the four blade keeps the boat true and straight.Its a no brainer for my money.

If I could find one I'd certainly scoop it up. Every single one I have found for a reasonable price is far off and the guys won't ship them.

If these guys won't ship them to you how in hell do they expect to sell them ? I've bought stuff site un seen...sent checks and luckily never had a problem.

Mirage 23 plus review.
Came out the hole no different.
Cruise rpm dropped from 3800-3900 at 38 mph to 3200-3500 rpm at 38-39.7 mph.

This prop does not hook up nearly as well as the revo 4 blade does in the turns. It doesn't like trim as much as the revo 4 blade.

But her came to fame..... wait for it.... wait for it... 63.4 mph at 5200 rpm!

General consensus it's an improvement on top end, cruise I'm not really sure but it's at a lower rpm so it's obviously going to burn more fuel since it's loaded harder. Still want to try a bravo1 22p.

5200 was WOT?

Yes. 5200 has been wot on both props. Don't ask me why but this engine will 5200 happily as long as the sun shines.

The mirage plus will be the fastest. I would say you are in the 420 horse range, congrats.

According to the man that built the engine it should be around 420-425. The boats performance is impressive to be as heavy as it is. I'm ready to try a 22 bravo to see what it does.