I have a 03 Fountain 27', which had a 496 HO, had very bad luck with the 496. Everyone suggested I upgrade to the 525 , so I purchased a brand new 525 EFI. Just put on the water last week-end with a Hydromotive Q4 26p , with 4 people in the boat, it would take approx 4 city blocks to come on plane, very very embrassing as everyone had to go to the front of the boat for weight. Once the boat went over the hump on plane I had no problem pushing the rev limiter, this boat could have a bigger prop yet but would never get on plane. Any one have any suggestions, besides getting a different boat. I would appreciate anyone's help on this matter....

I would try a bravo 1 prop.
I think they come better out of the hole

26" B1, maybe go to LH rotation because of the engine torque. 02's and later 29's are tricky with Hydros because of the more aggressive setup, so maybe they changed the x dimension on the 27 as well. I know the 27 is a different hull than the 29, but it might react well to a Maximus or P5X wheel as well. And make sure you're K planes are all the way down.

What kind of speeds did you see with the 525? I've thought about making the switch from a 502 mpi. My Y2K 27 is slow to plane also, but not that slow. I've got a RH 23P Merc Rev 4 - we are on and off plane alot. Good luck.

Buy a new Reggie Baja, they never had issues of getting on plane and were the same speed as the 27 with none of the stabiltiy issues.

Dont take offense to this, but how are you getting on plane. I had a 27 with a Hydromotive 4 blade and it wasnt a ski boat, but it didnt take that long to get on plane. Are you putting the drive and tabs all the way down? Ours would just fall over and we lifted the tabs and set the drive. The bravo props will get on plane faster. Does you Hydromotive have a flare ring on the back of it?

I have had a Hydro 26 on my 27 Fountain. Did great getting out of the hole. Hydros will blow out sometimes and you definetly should always lower the tabs to keep the drive happy and help get on plane.

B1 will plane better. 4 blocks what is that like 150 yards. Still not bad with people in the boat.

how much total added weight did you have I had same prob with a 29 fever with a 502 but I had 7 in the boat around 8 900 lbs in just people not including gear and full tank gas.

You have to put the tabs all the way down, drive all the way in then 1/2 throttle till the nose starts to come down, then start lifting the tabs, it will take a little getting used to this way but it is a lot easier on the drive, The 27 and 29 single engines do not plane off fast that is the only complaint with them

Check how far down your drive is going. It should be going down past level quite a bit. I had a 27 Hydro on my 27 last week..No problem ..And I never put a trim tab down all day..Planed off easily without full throttle. Also make sure you new motor is timed right.