5 Blade Props on a 27 or 29
 

Has anybody tested or run a 5 blade LH rotation prop on their 27 or 29? I'm curious as to how much different a 5 blade would feel vs. a 4 blade Hydro which is what I have now.

Unless you are running a shorter drive than standard, what the results have been are, you gain getting on plane, the mid-range cruise picks up 3-5 mph, and normally you lose top end speed by 2-4 mph. Depends what you are trying to do. If you spend 90% of your time cruising, then you may save some fuel. If you are looking for every last mph out of it, the Hydro's are hard to beat. But Brett at BBlades has been know to work some magic on the 5 blade Maximus props that may be the best of both worlds. :p:p

Thanks for that info.

The boat also seems to ride a lot softer (Maximus). Even passengers that did not realize that the prop had been changed, commented how the boat rode better.

My experience was the following:

Plaining was awesome. Cruz was unbelievable - 3000 rpm put me at just over 56mph.

You're asking about LH rotation. I only tried a RH rotation 5 blade Maximus.

Boat was front heavy with high stern lift. Disparately needed to be labbed as most boats will not work well with stock Maximus. It usually requires work to perform nicely. It put too much of my bow in the water all the time.

It was too heavy for me to turn at that time with that engine so I maxed out at about 4500.

I did not want to spend the money at the time for the Maximus but I can tell you that there will be one in my future if Brett can get the top end where I want it... Even with top end slow, it is a great prop for a load of people, cooler, slow cruising etc.

I never spent the time and money to get it right. It was however, a very impressive difference when compared to the Bravo I four blade. The fact remains that most Bravo Props will work ok out of the box regarding ride, trim response etc.

The Maximus felt like work in progress with good results down the road if that makes any sense.

They were probably hanging on the stripper pole when they said that.:drink::drink:

I know this is probably apples to oranges due to I have the F1 version of the 29, but the only time I will run a 4 blade anymore is if it is perfect ideal conditions(lakes and rivers) as I am going for top end, but in normal race conditions I run a 27RH Throttle Up which gives me incredible acceleration with the only issue I have had to counter act is the torque throwing the boat to the port side. Lead bags on the starboard side solved that issue though. I used a 28LH Hydro 5 blade in 1 race(lake) and got the best of both worlds with only a couple of seconds drop off in acceleration but gained 2 mph in top end. Unfortunately in my application 28 is as big a 5 blade that I can go and still get up on plane w/o fighting her too much.

What power did you have and what size was the prop?

I ran a 5 on my 27 for a Poker Run. Cruise was great, planing was great, top end was garbage.

Plus - I couldnt get over the fact that the 5 blade felt like the extra torque was harder on the drive......could be a crazy thought though.

No you are not crazy. The Maximus is harder loading than a standard Bravo four blade. An experienced boater can feel it particularly in a boat as small as mine.