27 fever with 496HO speed and cockpit
 

First of all, what kind of speeds should i expect on a boat like this... it's an '05 with 298 lovingly maintained hours (paperwork to go with it)

everything is stock. I saw 60mph, but no more, playing with tabs and trim, and still can't get more than 61-62 mph on the gps.

This doesn't seem right... anyone know of anything that may be limiting my power or something?

Also, the red background behind my guages is beginning to fade, and i'd like to replace it with white... anyone know where i could get one that is high quality and relatively inexpensive... please link me. thanks!

At what rpm?

wow.... can't say i remember... it's been a few weeks since i've seen my boat.... duty calls (i'm in the army)

Need to know rpm and prop pitch to start with. My boat with a 454 mag 385 hp ran 67 all the time. You may be running too big a prop. You should also be turning close to the rev limiter.

If setup properly, it should run 68+

Drive 4+
Tabs once on plane all the way up (0)

1/2 tank of fuel one or two people in the boat max.

1.65 drive = 28" bravo 4 blade roughly
1.5 drive = 26 bravo 4 blade roughly

Stock limiter is set at 5150. You have to be at or very near to reach 68-70 (at least I did).

And the anolog tach sux. You need a digital tach or scan tool to see the real engine speed.

+1
 

Precisely as SDFever said!

+2
 

I'll third that!

I'm running so close to the rev limiter that I can hit it when the air temp drops and the humidity is low. The previous owner had the prop labbed to the boat and it's dialed in pretty good.

Find out what prop you are turning, where your rpm's are and then we can go from there.

How do I know a 1.5 from a 1.65 and how/where do I measure my prop?

I've got the same problem with my 27 fever 496 HO. 62 once got to 66 MPH all the other times 62. I have 30 in. pitch prop turnin 4900 to just under 5000 on tach. no idea what gear bravo is

If the drive was sold on the boat orginally or if it was replaced as an "entire" unit, the drive ratio will be stamped usually on the starboard side of the merc deal of the upper unit.

If someone has replaced the decals etc then there may not be a number to view. The serial number is in the same area on the port side of the crown of the upper unit.

It will say "1.5" etc and the prop (if it's a bravo) will have the pitch stamped in the hub.

Way too much prop. Your boat should run 68+ all day at 5100-5150. Most 27's do best with a 24-26P. Sounds like a case for Brett at BBlades!

Also don't forget that we're talking about a bone stock ho so if you have a cylinder that is leaking a little or if you have a high hour engine that is wearing, it will continue to be harder to reach the optimal numbers.

Personally, I believe that if a 496 is "left alone", it will run next to forever minus normal maintenance and breakage.

It will give the 502's and 454's a run for their money in terms of stock service life. It DOES use oil so don't forget to check it often. Running it hot or low on oil will take some of the fun out of it.

You gotta get the drive number first cause with a 1.65, a labbed 30 would be perfect on a step bottom...

It is 1.65 outdrive. how will i know if a labbed 30 will actually fix it. lot of money to spend if it does't fix it

Mine is an 04 same set up as yours .. 28 bravo it runs 69 ,i tried a labbed 30 but i run heavy and like the 28 better for getting up on plane .. I am thinking about going to a maximus for better mid range cruise speed . I am more about better cruise speed than top end speed ..

Well not to sound cocky but I have extensive experience with this boat. There are some who have more than me.

I have an 03 single step.

Now, before you get all confident and spend your money, you should be diligent in knowing for "certain" that you have a healthy engine. Forget about your Livorsi or Gaffrig Tach.

1 compression test on all 8
2 leak down test on all 8
3 plugs, wires,
4 fuel pressure as well as fuel delivery system
5 air cleaner or flame arrestor
6 verify actual rpm at wot and with best trim settings - you should be able to hit your rev limiter once in a while in rougher water... A digital tach should read 5000 rpm almost all the time if not closer to 5100. That means watching it a lot at wot in calm water trimmed up close to 5

I know the 30 will run "slightly" better on my boat when it was stock based on the above info along with Brett agreeing that I could have bought a 30 and cut it down pretty far to get some minor gain. I'm talking 1 - 2 mph average. Anything more would be a pipe dream.

The prop may not be worth the money at all. But if all else is equal, it will net you something. Comes down to what value you as the owner puts on going just a little faster.

It's real important to me but not so much to other guys..

And one more thing...

Think about it, if your engine is in ship shape and you can bump the limiter that means that there is a wee bit of room to work with.

How? If you can cut a 30 down far enough to still get your rpm where you want it, that means that the smaller 30 is still slightly bigger than your 28 and again, the gain will be small but will show on gps.

Don't forget your bravo 28 is actuall somewhere around 27.3 but that's a whole different story. :coolcowboy:

And there's a real minor difference from one engine to another if you wanna split hairs.

Sorry I forgot you already have the prop you need. You can just work the one you have and save the price of a prop new or used...

lab work is bout 100 bucks an hour and typically worth it.

My guess is that you are not actually turning 4900 to just under 5000.

If you don't wanna buy the digital tach (SmartCraft SC 500), you can test your tach from within Diacom using the pseudo tach test and at least you will know if it's off or not and by how much.... mine is off by as much as 300 rpm in some instances. That's HUGE.

Thanks for the advise going to wait till after vaction at LOTO before i do anything

thanks everyone!

I'm having the marina drop the boat in the water today, i'll ask them to check drive ratio and prop size before they drop it. And i'll find out where exactly i'm at on the tach too. once i have that info, i'll post back here and hopefully some of you can make sense of all of it and (hopefully) some of you will tell me that i AM in fact running a totally wrong prop and recommend where/what to purchase to get speeds in the 68+ range again.

thanks again in advance!

ok, so.... 1.68 is the drive ratio.... is that one of the numbers we are looking for?

and the prop is a bravo 28p

I also looked in my fountain bag of tricks and found the test sheet showing the results from the factory tests, and it ran 69mph at 5150 when she was new in 05, with the 28p bravo prop. Now i'm running 59mph with the exact same setup, at WOT, (5125- bouncing up to 5175 maybe in the chop, but mostly holding right at 5150).

So.... everyone here is sayin i should be runnin high sixties.... anyone have any ideas? if i DO change props, won't essentially be changing the final 'gear' so to speak, and lose RPM?

Anyone have any input? Bump.

10mph? Ouch........

I tend to lean on something else being the issue with that big of a drop in speed.

Are you sure your tach and speedo is right?

I assume the speed is GPS so maybe the tach is off?

The test sheet will also show trim and tab settings, plus what drive ratio.

Tabs up, trimmed to almost five, yes verified on gps. Test sheet said 1.68 drive ratio, that's where I got the numbers, ok yes something else ( not prop I guess) is wrong, but what is it and how to fix it ? Lol

I take it this is a new boat to you and you didn't just lose 10 MPH over the winter.

So did you take the drive ratio off the sheet or actually verify it? Did you take the prop and compare it to a stock 28 bravo 1? not to sound stupid but it is a 05 hull with a single step and a bravo 1 drive and a 4 blade prop right?

A couple of other thoughts. Drive isn't what is thought. Prop is marked 28 but has been modified, cut down, difuser ring added or removed or is marked wrong or all of the above. your RPMS are not what you are seeing or your prop slip is through the roof. Is you GPS set to knots and not MPH? 59 KTS is about 68 MPH.

Some numbers with a 1.65 and a 4 blade 28 prop you'd be at 68 MPH with 15% slip. that's physics, if you do have a 28 stock prop, you are turning 5000 RPMS and your slip isn't throught the roof you are running 68-69MPH unless you forgot to unhook your trailer.

Make that prop a 24 and you are 59 mph. Or same scenario if you only turn 4500 RPMS with a 28 your back to 61 mph. I would doubt an unhealthy engine will turn a 28 prop to 5100 rpms.

Also are your drive and tab indicators correct. You should ignore them run the tabs all the way up to the stops and run the drive trim by feel. out until you feel the prop start to slip and you would also start to see a drop off in speed, then trim in small fractions to get top speed.

take a 2nd GPS to verify. borrow a stock 28 bravo 1 prop and run it. I still think you prop isnt' what you think, the drive isn't or your RPMS are not accurate.

Boat would lose about 1MPH per 100-150 pounds of weight added but as you add weight your max RPMS would decrease. If you have a huge hook in the hull I suppose it's possible but again I don't think you would be able to hit 5000 RPMS.

thanks von bong,

for the insight.... i just checked the digital camera we had with us this past weekend, and verified that no, we didn't have the trailer still attached.... no fishhooks on the boat either. i'm beginning to suspect (with what little intellect i have) that it's a prop issue...

I'm going to have the marina throw a new bravo 28 (loaner) on the boat for me before they put it in the water, and see if that changes any numbers for me.... (if it does, than mine is getting sent to BBlades for conditioning/labbing) if it does nothing... .then.... hmmm i dunno...sell the boat and buy a four winns?! lol (just kidding, i'd never do that!)

I have the exact same boat as you. An 05 with 70hrs on it. Mine ran 67 yesturday, full tank of gas just me in it. Tabs at 2.8 Raising them further didin't matter and drive at 4.9. This is on a fresh water lake with a light chop. 5100 rpm. Stock X drive and stock 28P prop. If you are only getting 60 something is up.

Don't forget that you're asssuming a "strong" engine. If nothing has happened to the prop then the power went somewhere.

Where did it go? Five years have passed and that can mean a lot to any engine... If NOTHING on the boat has changed then you have the same test sheet I have. No offense but you are starting at the "end" instead of the "beginning". Something does not add up to only be the prop (unless it's a modified prop).

Ok, so where SHOULD I start? Engine seems strong and I have all records from previous owner. Only 198 hours on engine in five years, doesn't seem that high. I thought I'd start with prop but you think it's deeper than that... Ok than what? And how do I get my missing speed back?

Just Curious ... do all Fountains come with a test sheet ? Can I get get a copy from Fountain by suplying the vin # ?
My 2000' with a 1.5 bravo & 502 mag , 24p runs 67-68 mph @5100rpm . I would love to go faster too but the cost don't seem worth it .

If you're responding to me, then my answer to your question "where SHOULD I start?" is back in post number 16.

Honestly, man, hours mean squat on a marine engine. I don't care if it only has 10 hours on it.

Previous records are nice but are they fixing your boat?

Not being smart here okay.

People always wanna throw darts at walls and make guesses. I'm just trying to help you understand how best to solve a problem on your own cause that's really what you're doing here...

You always start from the ground up. That's my take. Some will disagree. But saying your engine "seems" or "feels" strong with only 198 hours???

Start at the beginning so you, "yourself" know that you've covered your bases. This mentality helps drastically with the prevention of wasted time and wasted money.

If you're sure the engine is not just down a little on power then throw a prop at it. But again, that's probably a $350 + dollar guess.

What if a little bit of moisture has made its way around your valve seats??? Then they still seal but not as nice as they once did... Then the leak percentage in that hole is higher which makes for an incremental power loss. Everything adds up to something else.

It's way easier to put another prop on and test it. Making sure that a prop is a worth while test is not as fast and easy.

Just my 2 cents. I hope you get her going good!

No it does not seem high at all. The variable you're trying to eliminate is whether or not something else happened in 5 years besides just a low hour count...

I see your from Vancouver; I spend lots of time on the \shuswap or the Okanagan. You ever come up this way?

Yeah ... Shuswap is where i keep mine .

Shushwap
 

I was fueling at Anglemont marina and seen you go by last weekend. I didnt see any other Fevers out there and was there for a week, so I assume it was you. You use your boat on Harrison ever? Poker Run this weekend.

Same here my boat runs 67 all day and will hit 69 in the correct conditions. 2005 with 496HO and B1 28 righthand prop. I will hit the rev limiter sometimes. Like SD says you need to start at the begining and check to make sure your engine is healthy and tac and speedo are accurate.

No ... it wasn't me . Mines bin sittin' in the shop getting some new color . Should be out soon though . i have seen quite a few fountains on the Shuswap over the past few seasons .
Getting to be alot of big fast boats on that lake , seen some fast DCB's & Eliminators out there .

yeah there was a 36 Eliminator and a 40 plus size Outterlimits ripping around in the narrows and a 38-42 fountain late model all white. I saw a Howard and a couple DCBs too. Most Ive seen since ive been going up there.