4900. And I tweaked the drives to get the best speed - was trimmed to about 7-8

I remember running next to a 38 Scarab with carb'ed 500HP's during a poker run and he was flat out at 74mph for 30+ miles.

Yep, right at 80 with extension boxes and labbed 30 4-blades. That's at about 5100 RPM. Mine is a '99 AVS. I know the nonstepped hulls take a decent amout of power to make them move because they are a heavy boat. Good for the rough stuff, though!

If that's true then maybe mid to high 60's for this boat?? I really want it, it rides and looks great. Much more solid ride than my Fountain, which just flies flat across the surface. But I don't want to get screwed either. Maybe a set of headers, labbed props, Prochargers....WHAT, Prochargers? No Way!! What else can you do other than pressurize the motor or change them out? I don't want to spend a lot of money.

The drives must have different gears in them than 1.5. Or the props are messed up and the prop slip is real bad. My Black Thunder runs 75 at 5200 and about 60 at 4200 with 26 pitch props. Something is wrong.

Couplers starting to go maybe???

Well decided to get one with 500EFI's. That should help a lot with performance.

Nice...I cant wait to run mine next year. I'll probaly be out in the water in jan or feb I wish. May will be the earliest.

No. Couplers are either good or bad. No real in between. They can show wear upon inspection, but will not affect performance.