Most of you know the PQ 290 has a chine walk problem. Mine was no different. Changed to the 4-blade and hydraulic steering and that took care of it for me at least up to 60mph. Going to be faster in 2023 and was thinking that maybe 5-blade props might help at higher speeds. I don't know if anyone has tried them on a 290 or not. Would like to hear from anyone running them and thoughts on using them for stability. Maybe not a good idea on a stock Bravo drive with higher hp? FYI, I have stock Bravo's with 1.5:1 ratio.

I had a 270 years ago and solved it by using a 2" IMCO shorty lower drive unit. Solved my issue.

Weird you have chine walk at such slow speeds. I've been in one up to 70 MPH with zero chine walk with just the stock steering. Props were 25P Mirage Plus.

Mine was terrible with the 3-blade Mirage props. 25 pitch. I installed the hydraulic steering first and it helped but the 4-blade really made a difference.

Nobody with 5 blades with an opinion?

Not a PQ, but I was running a Maximus on a 30 Superboat. It ran great but I think they are real tough on drives. My slip was very low. I broke my XR twice in less than 150hrs.

290Enticer,

This.

I've spoken to several knowledgeable individuals on this very topic while I was routing out the demons in my PQ280 (that ended up being snotty fuel injectors). They all tell me the same thing: "The easiest way to blow up an outdrive is to put a low pitch five blade prop on it and do a holeshot." Lots of leverage, very low slip and a heavy boat is a recipe for a drive gear grenade.

Thanks. Brad.
(937)545-8991

That answers that. I was thinking it may have been a bad idea but wanted to verify. Thanks for the info.

Depending on your drive height (im guessing rather low) it will likely exacerbate any handling characteristics you dont like. 5 blades are really intended for rather high drive heights and unless you have high slip numbers, they will not ad speed. Think of blade number like the width of a tire. If you need a wider tire (more blades) to keep the car hooked up, you'll go faster. If you don't need it, it's more drag.

Thanks for your input. In my mind going from 3 blades to 4 blades helped quite a bit with stability, so going 4 blades to 5 blades should do the same? I wasn't looking for speed by switching to 5 blade props but being stable at WOT speed whatever that is going to be. I am pretty sure the drives are quite low compared to other go-fast boats. Also I posted some slip numbers that are so good that they rivaled numbers by catamarans Lol!!! Thanks again for your input. I will be sticking with the 4-blade Bravo1 props I have.