Funny story Fountain. I had a similar encounter with a guy who had a 260 hp 5.7 20 Outlaw that said his can do 70 also. People crack me up. I also ran my buddy who has a 75-78 mph Superboat 24' and this guy on Lake Livingston who has a Baja 302 with twin whipple charged HO 496's...they of course gave me a big lead and the baja ran us both down quickly. I am estimating 85+ with that 302 Baja, but the guy did some major cash upgrades.

We’ve tested the Baja H2X before, but this time it came to us with the Level 1
Custom Shop Package (sizzling painted graphics, engine-component color matching
and more). The 24'-long, 8'4"-wide model seemed like a different boat, one with plenty
of high-performance attitude.
Top speed for the H2X was 72.6 mph at 5,120 rpm. That number came courtesy
of a 425-hp MerCruiser 496 Mag HO engine with a Bravo One drive spinning a
Mercury Mirage Plus 14 5/8" x 23" three-blade stainless-steel propeller through a
1.5:1 reduction.
Time to plane was a respectable 4.3 seconds—a four-blade Bravo One prop might
improve it a tick—and in 20 seconds the 24-footer ran 67 mph. Consistently impressive
in midrange acceleration tests, the 4,000-pound sport boat ran from 30 to 50 mph
in 5.4 seconds and from 40 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds.
Baja remains one of the few performance boatbuilders that doesn’t offer steppedbottom
models—and it doesn’t seem to matter. Riding on 21-degree conventional hull
with four strakes, slightly negative chines and a delta-pad keel, the H2X handled precisely.
It slashed slalom turn after slalom turn, responding instantly to steering input.
A fiberglass fairing with a venturi lip fit the boat neatly, but offered little in the way
of wind protection. A boarding ladder was located on the integrated swim platform,
which, like the deck, had a nonskid surface. Above the platform on the transom was
a ski-tow and a pair of grab handles.
Below the power engine hatch, which lifted on a pair of screw jacks, the motor (with
a sharp-looking powder-painted cowling, part of the Level 1 package) was secured with
MerCruiser mounts on L-angles with gussets through-bolted to the stringers, and the
standard transom assembly. Wiring was supported with a combination of stainless-steel
and nylon-cushion clamps, and the bilge had a spatter-gelcoat finish.
We don’t expect much from the cabin of a 24'-long sport boat, but we do expect it
to be comfortable and functional. With its ample three-cushion V-berth, padded sides,
deck hatch and door, the cabin of the H2X met our expectations.
The cockpit, however, exceeded them. Our driver and co-pilot found the bolsterstyle
bucket seats supportive and pampering. Ahead of the co-pilot to port was a glove
box and a grab handle. Across the nonskid cockpit sole, covered in snap-in carpet, the
helm station featured silver-faced Gaffrig gauges in blue and yellow bezels.
In adding the Level 1 package to the H2X, Baja made a good thing better.
CENTERLINE 24'
BEAM 8'4"
WEIGHT 3,900 POUNDS
BASE PRICE $47,825
PRICE AS TESTED $68,041
ENGINE MERCURY 496 MAG HO
TOP SPEED AT RPM 72.6 @ 5,250
TIME TO PLANE 4.07 SECONDS
ACCELERATION ZERO TO 15 SECONDS 60 MPH
MIDRANGE ACCELERATION 40 TO 60 MPH 6.2 SECONDS
Baja Marine Corp., 1520 Isaac Beal Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820-9604 P O W E R B O A T M A G A Z I N E • J U L Y 2 0 0 1

It took me 583ci and 600+hp to hit 81 MPH on gps....

I'm new to the the Baja boats. I have a 2003 Baja H2x with a 8.1 496. The RPMs Max out at 5600 and it beeps like crazy so I back out until it stops. I'm only getting 60 with 2 people and half a tank of gas or less. It takes FOREVER to plane out and launch is horrible. I have a 5 blade prop that came with the boat. Any idea what's the problem or how to tell what the pitch could be? Any help is appreciated! I'm tired of getting beat by tiny Bayliners and StingRays with 4 cylinder motors.

Wrong prop.

Thanks

Try a 23" Mirage Plus for top speed.
I'm guessing 496 HO since it will even hit 5600rpms. I would verify your tach also.
Its beeping because you are way hitting the rev limiter.

Thanks Griff. I'm not sure if it's a HO or not. The computer was reprogrammed to give it a little more HP(pre guy a bought it from). I do need to verify the tach as like you I'm not sure it's accurate.
Should I get a 4 or 3 blade?

3 blade is generally faster

Thanks! I'll start looking. Hope that fixes my planing problem too.