You should easily be able to pull a set of 26's. What is your outrdrive's gear ratio? Bravo III propsets are notorious for being out of balance straight out of the box. The pitch can also be inconsistant across all three blades.

Thats not true, who told you that? I have run identical boats with the same power and different drives, the Bravo 1 is faster. Bravo 3's are for quick planing they are usually 2 or more MPH slower.

I have a 99 253.....

The lower unit ratio looks like 1.8 R

The B3 ratios for your year were 1.81 or 2.20.

Remember - get the tachometer first!!!!

That explains the 24's as opposed to the 26's.

As mentioned above, first check your boat's tach against a shop tach or scan tool at WOT to verify its accuracy. If accurate, time to send those 24's off to be fixed/worked to be able to pull 5K at WOT.

The 3x3 props should be faster than the 4x3 props although the 3x3 are more likely to have have prop burn.

Just get the ding fixed, have them balanced, and enjoy the boat. Remember, cruising between 3000 - 4000 RPM is where you will spend most of your time. I would prop for max speed within that range. The rev limiter will kick in at 5100 RPM, and I don't think an extra 200 RPM will give you more than a MPH or two. Not worth the trouble and additional wear and tear on the engine.

If you try to hang with the guys on this forum, be ready to spend a lot of money and a lot of time standing on your head in the bilge!

Yea I know all about the faster boats. Several of my friends have and had Pro Chargers. Dont want any of that expense or time hanging out in the bildge.