Need help getting on plane
 

Hey guys,
I just bought a 98 Formula 271 ,502=415hp(stock) . I had such a hard time planing I thought I damaged something! So I've been searching the forum and see that slow planing is an issue.So far I see remove the plastic stop on the trim, vent the cavitation plate and maybe a five blade prop. It's been 10 years since I've had my 85 302 SR1 so I'm a little rusty. Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks

What prop is on it?

Assuming you have trim tabs?? ....tabs all the way down, trim all the way in/down. Throttle up and find the sweet spot. This may take a while, but I'd think a 27 footer should pop up pretty quick. My old 27' Fountain did.

As previously mentioned, what prop are you running?

in addition........ how much weight are you carrying......., fuel, people, coolers...............I had a Baja 272 and never had to use the tabs, same engine as you.

Bravo 26, pretty dinged up. Can that hurt

I was full of fuel, 4 people,tabs down,drive tucked in. I have the small Bennett tabs though

Assuming it's a 1.5:1 outdrive that is too much prop. What are the rpms wide open? You need a 24 pitch preferably not all dinged up.

What he said, You might even need something a bit different than the 24. A 22 even.

It can hurt a lot.
It can also ruin the bearings in the drive from being unbalanced.

And you most likely need a 22" Bravo prop.
That's a 55mph boat with that hp.

A lot of Formula's came with 1.65 gears vs the normal 1.5's.

Check and report back.

You should have a 1.65 ratio drive from the factory. These boats are veryyyyyyy slow to get on plane. Drive tucked all the way down and tabs all the way down and lots of throttle is what you need. .My 271 is now 715hp and I have 280 tabs and it is still slow to get on plane compared to others. What you are experiencing is normal for these boats. The correct prop for the boat should be a 26 pitch 4 blade with the 1.65 drive ratio . Jeff Wurl

If it has a 1.65 drive then a 26 is probably the right prop. But a dinged up prop, full fuel and lots of gear will change planing time a LOT.

26" still seems like a TON of prop for that boat, what was the stock prop?? -- a guy I boat with has this boat, it runs 57-58mph, I think everything is stock.

Seems like a 24", espeically with a 4-blade would be better. If the stock prop was a 26", that will show what I know :) Either way, start with whatever stock was. 3-Blade will help get you some RPM's on launch if you are getting to much bite.

What Jeff said. I had a 271 with 635hp 1.5 drive 26P Bravo one. Didn't worry about jumping on plane. Idle out push throttle slow to 3000 rpm and wait for it to lay over. Then GO!!!.