I have had my Heat now since the middle of June. It is a 1999 with a 502 that is stock. I have used the boat six or seven times all on Lake Mead. As I have read the different post I am somewhat confused on what direction to go. This past weekend was the first time with 6 people in the boat. Was not impressed with the performance. No matter where I had the motor trimmed, I was having a problem with porpoising. It was also very sluggish getting to a plane. The prop is a Mirage 23 pitch. Is there a better prop choice and would adding trim tabs help? I am new to this style of boat so any information will help.

you should try a 24p bravo 1, depending what rpm's you pull with that 23, nordic runs a 4 blade on all their boats as far as i know, there must be a reason for that, also the drive heights have been an issue on the heats as well, a 1" spacer will help in hookup, hopefully zuckerman chimes in here, he knows the heats very well

I have tried a couple of three blade props on my boat....with poor results.

I agree with blownhammer....try a 24 bravo prop...

Chris

Dune Rider,
Welcome to the Nordic forum. I agree with my Nordic friends.
I don't know anyone running a 3 blade any more. There isn't enough blade area there to lift and/or lock up to push the boat. Most people here run 24" 4 blade Bravo 1s on 496MAGHO and 502 MAG powered boats with good results.
Best Regards,
Steve

With the suggestion on trying a Bravo 1 prop, that could take care of the porpoising and not needing to add trim tabs at this time?

I live in Vegas and am on lake mead almost every weekend with various loads. I am (was- it was stolen Monday night) running a 26 bravo. It works great. Turns just bellow 5000 when trimmed out. Engine is a 496ho. I think I am going to replace it with a lab finished 26 bravo. Just my .02 which may be worth less than that.

A couple of thoughts. The 1999 and earlier pad vees seem to be more porpoise prone, than the step hulls. Several of my friends have them. I have worked on, and driven several of them.
The step hulls do ride flatter and are less prone to porpoising.
You may have been over trimming to get some performance out of your current propeller and that will definitely cause porpoising. You should get more lift with less trim and less prop slippage with the Bravo 1 4 blade.
Would tabs also help porpoising? Sure, and they are a good thing to have if you routinely run with a heavy load of people/gear/gas, or run in rough water.
I would test the prop 1st before making any other changes.
Regards,
Steve

Thanks for the recommendations. I will be trying a Bravo 1 prop next time out. I know there are different brands and styles of trim tabs, but is there one style better than another for my boat? Just some thought for next season of boating.

These boats really don't need a lot of tab. Something in the 17/18" range placed as closely to the chines as space permits, usually works well. Some of us are using the factory supplied Bennetts, some are using Rex Marine, some are using Eddie Marine. There are some extensive discussions on tabs on the forum you can access by using the search function.
Regards,
Steve

Just to follow up on my post. I am finally going to try out a 24P Bravo 1 prop this weekend. What should I be looking for to see if this would be the best prop choice?