notched transom 28
 

My 96 28 has a notched transom and I have a 3 inch spacer in the drive. Anyone else have a notched 28 and what are you running for a drive , motor and prop combo. My friend's 03 doesn't have a notch but his x dimension is considerably lower than mine..... input?

Guy by the name of b-stubb had the same boat with some wild running gear.

88bullet
 

Hey man I posted a message on your extension box post about contacting b-stubb. Send him a pm and im sure he will get back with you in a few days. He had a 28 pantera single blower motor with ext box and imco drive or some kind of bravo style drive hopped up. He was get some high mph numbers if im not mistaken. I just talked to him a few weeks ago so he is around somewhere just send him a pm

search his old posts and you can find plenty

just did some looking quick... his boat was sick!!!!!. ive got to do some research and playing over the winter with mine. see if i can squeeze a little more out of her. any tricks?? feel free to give up some secrets

The X dim on standard pleasure(500-600hp) 28's is 17-17.5". The X dim on your(my old) boat is 20-20.5" from what I could measure. Jo told me it was set at 20".
It really depends on how much HP you put to it. The more HP you add, the more thrust you have to carry the bow and the more you can reduce the spacer.

That is correct Griff.

On the newer 28' SR version with the T.S. bottom and notch the drive heights are a bit higher than before.

JO

Jo Talked To Your Dad This Morning. He Said To Try A 1 Inch Or Take It Out Completely And See How It Likes It. I Have A Spare Drive With Out A Spacer So Im Gonna Try It This Week. If I Gan Gain Some Mph I Might Drag It To Cumberland Next Weekend For The Run!! I Will Keep Ya Posted

The boat will not run as well with out the 3" spacer. Also if you are going try it w/o the spacer keep on eye on the engine temp gauge. Maybe you can try a 5 blade prop with a 1" or 2" spacer.

JO

Changed the drive tonight . Definitely needs some spacer. Didn't carry the bow at all. Didn't gain any speed. Can over rev a bravo 4 blade 26 and a labbed 26. Could not get on plane with a 27 3 blade. Im guessing i need to try a 1 or 2 inch spacer. What is the trick to reducing prop slip? on the merc prop slip calculator im looking at 29% prop slip!!! I really don't want to spend a ton of money on spacers and props guessing... griff i took a measurement tonight and the x dimension is 20ish like you said. maybe my next step will have to be a huffer on top of the 548... jo how much for a raised blower hatch???

With the 3" spacer and about 550HP, I was spinning 5250rpms at 68mph under ideal conditions. That was with mildly labbed 26 Bravo and translates to about 18% slip.
When you calcualte slip with Bravo prop, you reduce the pitch by 1 inch. They are lighter on pitch than what they are stamped.
Dude Sweet told me he tried a 5 blade on it and the boat really liked it. I don't know any specifices though about what it did to slip numbers and speeds.
Slightly high slip numbers will also help keep an outdrive alive longer.
I really don't think the boat will do well with anything less than a 2" spacer.

Griff Thanks For The Info. I Just Found A 27 5 Blade To Try This Weekend. Im Gonna Put The 3" Drive Back On And Try The 5 Blade. I Think Im Gonna Give Sean A Shout And See What 5 Blade He Tried. A Friend Of Mine Has A 3 Inch Spacer He Isnt Using So Im Taking That To Another Friend Who Runs A Cnc Machine And See If He Can Make Me Some Spacers If The Price Is Right Im Gonna Have Them Made From 1 Inch Up To 3 A Half Inch At A Time. We Will See How It Goes!!

put the 3 inch spacer drive back on today. also borrowed a 27 labbed 5 blade hydromotive from my friend... almost drove right out of the ramp he forgot to tell me it was a left hand prop. almost a disaster!! all that aside i hit the lake and it was smooth as glass. not exactly the best speed conditions.. turned the prop to 5100rpm. forgot the gps unit in the truck so i dont know the speed. felt like i was glued to the water tho. and really bad torque steer coming out of th hole. going to try a 27 hydro 4 blade tomorrow and see what happens. im told a hydromotive prop is typically 1 pitch higher than advertised anyone else hear that???

From what I have found the Hydromotive was the most true to pitch prop that I have ever tried, Bravo 1's were a little less than stamped and Mirage plus more than stamped

Hydro's are a true pitch to what is stamped. Bravo props are stamped about 1" higher than they actually are.
If you are trying a Q IV, I doubt it will give good results. They are stern lifting props and the boat needs all the bow lift it can get.
A Q IV-X is very similar to Bravo prop.

i picked up a 2 inch spacer and slammed in the drive last night. gonna hit the river after work and see how it goes. what brands of props generally have bow lift. or do i have to send out a prop and have it worked into the prop. so far ive found the best prop is a untouched bravo 26 4 blade. so we will see tonight what happens with less spacer

I ran a mildly labbed 26 Bravo 1 that had some cupping and rake added for more bow lift.

26 bravo
 

I owned the Platinum grey 2007 28. Boat ran 78- 80 all the time and a best of 82 at 5900 rpms with a 26 4 blade that Bblades worked for me. If you can give Brett real good info about your boat and how it runs he will build you a prop that works. Like Griff said the boat likes a prop that can carry the bow. I also ran a hydro 5 blade 24 pitch that worked pretty well, that may work for you with the higher X and notch.
The new owner of my boat is now running more power and a hydro 4 blade, says he likes it.

Have Fun,

Morgan

i ran the 2 inch spacer and it seemed to like it with my 26 4 blade bravo prop. boat handled good and ran across the water nice. tried a labbed 27 hydromotive and it didnt like it at all. prop come to find out was a stern lift prop. ugh. i think im on the right tack with the bravo prop and next thig to try is a 27 or 28 with bow lift. might have to wait til next year tho cus its getting cold in buffalo!!!

hey bro! I hope ur doing well