257 prop questions
 

Hi guys, this site seems to have alot of good information for a guy like myself who is new to boating. Late last season i bought a 1995 257 legend with a 454 mag and a bravo 1. When i purched the boat it came with a 14X4X23p Offshore prop. With this prop i can get on plane pretty quick and i can do about 55 wot at about 5000 rpms. So getting to my point, last week i went to see a guy who refurbishes props cause i wanted mine to be refurbished, and when i told him all my numbers he told me that the combo of my engine and drive with that prop is no good and that i should get a whole new prop, what do you guys think, and what do the guys with 257s or 260 with 454 mags run for props, and what sort of numbers do you run. Thanks in advance: Josh

You need to talk to Brett at BBLADES. He will shoot ya strait.

Not a MAG, but I run a 7.4 with a BIII, and I run 57 gps. You should be 60, maybe low 60s. See this thread for more info, and basically the same reccommendation: get a prop expert on it (most reccomend Brett):
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/p...ore-speed.html

Note that the amount of crap you carry around will have an effect on this. My 57 is with a full tank and one other person, light loaded (small cooler, no watertoys, etc). Pile in 6 people, couple of coolers, all thier crap, etc, and I'm at 52-53. Weight kills speed.

All kinds of discussion on this subject:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/p...omotive-4.html

Bottom line: A 23p mirage plus is the best prop for a 257 Legend. This hull needs a bow lifting prop and you will MAXIMIZE your top speed with it. Nothing else works as well and I tried quite a few different props.

+1

I've got a 4 blade 24p and a 3 blade 23p and yes the 23 will get me couple mph faster but is a dog coming out of the hole the 4 blade is much more versatile prop for my boating. I'm pushing 530 + hp as well

Apollard what pitch prop and gear ratio are you running? are you 300hp or 310? I have the 300 7.4 bravo 3 2:1 ratio and am running 28p props 3 blade front 3 blade rear. the best I see with a light load and just myself is 54. Any ideas?

I disagree, I had a 23p mirage plus and my chine walk at high speeds sucked. I went with a 4 blade 23 Hydromotive QIV, the 23 mirage plus is NOT a true 23, I would go with either a 22 or a 21 Hydromotive QIV. I had a 454 mag mpi, the four blade will help get it out of the hole and with any chine walk. The best I've ever saw was 65mph with the Hydro. Fastforward did several tests on numerous props the Hydro came out on tops, the only problem is that he posted that the prop was a Hydro 23, but it was really a 22.

Good Luck

Another variable is speedo vs GPS. There are lots of thoughts here, but I would think that you are pretty good where you are. I have a 23p Mirage plus that pulls 1-2MPH more than my 22P Rev 4. I never run the Mirage plus because I may spend 1% of my time on WOT pulls. I spend the rest of my time cruising, pulling the kids around on tubes and the Rev 4....or any 4 blade....works better.

BTW, my Legend is a '04 with a 496 Mag HO. On GPS, I would expect 63 with the Mirage...60 with the Rev 4.

So, it depends on what you want......