Best prop for a 280 silencer??
 

I am running a labbed 26 bravo on my 280 Powerquest Silencer w/496 HO at 5,000....but my cruise speed sucks. I belong to a boat club and need a better cruise speed..say somewhere 48-52at approx 3800 any suggestions? Powerquest says that these boats don't like 3 blades. How bout a Hydro? Also, is it normal to have to use a lot of positive trim on these boats?

I had the same boat and REALLY played around with props and other mods.

Try a non labbed 26, your cruise speed will improve significantly.

A hydro 24 will also give you a higher cruise speed, but it not the best all around prop. It is hard to get the 280 on plane because it slips alot just as the boat rolls over on plane, but will slowly catch. Kinda like slipping the clutch on a car for while you accelerate. The hydro will likely be the fastest prop too.

Here are some speeds I got with my 280:
Hydromotive 24: 4950 rpm @ 68 gps mph before blueprint

B1-24 std: 4750-4800 rpm @ 65 to 66 mph

B1-24Labbed: 5080 rpm @ 67.7 gps mph (std lab) 4875-4925 rpm @ 66 (+ extra cup) 4990-5000 RPM @ 68 MPH. (+1/2 extra cup)

BTW: If you want to sell your labbed 26 Braavo, I know someone looking for that prop. In fact he "MIGHT" have a Hydromotive 24 if you want to trade.

I have an 02 Silencer with the 496 HO. Running a non labbed 26 Bravo I am cruising at the speeds you posted. Only problem is it is slow getting on plane.

Snopro13,

Lab the prop! It will help the plane issue!!!

BTW: whats the latest on the frok lift issue? Get everything worked out?

BILLR,

What type of cruise speeds did you get from the different props?Do you prefer the hydro over the bravo? What are your thoughts on a 26 labbed hydro? I borrowed a buddies 26 left hand hydro and liked the cruise speed but the top end was less than desired. I believe that I will get better performance from a right hand prop as I tried a different 26 bravo (different from mine) that happened to be left hand and had terrible performance. thats not to say that they were labbed to the same specs.

Did you have a noticible difference once you blueprinted the botom? how much$$ ?

thanks for the help

I don't remember the cruise speeds, that was last year. The Labbed Bravo 26P was my best all around prop.
A labbed 26p Hydro? I don't think you can spin it fast enough, 5000 rpm.
BluePrinted bottom??? It was the Hydromotive I blueprinted. I didn't notice ANT difference from the Hydro after it was blueprinted.

pwrbotr,
If you're interested in dumping the B1-26 - Give me a call.
I'm looking for one!!!
Jon

BILLR,

Sorry I thought you weer talking about bluprinting the bottom. I agree about the 26 labbed hydro. Do you think it will spin a non labbed 26 hydro or is it too much prop?

Jon,

I'm going to keep the 26 labbed bravo and add some more cup to it to get my cruise back.

thanks guys

Hydro's spin like about 2" more than a bravo. So a 30" Hydor is like a 32" Bravo +-. They do act quite different in plaining. They are meant mostyl for top end.

bill R
 

So far so good. One of the drivers thought it was gonna be a problem but it has worked out fine. On Sunday when we pull the boat I just walk up and strap them on. That was a simple solution to a big problem thanks again....

pwrbotr,

When you lab a prop, you get more RPM's out of the same prop; thus easier to spin.
I would try a 24 Hydro not any version (labber or not) of a 26 hydro. The boat does not like Hydros except they are fast props. They are difficult to get on plane w/ a PQ 280. Ask Jon 280 Silencer, he JUST tried a Hydro on his 280 about 3 weeks ago.

When I had my Labbed 24 bravo, I too was at 5000 rpm (actually a bit more) I sent it back to Merc where they added more cup. This did nothing for cruise speed OR top speed, ALL it did was lower my RPMs.

I don't think your gonna get a cruise of 48-52 at approx 3800 rpm with a single engine boat. With all my experience with the boat aand all the different props I've tried, it looks to me like you got the right prop. You're at the right RPM range (5000) at full throttle.

The only way to gain more speed and or lower your cruise RPM is to go higher in pitch. The downside is, the boat will be very slow out of the hole and top speed will suffer. That said, see if you can try a labbed (only a labbed) bravo 28P. You MAY get lucky and get your full throttle RPM with in 4600- 5000 range. If it IS in the lower part of that range at full throttle, you can send the prop back to Merc (or who ever labbed the prop) and see if the can remove some cup to bring your RPM's up. This scenareo will raise your cruise speed to around what your looking for. BUT increasing cup on your labbed 26P will do ZERO for cruise speed / rpm at cruise.

You may want to try a non labbed 26p Bravo. When you Lab a prop, you lose some cruise speed as they have more (I think) slip.

BILLR
 

BillR

Bill, I have tried several variations of you recommendations:

stock 24 bravo: spinning 5100 before trim, tripping rev limiter at apprx 5300, running roughly 66gps. Heavy chop and poor cruise speed. 3500 @36 mph 4000 @ 44

stock 25 hydro: spinning 5100, poor cruise, not much better than above, about the same top end.

This weekend I will be in Destin and look to borrow a stock 26 bravo from a buddy. I hope this will work. Not sure what else to try. Based on your numbers, I am spinning my prop much faster but same speeds. The 24 labbed bravo over revs the motor. I did noticve that the boat has a perfect hook on the leading edge 6 inches from the transom. I called mark at PQ and he says it needs to be there. I can't figure out what the hecks wrong with my ride. I think I need more bow lift as I have a lot of spray at cruise speed.

Your numbers sound about right on!
My boat was pretty heavy as I had a lot of options. On that Bravo 26P; it should be a labbed version, otherwise I don't think you'll get much more improvement.

Just a thought, how much are you trimming up? I got best top speed trimmed just SLIGHTLY above 1/4 up on the gauge. More trim than that and the boat RPMS would increase while speed would drop.

BillR,

I agree with the trim about 1/4. The boat like more trim at higher speeds but 1/4 is optimum at cruise.

So you think that this is the best I will see for cruise speeds? I've got to be able to improve just a bit...if not I have a 2001 PQ for sale!!

Well, I don't know of ANY single engine 28ish foot boat that will cruise 50 MPH at 3500 to 3800 RPM. That type of cruise speed/rpm is twinn engine speeds.

The 26P will net you a few MPH more but not 10-15 Cruise MPH.
A Hydromotive will increase cruise speed somewhat too.

If you want to sell, OSO member Mattt is looking for a PQ. :)

If that 26P DOES work for ya, Jon 280 Silencer is lookin for a 26P lab prop. :D

I have a labbed 28 B1 for sale. It has 25 hours on it and is in new condition. Prop was done @ Hall's propeller service in Christmas, Florida. Mike Markesteyn is the owner and does alot of work with APBA teams. When he got done with my prop it looks alot like a Hydro but performs light years better than the Hydro I had. When I re-powered this year I was spinning a 24 Hydro 5400+. This prop put me right at 5100. Comes out of the hole like a rocket compared to the 24 Hydro and gives a better top speed than a 26 Hydro.

What type of boat was this tested on? Powerquest 280? What type of repower? I want to make sure that we are comparing apples to apples. Do you have a number for the prop shop you used? Any help with the above would be great!

I have a Velocity 280. It had a 365 HP 454 Mag and spun a 24 Hydro @ 47-4800. I repowered with a 485 HP 502 and could spin the 24 hydro 5400+(I stopped). I ordered the 28 lab finished B1 as everyone told me the 26 Hydro and 28 B1 were comparable and I didn't like the Hydro I had. All I can say is I am impressed. Looking at your posts I'm sure this prop will be close. If not, Mike can work it a little to get your desired RPM's. Give him a call @ 407-568-5506. BTW, I can spin this 28 51-5200 with a full load of fuel and 4 passengers. For your application I would suspect the RPM to be around 4800-4900 with much better cruise and top end.

"stock 24 bravo: spinning 5100 before trim, tripping rev limiter at apprx 5300, running roughly 66gps. Heavy chop and poor cruise speed. 3500 @36 mph 4000 @ 44"

Just for comparative purposes with similar sized/configured boats...

BillR's numbers are with the 502mag, so your specs will be a little different with the stronger motor.
Pwrbotr, if you were in "heavy chop" you probably had trim "in" and possibly some tab, so your speeds at those rpm would be normal. My numbers are 48-50 at 4000rpm on flat water 39-41 at 3500. With my 28'8" and trimmed down for the real crappy stuff (drive/tabs) I'm at 43-45mph at 4000rpm. My top speeds on good water, depending on load, are consistently 67.5 to 68.7 with 69.2 being the max recorded (all GPS handheld #'s) in perfect conditions.
Pwrbotr, this is with a 496HO turning an out of the box 24p B-1 that could probably use some tuning and has been dinged a little since new. My max rpm is just kissing the 5100 mark....

reckless...i can accept the top end but i have a real problem with my poor cruise speed at 3500 and 4000. the articles in powerboat mag state that this boat is 45mph at 3500 and 55 at 4000 with a 502 mag, i would suspect that my number should be comparable. every person that has ridden on my boat has made the same comment about the poor and unacceptable cruise speed. it feels as if the boat is working hard at 4000 to keep the boat barely at 40 or so. also, it feels as if the bow is not lifting no matter how much trim is applied. i trim until the gps drops. it seems that this hull has tremendous slip at cruise. maybe this is just an inefficient hull...i'd be ecstatic with the numbers the magazine article states.

my hands are up in the air:confused:

As BillR stated previously, those advertised specs are unrealistic for a 28 single stock application. I'd say for your configuration (PQ280, 496HO/stock 24p B-1) 47-49 at 4K and 38-40 at 3.5K (on GPS) is the best you will see without mods. For comparison purposes, a good average cruise for a stock twin setup is 52-55 at 3500. But the dynamics for twins are totally different. Again, these numbers are in good waters with optimum trim and sans any tab. Don't know about PQ's hull, but conventional wisdom is it's hard to beat the B-1's mid-range cruise & punch as proven by the different boats tested by PB mag over the years during their prop tests. They continue to rate them the best overall prop. Otherwise one would have to believe PQ didn't engineer their hulls out properly and slapped the B-1 on out of habit instead of another make/model...?

BILLR,

I tried a fresh out of the box stock 26p Bravo last night in fairly heavy chop. Here are the numbers:

3500 @ 45gps
3800 @ 50gps
4000 @ 54gps
4750-4800 WOT @ 67.000000gps.

The GPS did bounce 70 twic but I think this was a fluke since it went right back to 66.8 - 67.0

I finally got the midrange back. Can they lab just a hair for the final 150-200 rpm? and keep my midrange the same?

BTW this was with 2 people and approx 25-30 gallons of fuel. Wondering how much this will change with 4 people and full tank for the poker run this weekend.

Who do you recommend for the labbing? York? What did they charge? How about turn around?

Thanks

I sent my 280's prop off the Merc to be labbed. Yes they can dial it in. I got 5000 rpm cosistently. Just write them a detailed letter and they should do ya just fine. Cost??? $300

York does good too, $ 175.00 plus shipping $50.00. 10 days (at his shop) turn around time.

BEST PROP FOR 28 SILENCER
 

SNOPRO, YOU TOLD ME AT KELLY'S ONE WKND THAT YOU TRIED A 26 OR ARE RUNNING A 26 WHAT IS TOP END AND AT WHAT RPM? IS THAT A LABBED OR NON LABBED?

VIPER1

I'm a non-PQ owner (I have a Nordic 28/496HO) and I think Reckless and BillR are right on with the numbers. My Nordic is running a consistent 41 @3500 and 50+ @ 4000prms with a tweaked" 24 B. You'll need a much bigger engine to run 50+ @3500 rpms. Don't pay attention to any print material, "real world" performance is different. Get a 540 to get your cruise and WOT up. I'll be looking to do just that in a year or two. I've been through the prop mess, and it isn't worth the expense or hassle to fool with anymore. I've come to accept the numbers I get with the engine I have. Numbers are all close with different props, and by the way, temp and conditions affect speed much more than a prop does in my experience.

prop thread by pwrbotr
 

pwrbotr,I bought a 2001 280 in july from False River Motor Sports.They did some testing for PQ with this 280.They felt the bow wasn 't getting out of the water(sound familar?).They added a inch spacer to the lower unit to increase the "X" deminsion and felt this corrected the problem.I run a B1-26 non labbed(soon to be labbed)Pretty happy with this set- up Bob

Bob,
First off - Welcome to the club!!!!
How do you like the 280?
I sure would like more info on the 1" drive spacer. I have been kicking aroung this idea, and trying to gather info (SEE MY THREAD, 280 'X' DIMENSION)

Jon

Viper1
 

I ran a non labbed 26, top speed on gps was around 66 at 4700rpm. That was with about a half tank of fuel. Cruise speed at 4000 was 52-54. I only tried top speed a couple of times becouse I want to send it to Merc to get labbed. Should pick up a couple hundred rpms and a couple mph.

I may be wrong, but wouldn't adding a 1" spacer to the lower unit lower the "X" dimension?

I'm confused. I agree about the bow being to low...


Thanks

pwrbotr,
You are correct. Adding a spacer will lower the drive in the water giving a lower "X".
Some claim that a few of the early PQ models may have an "X" that is too high. I have been trying to compare dimensions to get a feel for what is normal.
I finally pcked up a 26 B-1. My WOT speed is just not there, but I can turn the prop at 5000. If I bring the drive up any further than level with the hull of the boat, I can shoot a rooster tail about 20 feet in the air without hitting the limiter.

"X" deminsion
 

pwrbotr,I've raced sport cars for 25 yrs BUT am new to boats so I'm truly NOT an expert.This is the way I think it works;increase "X" deminsion numerically( add 1" spacer ,19" plus 1"= 20")lowers"X" dem.I think it falls under the old "more is less" theory! As for my 280!!!I love it.I was lucky enough to get one with the HP500efi.I just installed a digital gps speedo and a new tach.Should be fun playing with. Bob

Bob,
Where are you measuring your X from. Sounds like your theory is backwards.


Pwrbtr,

By lowering your drive with a spacer you will fly the bow more and you should get on plane much better.

WORK THE 26 BRAVO -ONE
 

NEED TO WORK THE 26 ,?????

Gatorone,Actually,thats what I was trying to say.Sammy at false river couldn't get the bow out of the water so they added the spacer to lower the prop.I really don't know if this raises the "X" or not.I do think it raises the measurement.Somewhere in one off the books I got with the boat explains the measurement, just too busy to check it out.Bob

Bob280,

What type of gps verified speeds are you seeing with the spacer? I'm considering a 1 inch. What rpms are you turning that non labbed 26?

pwrbotr,I'll have to get back to you on the speed & rpm.The tach went out and since replacing it the weather has not been good enough to test.Also,the new tach seems to be jumping around like the old one did before going out .I may buy a scanner to back up the tach.Bob

pwrbotr,I'll have to get back to you on the speed & rpm.The tach went out and since replacing it the weather has not been good enough to test.Also,the new tach seems to be jumping around like the old one did before going out .I may buy a scanner to back up the tach.Bob