27' Fountain (2002) 496 Raylar
 

Just finished install of the Raylay 103 kit, ECM was reprogrammed (5500 limit I think), Dana Flo Torque Headers . My understanding is that this setup should be in the 570 HP range. Have bravo 1 drive with 1.5 gear ratio. Everything seems to be running fine. My Fountain report stated 19 1/2" X dimension and 69 MPH with a 26" Bravo 1 prop, best I have seen is 67 MPH (GPS)
Testing the past 2 weekends:
28" Bravo 1 Prop, 5025 RPM, 70 MPH (GPS)
26" Bravo 1 Prop, 5500 RPM, 69 MPH (GPS).
I was able to easily blow out the 26" prop and had to be careful with the throttle.
Have passed the info over to Julie at Throttle Up and she was waiting on my 26" test; passed info on to Brett BBlades but no response.
To be honest I was hoping to be knocking on the 80MPH mark. Looking for any input. I am not 100% convinced the Bravo 1 is the prop for this application.

If you're looking for top end, a Hydro is hard to beat IMO

What top end speed did you have before the Raylar kit ?

67

If I am reading this right you only gaines 3 mph???

at the moment. need some prop help..

I gained right around 9mph with your upgrade before I went to the 600. I did not do any programming until 600 which means I was able to do it with the stock rev limiter.

We saw 78mph several times up from 68-70 stock. Boat would never hang at 70 though when it was stock..

I've tried a bunch of props. I don't know if you have a stepped hull or not. Mine is an 03 single step and I'm now up to 85 +.

I have always remained very persistent with Brett and I try to call him right around 5:30 to 6pm his time local. I have had 3 props done for this boat and each time he has put me where I wanted to be. Hang in there. You'll get it but it takes time and patience. All the hp and torque in the world won't make much difference without going through the proper steps to get the prop right. It's very time consuming to get it right.

The four blade bravo prop is still the best so far on my boat.

Also
 

The Hydo seems to work best on the slightly older hulls say in the 90's.

If you have a step and if your hull is somewhere close to mine in design and weight, here's my take on your story:

With a stock bravo rh 28 you said you are running just over 5000.

So it's actually, 27.3 x 5200 = 141960 / 1584 = theoretical 89.6 mph. So, if you can get your slip down to around say 13%, then you will be at 77-78 mph give or take..

That extra couple hundred rpm's make all the difference IF you can prevent unducing more slip.

Before you go any further, and if you've not done this, make CERTAIN you are giving the real rpm's.

When I first installed my digital tach (SmartCraft), I found out my Livorsi analog tach was about 300 rpm's higher than what the engine was actually doing. It's tough to prop the boat to its peak without knowing for certain what the real engine speed is.

1. Get a "known" rpm

2. Send the prop to Brett and just shave it down enough to get another 200 - 250 rpm's.

If your tach number is right you're almost there!

BBlades
 

Brett is a busy guy and if you're like me, you wonder "how the heck can a guy stay in business if he won't call me back".

Just have to realize that he's one guy and there are hundreds of us. What he's doing is a bit of black art. It's time consuming and tedious etc.

Couple that with the fact that 98% of us wait until spring time to send in props and bingo! There's no possible way the man can handle the sudden work load and answer the phone every time and keep everyone happy.

I hate to give away my secrets but one thing that has worked for me is to type up a short letter with all the details and just send him the note in the box with the prop. He will get it. He will call you faster than the next guy cause he's holding your prop and the "other" guy is still trying to call.

The BEST way to solve this would be for half of us to take advantage of the BBlades Jan thru March deals that he has every year. The work is a little cheaper and turn around is faster cause most of the country is still in ice.

Finally, custom worked propellers are just that; Custom. That means that part of the price I have to pay to have a custom prop includes the wait time to get it.

Ok, no more secrets! :eureka: